Factors Playing into How I Spend Money on Restaurant Experiences

Lately I have been thinking about what makes a restaurant really special to me. It is intensely personal as I am sure it is for you. We are so tired of talking about the economy, the stock market, the job losses -- but they are a reality. So, thinking about where I want to spend my money these days has become much more important. I live in Atlanta, travel regularly to Charleston, Nashville, Savannah, western North Carolina, northwest Florida and New York. I travel a lot. Wherever I go, I research where I want to eat. A number of factors come into play:

--Who is cooking my food? Where did they come from? What kind of influences have they had? I don't care so much about the pedigree in terms of school (although if you know nothing else and cannot find anything on the web, school is at least a benchmark of sorts - UNTIL I find out more) I won't lie and say that the character of the person making my food is indeed an element I have truly taken into account in the past. Maybe I am a little extreme but hey, it is my dime right?

--Where are the chefs procuring the food? Okay so first, it is important to buy local, cook seasonally, think sustainably but shouldn't these things be a given by now? What I like is to hear about the people growing the food - maybe something special about them. One of our clients, Chef Jason Alley of Comfort in Richmond, Virginia buys a good deal of his meat from Gryffon's Aerie, a farm outside of Charlottesville. I have no problem paying a bit more for what is essentially the makings of a "meat & three" because I now have a connection to the people that raised the animals. Some of our clients do buy commodity meats and food stuffs - I get it. I still eat at their places and the food is indeed fabulous BUT the service or the relationship to the owners or the design of the space has attracted me so that I can, to a certain degree, feel that my money is well spent and the experience is welcomed.

--The Service Staff. I go to Cakes & Ale in Decatur a lot. It is walking distance from my son's school, the owners are good to my family (yes, they are clients as well) but who keeps me coming back is Corina, the barkeep. She moved to Atlanta nearly a year ago from Seattle, knows a thing or two about beer ( a rarity in fine-dining in Atlanta) and challenges me to order something new. She is a sounding board for a rough day, a sincere smile, and patient as hell with my son who orders apple juice after apple juice. I recently had dinner at Valenza in the Brookhaven neughborhood of Atlanta and connected with a server named Peter. My favorite server in Charleston is the barkeep at McCrady's - Matt. Another favorite server is Jennifer at JOEL. After 11 years in this business, I can literally name dozens of servers who have had a lasting impact on me and my family. Anyone know where Tommy is from the now shuttered Harvest? Troy of NYC's Tailor (owned by a friend of ours Sam Mason) is someone we have known for 10 years. He was with WD50 (Wylie Dufresne's NYC place) and I think he might have been at Siberia Bar (now shuttered) prior to that -- I called him at Tailor a few weeks ago to see if he would "take care" of my sister and found out he actually had our phone number saved on his cell. Whenever in NYC, regardless of the business agenda, I visit him -- I feel good about handing this guy my money. I think you get the point.

--Design. Fair is fair. Yes, I own a design shop for restaurants so of course the design of a place, the identity, the website...is going to be important. I don't need fancy, I need thought put into the design. If it is absent, I am thinking that shortcuts were taken. I remember in 1998 when Jeff were to Fountainhead Lounge in East Atlanta and saw the menu. The place was before its time. The interior clever. The menu was pathetic. He took it home, designed it, and brought it back the next day. The owners were scratching their heads. It just bothered him so much that he had to fix it before we could keep spending money there.

I will continue on this topic but would love to hear your thoughts. Why do you go to certain restaurants time and time again? What attracts you to a restaurant?