Menu Shopping

Its an interesting thing when you are walking around with friends or family and you are looking for a place to sit and eat in a foreign place. Most of the time, with me, I choose a place purely on the ambiance and the scene it gives me from first glance, while others are more concerned with the details. This leads me to my question: Do you always check the menu outside before you enter a restaurant? The answer for moi is No. If, for some reason I am seated, served some water and given a menu and the choices do not seem appetizing or affordable, I simply order something that I can manage or can afford and go on my merry way. I like the idea of having a drink in one place, eating at another place, walking down the road and then having dessert in a completely different place, then repeat if I need coffee after. For others, they want everything in one package. They do not even look inside the place to see who's there or the decor and just walk right up to the menu to see if they have something they want and if they can afford it. To me this all seems sort of tacky and touristy looking. Imagine observing the scene while you are sitting there having dinner; people walk up, look at the menu, discuss with everyone around, then decide its not for them and walk away which seems weird because you have no idea why they wouldn't eat there orrrrr they do decide they want to eat there and are seated right next to you. At this point you are annoyed because unlike you, who are familiar with the place you are eating at, are now surrounded by newbies who are invading on your local spot. For the people just seated, it feels rather odd and gives off a peculiar feeling whether they can finger it or not. They are totally on the spot. I prefer to walk right in and get a feel for the place through my own experience. I can gather what I can from the interactions once I walk through the door instead of judging a book, in this case a restaurant/bar, by its cover.