I believe that there are a number of factors to having a good restaurant meal. Obviously the most important aspect is the quality of the restaurant and the food. You can't have a good restaurant meal without a good meal. However there are many intangibles (psychological factors, if you will) involved with a good meal. Some examples of those intangibles are:
1) The environment you are in: Is the restaurant quiet and boring or is the restaurant busy and bustling? Are you with an interesting group of people? Is the decor exotic? Are you in a different country and are excited to try something new?
2) Your mood at the time: Are you really hungry and could eat anything? Are you too hungry that you "stop" being hungry (if that makes any sense). Are you not very hungry at all? Are you excited about eating where you're eating (see no. 1)?
3) The appearance and presentation and scent of the food: Food has to look good and smell good before it tastes good. The psychology of taste is very interesting. Nothing makes you lose your appetite faster than trying to eat food that does not look good at all. This could be a factor before you even recieve your meal since you can look around and see what everybody else is eating.
4) Moderation: I'm sure you've all experienced a meal that is great the first time you eat it but the same meal at the same restaurant in subsequent visits doesn't quite taste as good. You can't overdo a meal if it's going to continue to be excellent. Like they say, variety is the spice of life.
5) The novelty of the food: A good meal has to walk the line, if you will. If you have no idea what kind of food you're getting, then your brain could be racked with doubt before you even take a single bite, and that can't be good for the overall meal experience. However, if you know what you're getting is something you like, but something else about the food is different, so you also know it's not going to be like the last time you had it (perhaps a different restaurant or a different variation on a general recipe), then you will be excited in tasting what the restaurant has to offer.
For me, the best meal I've had was in a little Mongolian barbeque restaurant called Bali Hai in Durham, NC. You get all the vegetables and all the beef you want to put into your meal, and they grill it with your chosen sauce right there. It's served with rice. I'll have to see if the Mongolian restaurants in my area will be just as good.
I also have to mention a Japanese restaurant I went to in Guangzhou, China. The food was good, but this experience also draws heavily on all the intangibles. It had been awhile since I had Beef Noodles (and usually I just get the Chinese variety) so I ordered some after I had my fill of sushi. This is what they brought me. OMFG, it looked and tasted so good!!
1) The environment you are in: Is the restaurant quiet and boring or is the restaurant busy and bustling? Are you with an interesting group of people? Is the decor exotic? Are you in a different country and are excited to try something new?
2) Your mood at the time: Are you really hungry and could eat anything? Are you too hungry that you "stop" being hungry (if that makes any sense). Are you not very hungry at all? Are you excited about eating where you're eating (see no. 1)?
3) The appearance and presentation and scent of the food: Food has to look good and smell good before it tastes good. The psychology of taste is very interesting. Nothing makes you lose your appetite faster than trying to eat food that does not look good at all. This could be a factor before you even recieve your meal since you can look around and see what everybody else is eating.
4) Moderation: I'm sure you've all experienced a meal that is great the first time you eat it but the same meal at the same restaurant in subsequent visits doesn't quite taste as good. You can't overdo a meal if it's going to continue to be excellent. Like they say, variety is the spice of life.
5) The novelty of the food: A good meal has to walk the line, if you will. If you have no idea what kind of food you're getting, then your brain could be racked with doubt before you even take a single bite, and that can't be good for the overall meal experience. However, if you know what you're getting is something you like, but something else about the food is different, so you also know it's not going to be like the last time you had it (perhaps a different restaurant or a different variation on a general recipe), then you will be excited in tasting what the restaurant has to offer.
For me, the best meal I've had was in a little Mongolian barbeque restaurant called Bali Hai in Durham, NC. You get all the vegetables and all the beef you want to put into your meal, and they grill it with your chosen sauce right there. It's served with rice. I'll have to see if the Mongolian restaurants in my area will be just as good.
I also have to mention a Japanese restaurant I went to in Guangzhou, China. The food was good, but this experience also draws heavily on all the intangibles. It had been awhile since I had Beef Noodles (and usually I just get the Chinese variety) so I ordered some after I had my fill of sushi. This is what they brought me. OMFG, it looked and tasted so good!!
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