Freshen Up...Your Dining Experiences

As you know, we do most of our eating at home. I cook almost all our meals, and we try to eat clean 80% of the time. I love the meals I make for us; they are flavorful and delicious. But sometimes this girl needs a break from the kitchen. Sometimes I don't want to cook. Sometimes I don't want a clean-eating meal. And Ryan is great about making sure I get those breaks. 

I'm such a creature of habit, and that extends to my eating-out life. I like to consider myself incredibly low maintenance when it comes to picking a restaurant. It doesn't have to be fancy. It can be Wendy's. You really can't beat the bang-for-your-buck of a 4 for $4. Sometimes I prefer fast food to sitting down to something slow and fancy. 

But like anything else, that can lead to a big, fat, eating-out rut. And as much as I love the ease and familiarity of fast food, I also thoroughly enjoy trying a new place or eating something a little different from our standard choices. Maybe you're in the same boat? Maybe you need to freshen up your restaurant choices as much as I do!

Here are some of my ideas, which I hope we can implement this summer!

1. Explore a culinary trail.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Might as well start out with a lofty goal, right? Have you heard of culinary trails? They're lists of restaurants in (generally) the same geographical area. Sometimes the trail is all about one specific kind of food (like a donut trail) and sometimes it can be more like a restaurant progressive dinner that takes you from course to course. Either way, a trail is an especially great option if you don't like to plan outings, because all the work has been done for you. But even if you do like to plan (and I do!!), this can provide a fantastic break. Enjoy someone else's planning for a change!

If you want to find a culinary trail in your area, just Google it. If you're in Indiana, here is a (long!) list of options. You could pick one theme and try everything in that list! BBQ your way through the state, for example. If nothing else, this helps you see new parts of the state and try your favorite food from a variety of places. Here's another example of one I want to do...it's a chocolate trail! It even has a passport that you can have stamped at every location. Doesn't that sound fun? (As you can see, some trails are meant to be conquered all at once and others are meant to be explored over time.)

2. Try a local place you've never visited.

Photo by Clifford Yeo on Unsplash

You can't tell me you've been to every restaurant in your own city (unless, of course, you live in a very small town with few options). My guess is there's some little hole-in-the-wall diner somewhere near you...and you've never been there. It might even be the kind of places others come from near and far to visit, but you've never been once. It's true: we ignore the stuff right in our own backyards.

Back when we lived in Marion, Ryan and I got up super early one morning, before he had to commute to Kokomo for the day, and we tried out this tiny breakfast diner tucked away in the middle of a residential area. We were the only non-regulars in there, and we discovered the food was delicious! Had we not moved away, I can imagine we would have gone back many more times for early morning dates. 

But in the big picture, not much has changed since we moved. We have a new selection of local places we've never tried, and I'd like to! (There's an itty bitty restaurant here known for its tenderloins, and I've never been there. We should try it this summer.)

3. Treat yourself.

For this point, I direct you back to the beginning, where I mentioned I'm perfectly content with fast food. Sometimes you can switch it up by trying out something fancier than you'd typically visit. A couple of years ago, Ryan and I went to a rotating restaurant down in Indianapolis. It's high up in a hotel and gives great views of the city as it (slowly) spins. Definitely a step up in class and cost from where we usually eat, but it was both delicious and an amazing experience. 

On our honeymoon and again on our 5th anniversary, we took a dinner cruise in Sarasota Bay. (Actually we did the lunch cruise on our anniversary, so we could see things in the daylight) and that was a special treat, too. Beautiful views and way too much (good!) food. 

4. Food trucks for the win!

You didn't think you were going to get out of these suggestions without a little grease, right? We don't live in a big city with lots of food truck options, so they're still somewhat of a novelty for us. But we have a lot of fun with them, and I think one of our favorite food truck experiences was the time we went to the food truck festival. There were probably a couple dozen trucks set up all in one area, and we could pick from several. I haven't forgotten the grilled cheese we shared. It was that good. 

I love food trucks because they do one thing well. Sure, you may not have a ton of variety (unless you hit up a festival) but you should have a great version of whatever you get. 

5. Try a food experience.

The first year we were married, we went on a double date to a fondue restaurant. I loved it. The food was good, but I loved the whole experience just as much. The next year, we went with the same couple to a Brazilian steakhouse, and that was a lot of fun, too. (Even though it did put me into a food coma...) That same couple (are you seeing a theme here?) took us to a tapas restaurant, and we didn't even know what that meant. Even though it wasn't our favorite experience (too much food sharing for our tastes), I'm glad we tried it.

My parents went to an Amish dinner once. It was at an Amish home and gave them the full experience. They loved it. I've also heard that farm-to-table dining experiences can be unique and fun.

***

And of course, Wendy's will still be there for the normal, rushed days. But maybe you can freshen up your dining a bit this spring and summer! (And if you're local and find a gem, TELL ME!!)