Exploring new cities is fun. You can experience different cultures, find new friends, see new places and generally have a great time. But, travelling these days is not just about seeing new places; it’s also about eating local food made at a local restaurant according to local traditions.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that you will find a reliable and clean place and it’s not unusual to tourists to fall sick after making poor food choices. So this time, before you travel, here are a few tips that will help you find good, clean local restaurants or eating places.
Look for crowds — Local restaurants are filled with locals who know that the restaurant offers good food at an affordable rate. As a result, these restaurants offer great value for money. You won’t find backpackers, business people, or international foodies and the food will be great.
Use technology — Fellow travellers are more than likely to vent about bad restaurants online. You can use Google to find reviews about local restaurants. Make sure you use relevant keywords like ‘new restaurant st louis‘ and ‘local restaurant st Louis’ to find the best restaurants to try out. Don’t forget to try out local food blogs too, as these websites too as they usually carry great recommendations and personal experiences. Websites like Chowhound and TripAdvisor are great as well. Apart from Google, you can and should use apps to find the top restaurants in a particular city. For example, food apps like OpenTable, UrbanSpoon, and Foodspotting are great places to find small local restaurants. In fact, OpenTable has even tied up with popular review site Yelp to list reviews along with the restaurant menu on their app. This means that a single click on the app will load restaurant menus, reviews, and location details. Not bad, right?
Go walking — One of the best ways to find good local restaurants is just by walking about residential communities. For example, look for new restaurant St Louis is spread out along the banks of Mississippi River and it has some of the most beautiful architecture in the state. The city has 79 local neighbourhoods and rich mix of French, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian cultures. In fact, this is probably the only city where you get a strong Bosnian influence. Communities like Bevo Mill, Mehlville, and Oakville have some of the best Bosnian mom-and-pop restaurants in the city and they offer great food at affordable rates. Just take a few minutes to walk about the city and you are bound to bump up against great hole-in-the-wall restaurants offering lip-smacking cuisine.
Ask the cabbies and the cops — Yes, that’s right. Think about it; cabbies and cops are usually on their feet 24-7 wandering about the city. Don’t you think they will know great places to find affordable food? Moreover, cops and cabbies frequent places that offer cheap good food provided in large quantities. You could end up eating very, very well for a very small fee. Just chat up local cops or the cabbies and you are good to go.
Don’t be afraid to try small eating joints. Mom-and-pop places are usually scrupulously clean and you could end up eating the most wonderful meal of your trip. If you arent sure about a restaurant, just pop into the bathroom or the kitchen and check out how they prepare food. If you arent happy about the cleanliness, then its not the place for you. And it’s not always the restaurants fault. To ensure that you don’t transfer germs on to the food, carry wet wipes and a hand sanitizer to ensure that your hands are clean at all times.
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