I'm heading out for dinner tomorrow night to celebrate a friend's birthday, and one of the advantages of living in such a multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city such as Toronto, is the availability of almost any type of food imaginable. I love food, and more than that, I love eating different types of foods, especially when I travel. Admittedly, I am an adventurous eater, and will, with little or no hesitation, eat from food carts in any city in the world. But I also dine in restaurants when I travel, looking for good, authentic local dishes. So, being peak tourist season in Canada right now, it was with amusement that I read an interesting hypothesis raised in a book I recently read - that the odds of getting a great meal in a major tourist centre (e.g. Times Square in New York) in a city is stacked against the tourist.
Why? According to Tim Harford, author of "The Undercover Economist", there is little incentive for these restauranteurs to provide fabulous food, stellar service or reasonable prices, because the majority of tourists will likely only make a single visit and any ambivalent or dissatisfied diner will be quickly replaced by another tourist who has no idea where other better restaurants may be or may not be willing to make a detour off-the-beaten tourist track.
I also think that while the Internet sites like Trip Advisor may be a more recent method of spreading the word about lousy restaurants, many tourists don't bother to read restaurant reviews as much as they do hotel reviews. This may be because you often don't plan far ahead of time what type of food you want to eat until you get hungry and evaluate the options around you.
Also, many tourists almost expect that they will not find a good deal in the main tourist spots, and therefore are almost resigned to paying high prices. Notice that many of the great restaurants in your city are probably not located right next to your city's most prominent tourist attraction, but likely a bit out of the way - exactly where locals want them to be. I know that I never eat at restaurants located in our tourist areas. For dinner on Saturday, I will be heading to a highly rated, small bistro in a gritty east-end neighbourhood where few tourists would venture.
Looking back at my past travels, I believe this has been true. A recent trip to Peru in May definitely cemented this hypothesis. In the UNESCO-heritage city of Cuzco, the tourist-oriented restaurants I frequented had mediocre food at best (and some were quite expensive), while the best food I experienced was from food carts (cheap and tasty) and in restaurants that were away from the city centre tourist areas and recommended by the locals such as our hotel receptionist. I don't trust recommendations by tour guides as they often get kickbacks or commissions from restaurateurs to bring tourists to their establishments.
I had read recently that while guide books claim to be completely objective, that their authors do favour some establishments and put them in their guide books regardless of whether they are the best around. Another reason to not follow guide book recommendations is that usually all you see in those restaurants are the tourists who read the guidebook, and then the restaurant becomes complacent as they now have a steady stream of tourists.
My opinion is to ignore the guidebook recommendations, travel off the beaten track, and ask the locals where their fellow locals would dine. These are locals such as taxi drivers, doormen, store clerks, hotel staff etc. You will save money, get a better meal and have a more authentic travel experience. BTW, here's a tip - if you are ever in Toronto, have a street hot dog (much better than those in New York City) or a burrito from Burrito Boyz. Both are delicious ..... and cheap!
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