When it comes to fine dining, nothing beats a great meal at a fantastic restaurant — followed by a little something sweet, of course.
But picking the right restaurant is a lot trickier than it seems. Too often, the atmosphere is off, the menu is all over the place, or the service is just a little bit lacking. But that’s just how it goes, right?
Wrong! Fox News recently spoke with several celebrity chefs — including Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay and Buddy Valastro, a.ka. the "Cake Boss"— to learn a few tips for dining out like a culinary superstar.
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“Really, what I look for is a busy restaurant,” says restaurateur and cookbook author Mary Sue Milliken. “I like to look at the menu, and see if it’s written … wisely. And then I like to look at what everybody’s eating. I mean, I just pay attention to every detail of the restaurant before I commit to it.”
Giada De Laurentiis, too, shared her secrets for avoiding second-rate restaurants.
“I look for warmth in whoever is the first person to greet me, number one,” said De Laurentiis, who added that she won’t even eat at a place that doesn’t feel comfortable and inviting. “Most restaurants are very uncomfortable. Why? Because they want you to sit, eat and get out!”
But even if a dining experience doesn’t go exactly as planned, most chefs agreed that dessert is the perfect way to end the meal on a high note.
“I still love my sweets, I really do,” admitted Carlo’s Bakery owner Valastro. “I gotta tell you, right now, I’m heavier than I wanna be!”
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So, which dessert do they reach for when they’re craving something sweet? More often than not, they told Fox News they head straight to the freezer aisle.
“I am an ice-cream fanatic,” said Bobby Flay. “And, you know, it’s just sugar, it’s cream and milk, and some other stuff … but it’s really is the thing I reach for when I want some excess.”