The gastronomic adventurers

My parents are so funny. They've been married for 40 years and the whole time they've been the quirkiest culinary explorers you've ever met. One of the reasons (so they say) we moved to Sydney from Detroit was because of the varied and brilliant restaurant scene - even in 1985! (We'd lived here before then, and the olds still had grand memories of dining out.)

Growing up mum cooked a plethora of insanely good food (Dad eventually caught up, so his skills are now a match to Mum's... it's competitive times at the ranch), but we also ate out a lot. Chinese, Mexican and Italian gradually turned into North Indian, African and Russian. Today they're still discovering new places and pockets - from noodles in food courts to pub bistros on the water. As a kid there were plenty of "ewww" moments, but it set me up to be (a food snob?) an explorer of my own. I have to try everything once. Ok, almost everything. Hold the snake.

A couple of weeks ago my parents went to one of their fave restaurants for dinner. They had a new waiter, a Portuguese man, so what's the first question Dad asks him? "Where's your favourite Portuguese restaurant in Sydney?" He just had to know! Without much delay, they ate there last weekend. And loved it. Dad isn't just clever in the way he finds the most delish eateries in town, but when it comes to ordering too. First thing he looks at is the specials board, and then if he trusts the waiter he'll ask them what they recommend. And that's how you eat well people. Professional reviews are great, but an honest opinion wins every time.