Raya Mykonos

Going out to eat is an important part of American society. In fact, restaurants and the restaurant business make millions a year, feeding us! Of course, you can get any type of food imaginable at all your area restaurants. Whether you want steak, chicken, pork, pasta, pizza or any other dish under the sun, chances are there’s a restaurant near you that serves it.

But how do you pick a good one, and ensure that you don’t go somewhere and waste your money on a horrible meal? Well, with a little bit of research it’s easy to find a great restaurant in your area and have a great meal in 5 simple steps:

* This is the obvious step. Pick what you want! Chinese or Japanese? Italian or French? Talk with the family and pick a type of food that everyone can agree on.
* Head over to Zagat.com for restaurant reviews. This step is essential to ensure you’ll get the most bang for you buck. Zagat has reviews for restaurants in almost every major US city, and you can search for cities near you by zip code, etc.
* After you read the Zagat review, you’re most probably close to picking a place to go. But now you have to get some “real world” reviews. That’s easy enough. Check out Dine.com, for user submitted reviews. Here you’ll get the juicy stuff. Was there a fly in someone’s soup? Was the waitress really mean? Dine.com will give you what Zagat can’t, and that’s “realism”.
* This step may be overkill, but it’s a good idea to check the website of the restaurant you choose, and look at the menu. This way you can see what you’re working with and maybe have a better idea of what to expect when you get there. Plus, the website is a good “1st impression” of the restaurant itself.
* Enjoy your meal, and feel smart!

It’s easy enough to get a great meal that’s in your budget, has great service and that you can come back to again and again!