My wife and I try to have dinner out every other week or so, but we tend to fall into ruts, visiting the same handful of restaurants that are close to home, reasonably priced, and reasonably dependable. Sometimes that dinner night comes at the end of a long week or a hectic day, and while we think (briefly) about trying something new, sometimes we just want something that meets our expectations, call it a comfort restaurant!
If you’ve watched Spy Game you might recall ‘Operation: Dinner Out’ where Bishop is having food flown in from London, wanting some home cooked food. Good idea, so I borrowed the name and mangled it some for my entertainment needs at home. We went through the local Foodie awards and came up with a list of about 20 restaurants that we either have never been to, or it’s been a long time, and we’re going to try to work most of these in during the year.
We tried it this past week, planning to go to the Four Rivers Smokehouse here in Orlando, not realizing that all they have is outdoor seating, this on a windy and chilly evening. Short of time on a Friday night we had to come up with Plan B, which turned out to be Smokey Bones. Ok food, extra credit for the pretzel appetizer – nice to have an option other than fried cheese!
It’s interesting how having a list drives behavior. We’re not glued to it, but it does help us think about where we want to go. Even if we only discover one or two new favorites it’s worth the effort, and of course the conversation about where to go is always interesting, if you’re married you’ll know what I mean!
