lyb

I've been reading and posting on this board for almost 3 years now and love all the information that is provided.

I always read about people asking for restaurant recommendations and/or giving recommendations. I've realized that when I travel the last thing I care about is the restaurants. I like good food as much as anyone else, but it just doesn't seem to be that big of a thing to me. I always have at least one very nice meal while on vacation, but I kind of like to explore and surprise myself. But basically, I don't care that much about the restaurants, food is not a big part of my excitement when traveling.

Reading all the posts, I start to wonder if I'm the only one who doesn't care about restaurants while traveling. Anyone else doesn't care that much about restaurants while traveling? or am I a total oddity? Some of my friends would definitely jump on that question, -

lyb

oh, dear....what a grammar mistake...Anyone else "DOESN'T" care..... I bow my head in shame

ballbuster

yeah, the sights are number one in my book. I just try to eat somewhere convenient and cheap most of the time.

Marilyn

I really enjoy the food most of the time when I travel, but the restaurants are not that important to me and we certainly don't plan our trip around our meals. I will take a list of recommendations, but we're not very good about planning ahead and making dinner reservations. We like smaller, more casual places, and we often make discoveries on our own.

Also, I cannot eat a major production of a meal every night -- it makes me feel crummy. So I don't care about having reservations at name restaurants, although once in a while it's fun.

I do love the local goodies though: the crepes on the street in Paris, the cream teas in Devon, the wonderful, simple, home-cooked meals that are so abundant in Italy. And I love hanging out in cafes, people-watching, or having a long, leisurely dinner with friends.

Clifton

So far, I agree. I enjoy a good meal, but mostly from the perspective of it having something to do with where I'm at. I can't imaging planning around eating generally.

Like Marilyn, for us it's doing things that feel a part of the character of the trip. Better yet if it's something that can't be enjoyed well at home, but street food qualifies as easily as fine dining.

I too don't care for luxury immersion when traveling as that has little to do with why I travel. Bit more of a culture vulture than a finely fitted traveler.

LVSue

I agree! My problem is that it's so hard to predict how I will feel on any given night. Will I have eaten a big lunch and not be hungry? Will I be so exhausted that I wouldn't appreciate a great meal? Granted, I could work around that if I had made the reservations, but I'd rather do it the other way and allow myself freedom for the rest of the day.

That said, the last trip I took was with an early-to-bedder and we rented an apartment, so I reserved every other night, just to assure that we got out, Sure enough, the only nights we went out were the three I reserved.

LoveItaly

This is an interesting thread!

I sure love good food and wonderful restaurants. However I never overeat no matter where I am. I learned a long time ago that sitting and eating bread no matter how good it is (and I do love good bread) meant that I could not finish the main course.

Normally I do not order an appetizer as it is just too much along with dinner. Once in awhile it is fun to share an appetizer with others though.

I do not go to fast food places but having said that on my trip last week I did and got a baked potato a couple of times while on the road and that was perfect.

For me enjoying the food of the area I am visiting is part of the total experience of getting acquainted with the local area.

But overeating just doesn't work for me. I prefer quality over quanity.

Mangia!

MelissaHI

You bring up a good point! i just went on a trip with a friend for whom restaurants is not important. For her, other features of the destination were more important. While it took me a bit to get used to the mentality, I still enjoyed myself because she did a lot of research and took the time to figure out when and what to do that would bring her the best enjoyment. In the end, basically, we made the most of the destination....and that's the point of traveling, after all, whether you're in it for the food, sights, shopping or entertainment!

ira

Hi lyb,

You are a total oddity. Everyone else travels solely tobe able to pig out at expensive restaurants.

My Lady Wife and I wouldn't pass up a 1* if it was convenient, but we don't plan our itineraries around where we are going to eat.

isabel

I totally agree, and I have to say I'm a little surprised at the vast number of posts about food - both asking for recommendations and talking about eating in trip reports. I do realize there are lots of people for whom the food on vacation is a major part of the experience but I just don't get it. I have a couple of close friends who literally, plan trips based on restaurants - that comes first, then they fill in with sites to see, etc.

I do love "street" food - not fast food in the sense of McDonalds or the like, but the local specialities - like Marilyn said, crepes in France, pizza and Gelato in Italy, etc. I'd much rather graze all day on that kind of thing - making my way from pastry shop to gelato shop, etc while sightseeing. than plan my day to be at a certain restaurant at a certain time for a dinner reservation. In nice weather I much prefer sitting on a bench in front of a magnificent sight eating whatever, than in some restaurant.

So thanks for letting us "oddities" have a chance to see we are not alone.

ira

>In nice weather I much prefer sitting on a bench in front of a magnificent sight eating whatever, than in some restaurant.<

What makes visiting Europe so nice is that you eat at a nice restaurant in front of a magnificent sight.

artstuff

Choosing a restaurant while travelling has always been one of our downfalls. My hubby and I have a standing joke that we must first walk 10 blocks around our hotel, reading restaurant menus in the windows, just to choose a place to eat one block from where we are staying. It never fails. And, while we have never really received a "bad" meal, we have also stumbled on some very delicious food.

Before I discovered Fodor's, I usually did research on the types of foods/meals that are served in the destination country, so we could partake in the local cuisine. However, next time we travel I will probably also arm myself with as many restaurant recommendations from fellow Fodorites, just to eliminate the 10-block walk before dinner. Peace.

Robyn >-

Travelnut

Yes, we're in your camp... I can appreciate a tasty dish but many of the 'upscale' combinations sound weird much less appealing to me. I'm happy getting a good meal for a reasonable price, and picnics, and 'grazing' (crepes, panini, etc). I can't consume a 3-course meal either.

ira

Hey Robyn,

>next time we travel I will probably also arm myself with as many restaurant recommendations from fellow Fodorites, just to eliminate the 10-block walk before dinner. <

I'll bet you still take the walk.

elle

Sometimes for us, it depends on the destination. Our visit to Montreal last fall was definitely focused on fine dining; on our trip to France this spring, we'll wing it for the most part, although we usually include one or two destination restaurants.

My husband is very food-focused--he works in a restaurant-related field and is always in search of something new and delicious. I'm less into food, but at the same time, I'm a finicky eater, so a little forethought is sometimes necessary to keep us both happy. But we try to balance planning with serendipity. So far this has worked for us.

artstuff

Ira -

Yeah, you're probably right.... Only now we'll probably walk <u>20</u> blocks, trying to check out each recommendation.

Robyn &gt;-

tod

lyb - It's not that we don't care that much about food when travelling, it's that we are not able to be tied down to a certain venue, at a certain time, in a certain place because when we are out and about looking at the sights say in London or Paris or wherever, we have no idea how long it will take etc.etc., so have always eaten when hungry at the closest nice looking restaurant. This of course does not lend itself to great meals!
This time in Paris I am on my own mostly until I meet up with friends for a few days, so things will be different.
I aim to make reservations for dinner most evenings and even try out some of the Fodorites reccommendations.

theduchess

I find I don't always remember the food...but I do remember the meal.An entire restuarant full of people singing Happy Birthday to my daughter in Italian or the little cafe where the kind server brought a heater to sit right next to us when we were cold (without our asking). Mainly, I love the experiences one can have in the company of others and we don't always get that while we walking along or standing and viewing a sight.....Restuarants give us a chance to connect.

tedgale

In the last year, we came to the same conclusion.

Loving food, esp. French classic cuisine, we used to push ourselves every evening to dine somewhere &quot;worthwhile&quot;, if not stupendous.

Better than sitting around a hotel room, esp. in remote country locations.

Now I sometimes find it a chore: driving in the dark; 2 hours minimum at the table, etc.

By the end of the trip, conversational topics are exhausted and we have become the proverbial middle-aged couple sitting stiffly in front of the fancy china with nothing left to say.

That is why we now prefer apartment rental over hotels, where feasible.

Ideally, we might dine out -- and dine well -- every second night.

On the &quot;odd&quot; days, we might stop for a good lunch and snack at home in the evenings. Or picnic or whatever.

tully

I agree, though that doesn't mean I haven't tried. Every trip to Europe I always have a small list written down of places I'd like to try but I've never made it to a single one. I guess I tend to just get caught up in the day &amp; what I'm doing. By the time it's time to eat I usually find myself on the other side of town, or just so drained that the place across from the hotel looks fine to me. So, I still take the lists, but not in any real hope that I'll actually make it there.