Section 6.2. Restaurants

6.2. Restaurants

After "What movie should we see?", the followup question often is, "Where shall we eat?"

Just as you can look up film reviews, locate theaters, and buy tickets online, you can use the Web to find a nice place to dine. Along with address, directions, and phone numbers , most sites list menus and price ranges. As a result, you won't faint into your fancy origami napkin when you find out the only thing you can afford there is the house salad.

Your local online newspaper (Section 5.3) probably has a good online dining guide, especially if you live in a larger town. Another good bet is a city guide, like Citysearch (Section 5.3.3), particularly if you're out of town. Most guides cover a wide range of restaurant types, along with wine bars, pubs, and other nightlife hangouts.

Several excellent restaurant review sites have also popped up in recent years . In addition to letting you search for a place to chow down by cuisine, location, or price, most restaurant sites allow diners to post their opinions of the food and service.

6.2.1. Restaurant Row

With information on more than 170,000 restaurants in 13,000 cities worldwide, it's safe to say you'll find somewhere to eat on Restaurant Row (www.restaurantrow.com). You can look up an eatery by name or do a Zip code search to find nearby restaurants. If you register, you can even make your dinner reservations through the site (member price plans, like wine lists, vary). The Reviews section lets you read others' comments and add your own. You also get photos, directions, andbest of alla digitized copy of the restaurant's actual menu, so you can start planning what you want to order (see Figure 6-2).

Figure 6-2. The View Menu feature on RestaurantRow.com gives you an advance peek at the selections and prices before you even leave the house. (The View Menu button is on the main listing page for most restaurants.)

6.2.2. DineSite

Part restaurant guide, part electronic magazine on the art of eating , DineSite (http://dinesite.com) offers a studied view of the local food scene in 12,000 cities. You can search by style of food, location, or price. Eateries are also catalogued under Business or Romance, in case you're hoping to get lucky at work or play. The site provides maps, menus, and reviews for each restaurant, and lets diners post comments. (In fact, if you fancy yourself a food writer or photographer, DineSite welcomes you to contact them about contributing your talents.)

6.2.3. Restaurant.com

Virtual tours of dining rooms, special offers, and gift certificates make Restaurant.com (www.restaurant.com) a good place to visit before heading out to eat. After you browse the menu, you can read the chef's biography or email the manager if you have further questions. The site often has special deals and discounts with other food companies, like cookies from Mrs. Field's or live crustacean deliveries from LobsterGram.