Why don’t you check good restaurants when visiting somewhere new place? Most of place have their own culture of foods and particular meals even in the same country. Here in Japan we love to eat raw foods, not just fish (sashimi) but meat. I want to try those foods at the better restaurant as possible because there are only 3 times a day to have meals. If I stay there 2 days, arriving at noon and leaving next evening, there are only 5 chances for experience of food culture. What if the restaurant unplanned chosen offers poor foods and treatment in such a limited time? That’s why I post reviews of restaurants to improve our food experience.
To know local foods is easy way to connect people there. I recommend you to express you like their dishes when you think so. They will be friendly to you hearing that! Then you can get to know their life and culture more deeply, that increases fun on the trip. When I visit Nagoya city for a business travel, I tried their udon (thick noodle) simmered in miso (soy paste) soup in the popular restaurant searched in advance. They have own miso that tastes sweeter than usual miso. When I saw local staff at the first time that experience could be an ice breaker. They told me to try miso fried pork also and we could work well together.
So it’s important to visit good restaurant in the area first to see better local foods to have a good travel experience.