Prom dining tips: Do some research before the big

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 6, 2005 by Compiled by Valerie Phillips Deseret Morning News

It's prom time. By the time the girls buy a dress, the guys rent the tux and provide a day of entertainment, dinner, photos, etc., there goes next year's college tuition. Well, almost.

This past week, my son, Eric, has been checking out a pre-prom restaurant for his group of about 10 couples. We've taken a field trip and looked over menus. We've gotten a lot of "word-of-mouth" advice and considered whose mouth it came from.

A super-foodie gushing about the exotic ingredients? A meat-and- potatoes lover? Someone who rates a restaurant by the kind of toy in the Kids' Meal?

It's true, kids need to make their decisions, and you can't fully control how any dining experience will go. Trying something new is part of the adventure. But a little guidance helps. For my oldest son's first girl's-choice dance, the group ended up eating at the ZCMI Food Court because all the restaurants were packed. Being new to the dating scene, Jess and his date let the other kids plan the evening, and nobody thought about making reservations.

And you always hear funny stories of kids who catch the buzz about some fabulous place but are clueless about the food or the cost. Only after they're seated and looking over the menu do they realize they're in way over their head. So they order the only thing on the menu they can pronounce ("steak") and make their dates scrounge around for enough money to pay the bill.

Readers sometimes ask me to recommend a restaurant for a special occasion, and I won't do it. (This is why I'm not mentioning any restaurants by name in this column.) Our Dining Out critic, Stacey Kratz, has a better feel for restaurants, and I don't know your tastes or budget. Like high school kids, you need to do your homework.

But here are some suggestions on how to choose your own special place:

-- For ideas, you can check out ads and Stacey's reviews in the Weekend section on Fridays. (Past reviews can be accessed from our Deseretnews.com archives.) Many restaurants have a Web site with menus, which gives you an idea of the type of food and prices. Eric wasn't too keen on the fussy food served at some highly rated places. "I don't want to go anywhere that I read the menu and start laughing!"

He also didn't want to have his date say, "Oh, yeah, I remember this place. I came here last year with so-and-so."

-- Prom isn't the time to pinch pennies, and maybe kids don't care about prices if Mom and Dad are footing the bill. But it could save embarrassment if you have a ballpark idea of costs. And what good are those algebra and trigonometry classes if you can't figure out an 18 percent gratuity? Some places offer a fixed-price dinner, so you avoid paying separately for salad, dessert, etc.

But as a friendly chef pointed out, "The girls won't eat very much -- it's that fit-in-the-dress thing. They should just order a kid's meal and save some cash!"

-- After narrowing down the choices, drop in and check out the ambience. Eric said he wanted somewhere that felt "exclusive." (I used the term "swanky" and got laughed out of the room. Not very cool.) He didn't want noise and crowds. But if it's empty during rush hour, there might be a good reason -- maybe the food is bad or the service is lousy.

Eric spoke with the managers, asking about large-group seating, special prom menus and gratuity charges. (If the charge is already included in the bill, you don't need to leave a separate tip.) We also asked about parking. If there's a nearby garage the girls' hair won't get drenched if it's raining, and valet parking always seems classy.

-- If you have the time, try out the place beforehand. If not, take a chance. If it's great, you'll have fond memories. If not, you'll have something to laugh about in years to come.

The decision is still up in the air. So readers, tell me: what's your best advice for picking a "prom" restaurant?

E-mail: vphillips@desnews.com