Bon appétit à moi-même (bon appetit to myself)

So, went to a new restaurant today. Thought it was awesome and want to go back.

This seems to happen nearly every time I go to a restaurant. Rarely is there one that I think "Wow, that was just awful." Usually, I'm impressed.

I thought about that this afternoon during the drive home and I came to a couple of conclusions... Often, I'm hesitant to do so because of I think I have low expectations -- I guess if I am worried that it's going to be a hepatitis factory run by a hairy, sweaty, hairnet-disdaining guy and his pet rats, when it turns out not to be, well, color me surprised. So I rarely try a new experience and it's a vicious circle.

And then there's the paralysis of choice. Take me some place new and I'm overwhelmed by the choices. What if I choose incorrectly? What if I like it, but I never get back there again? What if it's a good place but I discount it because I make a bad choice? Pretty much everyone who's ever met me has at one point or another, accused me of over-analyzing something. Ah, the irony of a blog post analyzing analysis.

So I decide to go the same place over and over again. And get pretty much the same thing. It's easy... I know I'll like it, and I know I'll be able to find the calorie counts to enter into Lose-It. Well, plus in Federal Way, there really is no small independent restaurants, unless you like Asian faire that's a little further away from mainstream.

I had a goal once of trying a new restaurant every month. I've failed that miserably lately, until today. And that wasn't my doing, but Lori's. So if I am going to be adventurous, try something new (both venue and menu), if I am going to broaden my horizons, I must be strategic about it... make sure that when Lori and are looking over the next month's calendar, that we're specifically identifying a new restaurant and picking a date to go and visit. (And if it helps any, also checking out the menu ahead of time and picking out three choices that sound good so that on the day of the visit, things are much simpler for me.)

Actually, come to think of it, we went to another new restaurant yesterday at some friends' invitation.  The food was good, it was buffet, so I could pick and choose and not worry about ordering the wrong thing.  But we failed to miss the sign on the front door listing the price for Sunday and, well, will never go back there again.  Not because the food wasn't good, but because I'll never be hungry enough to pay those kinds of prices.