It’s funny you say that. The Greek place I grew up with sold more pizza than anything when they started. Then, my dad tried a gyros. Then, I tried one, then so many more went there for that Chicago Greek delicacy. Damn I love gyros!
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Whenever I hit a new barbecue place, of course I have some brisket, but I always check out their sausage, too. I also sample sides. Best sides so far are the butter beans at Opie’s and the hot Mexican corn salad at Valentina’s.
Upthread in the section on Greek diners there was mention of lengthy menus. Did any of you ever eat at Hausner’s (now gone) in Baltimore? The menu was the size of a People Magazine. The food was surprisingly good given the variety.
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There was a time that if I saw octopus, rabbit, sweetbreads or kidneys I would definitely order it. I am though a lot more choosy about where I order these dishes. Frankly some places have menus writing cheques that the kitchen is unable to cash.
I now tend to order what I think they’ll be good at, rather than what I want. This is especially the case if we are with family or a group and we are at a place that has to have something for everybody.
The amount of times I have left a place going., I should have order the burger.
Edit whoops meant to reply to OP topic in general .
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Good one on the sweet breads. I love a dish of well prepared sweet bread. I’ve tried to prepare them at home once and never again. The work on cleaning and soaking it was just too tedious for me.
Yeah, same. BTDT, prefer others to do that work for me 
Preparing at home is a good filter, even when the results pass the cook’s muster. So for us, marrow bones or tongue on the menu always get serious consideration and almost always are chosen.
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I don’t have any “must order” dishes, but in any new (or new to us) Thai restaurants, Mrs. ricepad absolutely must order pad Thai, which she measures against that of some Thai friends. The friend’s was the first we ever had, IIRC, and assumed it was pretty authentic since they were both born in Thailand and she was a professional chef for a little while.
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Pad Thai has become a kind of place marker for a lot of people. I have become kind of more intent on other Thai dishes after finding out Pad Thai was “invented” less than 100 years ago and is more Chinese-Thai than Thai.
But ine of my favorite Thai dishes is Massaman Gai, which may be more Malay/Indian than Thai so i am kind of a hypocrite twice over…
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That’s so interesting. My markers for a new Thai place are som tam or laab of any kind, or tod mun pla. Tom yum goong if it’s not super hot outside.
But then I basically never order phad thai 
- if I’m going to have a noodle dish it’ll be guiew tiew or boat noodle soup 
This might be a great idea for another post - markers at >insert cuisine< restaurants, but knowing this forum it likely already exists
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Gyros, any place that has them.
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Pad Thai was my go-to for close to a dozen years.
Then, green curry for a few years, red curry and khao soi for half a dozen , then more recently panang curry.
Right now, I’m into the Pad Gra Pow / Pad Krapao Beef-Pork-whatever, and back into the mango salads. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phat_kaphrao
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If I’m at a so so Thai place (my local one for instance) I will order pad thai as it’s nowhere near being my favourite Thai dish. I’ve had so many mediocre pad krapows, khao sois and laabs over the years that ordering a dish that I’m not in live with means minimal disappointment. It will hit the SE Asian noodle cravings spot and it’s a very popular dish meaning they must nake a lot and be reasonably competent at making it.
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I try to avoid so-so Thai places altogether, but I realize that isn’t always possible. The Thai food in my chosen hometown is hit or miss from the same place - sometimes the som tam is killer, sometimes lackluster, regardless of whether we always order it “Thai spicy” or not. It is also not as complex as it could be.
That’s why I just save my various cravings for the summer or visits to other cities, instead of being disappointed
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Agreed but sometimes people come to visit and insist on Thai. I say we have great Venuzuelan place ( v rare in London ) or a great Iranian but if someone’ s craving something. I go to the places that are good at what they do near me and get sort my cravings for other cuisines elsewhere. I have actually found a cafe about a mile from me that does good pad krapow, not open in the evenings though.
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I have that same issue with a single cafe giving me two completely different versions of the same dish. I have always believed that it is simply that I am getting a different chef and the two chefs have different ways of preparing the dish.
Years ago I watched an older Thai lady prepare Som Tum on Baan Bophut nearly every morning for a month. Anyway, she had a cart with 20 or 25 different ceramic jars, glass bottles and tupperware containers and she used nearly every one of them, plus the mortar and pestle, on every order of Som Tum she prepared. Her preparation of the food was a sight to see. It is no wonder that two chefs prepare it differently at a Thai cafe. It is possible that no two chefs prepare the dish exactly the same way. LOL!
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It’s why I mostly have just learned to make my own Thai dishes at this point! Tod mun pla makes a hell of a “burger” 
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Pad see ew and pad kee mao are the exceptions, because the noodles really make the dish and they aren’t easy to come by (yes, I can make them, I just don’t always want to 
)
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Sweetbreads. Love the stuff!
I have a recipe for sweetbreads braised in white wine, which always turns out great, but I don’t make it often as it requires a lot of planning, for the time taken thawing (available only frozen), soaking, and cleaning. Another factor is pricing; a butcher shop close to me charges $60/lb, whereas one that is far and inconveniently-located charges $30.
It’s unfortunate that most restaurants serve chocolate desserts right out of the fridge. At a dinner I asked the waiter to nuke my dessert for 10 seconds. He responded that it would collapse; I told him to do it anyway. Before he took it away a lady at the table asked me if it made such a big difference; I asked her to taste it before and after. She was amazed at the difference.
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