Choosing at Restaurants

[Commodorn]

This may be an odd (and mildly boring) question, but how do you personally go about choosing what to eat when you're at/going to a restaurant?

If it's a restaurant I've gone to more than a few times before, I usually choose the same option I always do without really deviating very often. Typically, I only deviate if I actually physically saw another option I thought I'd like before-- Even then, it's.. rare. I really can eat the same thing over and over again and be perfectly happy with it.

If it's a restaurant I haven't been to before, I usually choose between the more "classic" or less complicated options because I.. have the brain of a stubborn old man. The kind that'd be tempted to say "I just want some damned clam chowder!!" if someone started to take me through all the other options in an attempt to save me from my own chronic blandness. (note: If I actually tried to say that, it'd come out very stiff and awkward. All I can say is "I'm fine.")

[shevek]

I am the same way in regards to barely, if ever, straying from my usual orders. It's nice to know what you're getting exactly and usually I only order when I crave that thing, so .
If I am there the first time, I look for what's vegan (if it's not a vegan restaurant anyway), then specific dishes I already know and like from elsewhere, and then choose between what will least likely cause me severe food sensitivity issues, since I have a few and don't do well with histamine. I also take into consideration what I can't do at home; either because my local supermarkets don't stock the ingredient(s) or they're bad, or because I don't have the skill or motivation to do it myself. I really want to make the visit worthwhile to me, so I try not to order something I make myself at home already every few weeks or so.

Yesterday for example, I ordered crispy vegan duck with a sweet-sour sauce as appetizer and pho for the main course. Getting vegan duck at all and preparing it right is a bit difficult for me, so I indulge when I can. I do occasionally make pho at home, but it's never as good as in the asian food restaurants, so

[SilkSkull]

Same here with the usual order, however if I'm feeling adventerous or trying a new place I'll usually go for whatever is the least like what I eat normally. I love to see the things I'd never think to try otherwise! I recently tried crab because of this and loved it 

[Memory]

Might be the autistic influence here, but once I've settled on three courses that I enjoy, I'll more than likely always order that regardless of the restaurant. As in, I know I like steak, so if there's steak at all on the menu, I'll get that at every restaurant that offers it.

My adventurous side tends to only come out in regards to other peoples food, and usually me and my mom will tailor our order specifically to each other. What I mean by this is that I like to taste what other people have bought to see if I'll like it in future, and because me and my moms tastes are so similar, we will likely order food for each other. I get one starter we both like, she'll get the other we both like, and then we share both starters together. Same with our mains, and so even though I personally don't tend to go outside my own food boundaries— sharing food with the table enables me to have a bit of everything despite my rigid order.

I hope this all makes sense lol.

[Commodorn]

If I am there the first time, I look for what's vegan (if it's not a vegan restaurant anyway), then specific dishes I already know and like from elsewhere, and then choose between what will least likely cause me severe food sensitivity issues, since I have a few and don't do well with histamine. I also take into consideration what I can't do at home; either because my local supermarkets don't stock the ingredient(s) or they're bad, or because I don't have the skill or motivation to do it myself. I really want to make the visit worthwhile to me, so I try not to order something I make myself at home already every few weeks or so.

..This actually describes the process I go through a lot better than what I previously wrote. Anything I get has to fit into the category of vegan, vegetarian, or pescetarian. I try my best to choose something that's not too greasy or sugary since I.. cannot handle that as well as everyone else seems to be able to. I had to go to a restaurant I'm not so familiar with this morning (that's mostly why I started this topic) and I was having some trouble because.. a lot of what was on the menu either didn't fit the criteria or happened to be something I could make with relative ease at home. The best option seemed to be.. some piece of toast with mashed avocado and a bunch of other shit thrown on top? It kind of tasted like paint, but.. I tried. I didn't want to be there, but it was the wants of one against the wants of two    The two.. being my family.

My adventurous side tends to only come out in regards to other peoples food, and usually me and my mom will tailor our order specifically to each other. What I mean by this is that I like to taste what other people have bought to see if I'll like it in future, and because me and my moms tastes are so similar, we will likely order food for each other. I get one starter we both like, she'll get the other we both like, and then we share both starters together. Same with our mains, and so even though I personally don't tend to go outside my own food boundaries— sharing food with the table enables me to have a bit of everything despite my rigid order.

I hope this all makes sense lol.

That is almost exactly what my mother and I do! Especially since she's.. very aware of how stubborn I can be. She's always been the one to encourage me to try something new.

I'm noticing that there seems to be a high concentration of people with autism here, by the way.. I guess the lot of us tend to gravitate towards very similar places xOP

[dotmidi]

This may be an odd (and mildly boring) question, but how do you personally go about choosing what to eat when you're at/going to a restaurant?

I realize I have quite a different process from everyone else here so I will share my brain for a second here!

So, I love fast food BUT when it comes to those places where I sit down and order its an entirely different story and depends on how im feeling and what im craving.. for example, me and my dad go to a breakfast place that i have come to really love since most of the dishes do not disappoint!

The ride there I usually try and figure out if im craving something savory or sweet.. and if I cant decide I flip a coin, and then, from that decision I pick one of the various dishes im used to and enjoy. For example, I might have felt more on the Savory side so now I have to decide between two dishes I like; An eggs benedict or A sandwich. Sometimes I might get very comfortable in an option and decide to eat the same dish every time we come there but then I eventually break the habit and crave something different.

If its a place I don't know I usually analyze the ingredients and remember what I do and don't like. Let's say, I went to a restaurant and they had a chicken sandwich with pepper-jack cheese. I would be ECSTATIC to try it since I love chicken sandwiches and I love pepperjack cheese! However, this can be my downfall sometimes for I have tried a pepperjack chicken sandwich and it wasnt as good as I imagined.. But thanks to my experience I know what to NOT order next time.

Just the other day though, I tried a new sandwich from Panera and it was so so good..    it had a lot of ingredients i loved and some i havent tried before so i gave it a shot and it now might be my go-to there since it made me extremely delighted and woke up my brain

[Scrib01]

For restaurants I've been to before I tend to either pick something new or a limited run if available. Otherwise, I go for the mainstay of something I know I enjoy, much like many people I think.
For restaurants I'm unfamiliar with, so from 0 visits to 3 visits, I'll tend to either check what is recommended or pick something interesting or different.
Maybe its just my way of thinking but I always pick the more zany strange things on the menu. This is because I like to try new flavours that I can use in my own food when I'm cooking at home!

[Memory]

For restaurants I've been to before I tend to either pick something new or a limited run if available. Otherwise, I go for the mainstay of something I know I enjoy, much like many people I think.
For restaurants I'm unfamiliar with, so from 0 visits to 3 visits, I'll tend to either check what is recommended or pick something interesting or different.
Maybe its just my way of thinking but I always pick the more zany strange things on the menu. This is because I like to try new flavours that I can use in my own food when I'm cooking at home!

This is basically exactly how I order.

But, additionally, for certain places I've been before I do just have the one or two things I order regardless of what the special is because I particularly like the way they do it or I can't get it anywhere else. In that case, I will often order different drinks from there to try with it though, assuming I'm sitting down there and not ordering in.

[dotmidi]

For restaurants I've been to before I tend to either pick something new or a limited run if available. Otherwise, I go for the mainstay of something I know I enjoy, much like many people I think.

OOh, I do quite the same.. I forgot about limited run food! I'm always very excited to try some random items I see at particular joints (if it sounds like something I would like that is) I found a lot of comfort food that way.. However, it's such a shame when you get so attached to something and they take it away from the menu
The breakfast place I regularly attend to with my father on Sundays is on a seasonal based menu so they switch out items on a rotating system but they still keep them.. you just have to wait until the designated season 

Fast food is more trickier because they'll present you with a limited time dish and you may be attached to it only for them to rip it away from you and never see it in the light of day..

Oh, McDonalds Fish Bites.. How I miss you so.. (AND THEY GOT RID OF SIGNATURE SAUCE!! LITERALLY THE ONLY GOOD SAUCE THEY HAD THERE!! )

[doubleincision]

Might be the autistic influence here, but once I've settled on three courses that I enjoy, I'll more than likely always order that regardless of the restaurant. As in, I know I like steak, so if there's steak at all on the menu, I'll get that at every restaurant that offers it.

this is how i do it, too i have ordered the same meal at Panera Bread literally every time i have ever been there in my life

i'm not a super picky eater but i'm also not usually in the mood to try new foods at restaurants, largely because eating out is so expensive and i would hate to waste money on something i don't like, even if the risk of me disliking it is small. so i just try to order whatever matches my preferences the best. if i want to try something new i'll just pick a little off of whatever my husband gets, because he usually can't finish the whole thing.

also, another reason i order the same routine things at restaurants is because the menu is always too damn long and i get stressed out trying to read all of the descriptions for everything!! so i just quickly scan to find whatever matches my usual preferences. if i can't find anything i'll just get a salad or an appetizer lol