To Travel is To Eat
For me, traveling is 50% sights and experiences and 50% eating as much local cuisine as I can possibly afford...or can eat and still be able to waddle back to my hostel for the night. Because of this, my mission in every country I end up in is to find the best and most authentic food possible. By now I feel as though I've developed a bit of a sixth sense for scoping out great local restaurants.
There are some basic tips that no matter what, I ALWAYS follow. I'll also throw in some additional tips later to differentiate the good from the great local places.
1. NEVER eat in a restaurant right next to a major monument or attraction. You are going to pay way too much for food that isn't that good in the first place.
2. Avoid any restaurant that seems like it's focused on attracting tourists. Any restaurant with big pictures of food or a person standing by the door calling people in is an automatic no-go. If the food was really good, they wouldn't need to try that hard!
3. Try to avoid any restaurant that advertises their whole menu in English. This obviously only applies in a country that speaks a foreign language. It's okay and often very helpful if the restaurant has an extra menu in English, but if their advertisements outside are in English, they are probably more interested in attracting tourists than locals--which is a bad sign.
Sarah Wicker