Your Money: Avoiding a Heaping Helping of Disappointment

IN his 10 years as a restaurateur, Todd Rodgers has learned to read lips across a crowded dining room. “Wow” is easy to understand, he says.

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A crab cake dish.

He also looks for other signs that he has provided diners with a good meal at Blue, the seasonal restaurant that he and Bruno Pouget own in Surf City, N.J. — plate passing, for instance, and forks full of food offered to dining companions. And smiles, of course.

But while restaurateurs know what to look for, diners often face the unknown when looking for a good restaurant and a good dining experience. A bad meal and its frequent companion, bill apoplexy, usually occur because diners haven’t done their homework.

As a professional eater — I review restaurants for the regional section of The New York Times — I have learned to use research, attention to detail and even chutzpah to get a good meal at an upscale restaurant. These techniques do not always work, but they work often enough.

Like nonprofessionals, I often begin with a recommendation from a trusted source, then explore the restaurant’s Web site.

“I make most of my food decisions before I ever get to the restaurant,” says Chris Canlis, a Seattle restaurateur with his wife, Alice, and family, at their restaurant, Canlis, since 1950. He says he looks for the menu on a restaurant’s Web site. “I am asking myself, ‘What is the culture behind the menu? Are these people who care about food and care about people, or are they people who are running a restaurant just because they want to make a living?’ ”

Once you are at the restaurant, and either waiting for a table or about to open the menu, it’s time to spy. “Look over your neighbor’s shoulder,” says Betty Fussell, an author living in New York. “It’s good to know the size of the portions. And check out the joint, to see what other people are eating.”

Are vegetables, whole grains and fruits and vegetables commanding half the plate, or are green beans a garnish? Is there too much rice? Is sauce lapping over the sides of the platter? Is there, as Mr. Rodgers disdainfully describes it, “excess for the sake of excess?”

“The value of my dollar isn’t based on how much food is on my plate,” he said. “It’s based on the dish itself and the quality of ingredients, the flavors and the overall dining experience.”

Ms. Fussell, who has found both appetite and wallet shrinking as her age increases (she is 80), goes to dinner only with good company, and like Mr. Rodgers, is not looking for quantity. She says she has cocktails at home, and when she opens the menu, she looks first at the main dishes to determine costs. She considers the fixed-price option because that is the advertised value. She skips side dishes, and often opts out of main dishes in favor of a couple of appetizers.

Her approach to appetizers is becoming more common, says Michael Batterberry, who, with his wife, Ariana, founded Food and Wine magazine and Food Arts magazine. Small portions, he says, work for small appetites and budgets, and for those who want more tastes per meal.

Another basic is knowing what you hunger for. I have a perpetual craving for salads and well-made vegetables. Pristine salad greens and imaginatively prepared produce and side dishes tell me that the chef has high standards and an understanding of flavors beyond the easy satiating power of grilled meats.

Mr. Canlis searches the menu for clues: light, fresh, sustainable.

In my experience, a small and simple menu indicates listings that change with the season, a kitchen with less perishable food on hand.

Nora Pouillon, whose Restaurant Nora, in Washington, was certified organic in 1999, says she balances both menu and plate for her diners (many of whom are health-conscious or on special diets) with protein, ethnic flavorings and preparations, and at least three fresh vegetables.

“I never do a beurre blanc; that’s cheating,” she says. “When you want a lean meal and the fish is poached in butter, with lemon-butter sauce and the vegetables are poached in butter, the purpose of ordering the fish is gone.”

A promising sign on a printed menu is provenance plus preparation, like “grilled Barnegat Light scallops,” with a description of “New Jersey dandelion, guanciale, celery,” at Blue.

The item and its ingredients seem to indicate an interest in buying local, in perhaps paying more for it, and, possibly caring to make the most of the ingredients. I ordered it, and was right.

E-mail: yourmoney@nytimes.com.