Do you feel compelled to look up restaurant menus before going out?

I'm also not super adventurous about food. I like to try new things- but only if I know what's in it, where'd it come from and how it was cooked :) I don't eat meat so I have even more reason to want to see the menu before I go. I've learned to be more inquisitive and ask the waiter if I can change things out or ask what it is. I used to only order off the menu, but in the last 5 years or so I've learned that they will swap out most anything for you if you ask nicely with a smile :) I do hate, however, when the waiter doesn't know what the food is. If I ask what is this made of or "is there bacon in that soup" and they don't know, I think they gotta learn their menu better. I'm most impressed by waiters that know the menu without even looking at it.

on people like us, my wife calls me picky har har har, it is really very nice if the waiters are well oriented with the dishes they serve. but if ever they dont know about the recioe i think it is better to call for the manager. on my part i am not much of a veggie eater so i dont go to the recipe that serves a lot of veggies.

Ppl often say I'm picky BUT I think I'm less picky then them a lot of times :-D If the waiter doesn't know for sure, I usually just pass on that item b/c I don't want to wait another 15 mins for him to find the chef or manager and remember to ask. So i think that's what makes me less picky, if I sense a problem with a menu item I want to change, I just say screw it and get something else. The funny thing was at outback the other day, I asked if the Alfredo pasta was cheaper if I got it without meat, it was so I ordered it. Then for the salad he asked if I want bacon on the salad. I just thought it was funny since I went out of my way to get the ONLY meat free thing at outback and he wants to give me bacon on my salad :) The good news is that pasta was regularly priced at 14$ or so, but for me with no meat it was like 5$! I'm going there again :)

Yes we do the same thing, reviewing menus before we go if the place is new or if we aren't sure what we want. However I like to even look at menus of places I've been a bunch of times b/c menus do change. I've had instances where I didn't look online, got to the restaurant, and my favorite menu item was gone! I only feel rushed when the wiater seems to hover - coming back every 30 seconds "are you ready yet??"

that's a good point about wanting to try and make the items at home. I have a lot of picture on my phone right now of restaurant menu items. Like I was at Chili's the other day and they had this molten lava chocolate chip cake... looked so good! I took a picture of the menu description so I can remember that and try to do it myself :) It does stink to go to a new restaurant and find out there is nothing you are in the mood for, or worse, nothing I can eat since I don't eat meat. If I'm given a choice between a few restaurants, I'll definitely review the menus to pick what I will order before I tell the person which restaurant I choose.

Yeah it's just so much easier to know in advance what you want. The worst is when someone is chatting my ear off and I'm trying to read the menu. I like to make sure I pick the best thing I want :) I will still go to restaurants that don't have menus online b/c many of the local ones do not, but I have to really focus once I get there and review the menu before any conversation picks up!

I am so indecisive too but no one knows it b/c I review the menu ahead of time :) No one can tell this either - but I often am not even sure I want what I'm ordering! Haha, as the words are coming out of my mouth, I'm often thinking in my head "is that the best choice??" Sometimes I just say whatever comes out when the waitress gets there b/c if I think too much about it I may never decide.