Dining Out and Travel
 

How important is it for you to have pleasurable dining experiences when you travel for vacation? Do you plan your vacation with excellent dining in mind?

Very important. And yes.

Ditto!

Not at all.

DH and I adore great food, but we don't necessarily plan our trips around dining experiences. There is so much culture that I want to see in places that aren't necessarily known for their culinary talents.

I always look forward to eating, especially on my vacations!!! :p But that can mean a fine restaurant OR the best pizza in town, just as long as it's great food. But, yes, when we plan a trip, I pretty much plan ahead where I'll eat every dinner!

There aren't many places in the world where you CAN'T get great food. But I believe in going for what you can get, not aiming for preconceived ideas of your favorite type of food. I wouldn't say I plan my trips for the food, but once I'm there, it becomes a major issue.

Great travel dining memories:

Fresh oysters at Cancale, France. (is standing on the seawall eating oysters just pulled from the sea considered a great dining experience? Yes!)

Hours old halibut prepared a dozen ways in Alaska.

Eating reindeer in an underground hut around a campfire in Saamiland, Norway.

Sushi for breakfast in Tokyo.

Kansas City Bar B Q.

Fresh porcini mushrooms in everything in Tuscany.

Buffalo burgers in Custer State Park.

I could go on and on.

Definitely. One of my primary rules of travel is that there are two types of restaurant in the world-the kind where you look up to read the menu and the kind where you look down. The first is ok for a quick lunch but never for dinner.

I always explore restaurant choices on Fodor's before traveling to a new place. That way, I have a good idea of where we'd like to eat before we even get there. It's great to be able to sample regional foods when traveling in this great country.

Pleasurable - absolutely. Extravagent - not necessarily.

We do try to do at least one really good restaurant in each city - but other than that do all sorts of places - and usually simply have lunch wherever is handy when we get hungry. Now this can be successful in some places (It aly - have never had bad food except in Venice) and risky in others.

(There are some places in the US which appear to have literally no restaurants/cafes/even a decent diner at all - one place in Georgia a Pizza Hut was the highight of the town. We did ask - and they said to find anything like we wanted on a Sunday night we would have to go into Atlanta - like 30 miles away.)

Not important at all. I do some research before a trip, so that if we stumble upon a place with a good reputation then I will recognize the name. Other than that we have been fortunate to get suggestions from locals or find decent places on our own. So while our trips are not where near centered around food, we do make sure to try the local specialties.

I'm going with Patrick on his next trip.

What? no mention of seven servings of salmon in seattle?

LuvMaine, you too, will have to buy an extra seat on the plane.

Great Question.

Dining <b>out</b> in a restaurant is NOT important at all while dining <b>out</b> side is our favorite location! We have gone on 4 week trips in our RV and never ate out in a resturant or fast food place once.

Yes, excellent dining is on our minds. Finding that perfect location with fantastic views is number one. We enjoy cooking and eating in scenic locations that don't have restaurants. We treat ourselves to our favorite foods while on vacation. We bought buffalo burgers near Custer State Park and cooked them ourselves.

Utahtea

I love regional food, and I always make it a point to eat something I can't get at home when I travel. Patrick, I TOTALLY agree about the hours-old halibut in Alaska!! One of me and my husband's trips was to New Orleans simply because of the wonderful food!! When I got to Vegas, I have to have cheese blintzes for breakfast, and I also try to have at least one burger from In-n-Out, because we don't have them in Texas. I'm not into expensive, gourmet food, but I do appreciate a good meal!

No, the vacation isn't planned with excellent dining as one of the top three priorities.

But after the lodging, transportation etc. is set and AFTER I get my destination fixes in (Museum, ball park, theatre, castle etc.) then I will consider restaurant choices. But I never, ever make reservations ahead of time for a distant city.

Yet, once I am there I always make it a point to do like Rachel Ray (Rae?) and sample the locale's specialities and usually by asking a complete of local's opinions etc.

One of the absolutely best entrees I've ever had was from a real dump in Mississippi that was a last ditch, in the middle of nowhere, last choice. It was a shrimp po'boy sandwich that was to die for. You just never know.

I love good food and can cook very well myself. I was raised by Europeans from three countries and a vegetable/Italian store for freshness. So better cooking and 75% of the &quot;fine&quot; dining out there seems over rated to me- therefore I am not apt to go out of my way for expensive high end dining experiences. When I do, I like most of them, but never plan a trip around food.

Food is the reason I travel....and then a room with a beautiful view!!!

It is clear that Patrick must lead a foodie trip! When DH and I say we want to go someplace, it's usually to see the sights first. It's a case of &quot;I'd love to see the Grand Canal&quot; rather than &quot;I'd like to eat a Northern Italian steak.&quot; Since we celebrate our anniversary with travel, we do plan one special meal and reserve ahead. Otherwise, we tend to eat where we &quot;drop&quot; or is that &quot;droop&quot; before stumbling, feet and legs humbled, into bed! If a special place is where we happen to be, wonderful, but truthfully, we can go several miles on a gelato...any gelato!! Oh, we often ask a policeperson where he/she eats-one can get wonderful local food that way.

Well I can't say that I plan the trip because of the restaurants/the food but I can honestly say that when I go back to somewhere that has wonderful restaurants/food I sure anticipate getting there and eating, LOL.

When I say wonderful restaurants I am not talking about the most expensive restaurants. I am talking about wonderful food prepared properly, a pleasant restuarant in both decor and service and prices that are suitable for what one receives.

Although I do not overeat I do love to eat. I can enjoy a yummy plate of french fries as much as I do a gourmet dish.

Pleasurable dining experiences is part of the travel experience for me.

Utahtea, have you thought about writing a book? Seriously, that sounds neat. If you haven't been, you would love shopping at markets in Italy and France and parking your caravan amongst some of the most beautiful of the world's scenery while you eat the best food there too. Sigh.

UtahTea--We were backpacking last weekend, so our dinners were freeze dried meals. With the spectacular scenery, yes, even those were tasty, lol!

donco, you completely misinterpreted my post. I do not travel to places EVER for the food. I too go to Venice for the Grand Canal. But while in Venice I'd rather have liver (one of their great specialties) than order a pizza. I do enjoy finding what is good locally. I certainly didn't go to Alaska for the food. But when there I'd much rather be eating fresh halibut than stopping by a 7-11 for a frozen burrito. Why go to a mediocre place and order any old food, when you can go to a place and dine with a new experience? I too would be likely to ask a policeman or a local for a restaurant suggestion. That's often how we find those great meals I'm talking about. Great meals doesn't mean expensive either.

Incidentally, being a diabetic, I can't go for hours on a gelato. I wish I could, but I need real food.

Oh Patrick, I wish you hadn't mentioned the liver in Venice.
I love the liver in the region of Veneto. Now I want some!! Thanks so much for ruining my day, LOL.

I'm a visual person. Next in line is my need for good food and a great glass of wine. If I can combine the two, I'm as happy as a pig in er.... poo. My best memories of great meals always include the surroundings. Or maybe, for me, its the surroundings that influence my memory of the meal. Hum..

Beautiful surrondings, fantastic food and wonderful wine!!! That works for me. Oh, and a fun and pleasant dining companion. I have had the displeasure of having a few wonderful meals with someone who is a grouch and complains about everything. Not fun!!! I would rather dine solo.

Sorry...I forgot about the dinner companion. I guess I just assumed it would be my husband. Go figure.

Patrick, since my response was to Shane's question, with only compliments meant about the wonderful foods you named, perhaps you misinterpreted my post as well! Never mind! Oh, jersey, how could one forget the wine?! Whether it's to eat or to sight-see, let's go to Italy NOW!

Then there is cooking school in Italy-that sounds wonderful!

I certainly agree, but I would add that an intelligently chosen, reasonably priced wine list is important.
M

It depends. If we are staying in hotels and traveling almost daily, I do some research into good, but casual restaurants. We don't actually plan any trips based on food. If we are staying in a condo for several days, we usually cook because my husband is on a strict heart healthy diet and doesn't trust the ingredients in restaurant food. Consequently, I always travel with a couple of good kitchen knives and some condiments.