> Once you learn to cook and find a place to get good ingredients,
> restaurant food will be very disappointing, because, unless you're
> willing to spend a fortune, it will always be inferior to what you
> can make yourself.
I suppose that's true if the only reason you go to a restaurant is to eat food, or if your outlook is that only the best you can get is acceptable, with all the rest being disappointing. For me, that's far too narrow of a viewpoint. Plus it limits you to eating only food you can make well? Setting that aside (I could name 10 restaurants in 20 seconds that I frequent where I will never make the kind of food that they serve), even the places that make food that (IMHO) I can make Quite Well Thank You bring me back for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is when I'm done I can say: your cooking of this food is great, too.
Other great reasons to go to restaruants sometimes despite having cooking that's "inferior" to your own skills:
- Scaling
Maybe you don't want to buy an ingredient that can make 20 meals for just one meal at home. An excellent example of this is cassoulet: if you can make it well, you're set for an entire week of meals ... what if you just want it once this month? Sushi (staying on topic!) is also an excellent example: I want five different items, not the one that I'd get by going to Tokyo Fish (plug: best sushi-grade fish shop in the East Bay) because I don't want leftover pieces of 5 kinds of fish in my refrigerator for the next week. If I want to make sushi, I invite a crowd over. Also true for gadgets: I'm never buying a milkshake maker, but I feel quite confident that the milkshakes I get when I'm hankerin' for one are 'inferior' to one I _could_ make. C'est la vie, I get them anyway!
- Convenience
Sure, I *can* make something, but isn't it worth it to get someone else to make it for you sometimes? Even if it's not as good? I think it was Einstein who proved that "Time = Money" ... and in the convenience column, it's darn near Highway Robbery what it costs get fresh crab served on a plate without any shells. But hey: I'll pay it, because cleaning crab ain't no fun. Deveining shrimp? No thanks, it'll spoil my appetite. Ageing my own beef? Brining my own pork chops? Smoking my own brisket? There's a limit.
- Variety
Have you even had (let alone learned how to cook) everything that is on a menu? I often go to restaurants just to try something different, whether or not it ultimately turns out that I can or can't make it better at home. Or even whether or not I'll like it! Related to variety is atmosphere: sometimes I just like to eat in a different venue than my dining room, and the food can take the back seat. Or trunk, if there's a bartender who has taken me on as a challenge.
- Access
I'm about the best steak griller in the world, I swear to your God. But: there are cuts of beef that are simply not available at the store. That's right: the producers cull some of the best stuff for the top restaurants. That's how they run their business, so if I want a fantastic steak I pay up for it, even if, given access to the meat they get, I'm *sure* I could do a better job. Doesn't spoil my enjoyment of it one little bit. Another example: pimentos de padron, good luck finding them (found them *once* at the farmer's market at the Ferry Building); but I can just stroll into Cesar any old summer evening: they have their own supplier, and they don't sell them to me.
All that said, if you're going to restaurants where you think the food is inferior, I'd suggest you move on to the next one.
> The exception is ethnic cuisine ...
Which cuisines aren't ultimately ethnic? :-)
/jordan