I experienced this when I moved to Houston, and I've commented about it before. People told me everywhere that the abundance of restaurants was incredible, that

I experienced this when I moved to Houston, and I've commented about it before. People told me everywhere that the abundance of restaurants was incredible, that I had to try X restaurant and Y cafe, etc. After trying them all, I've found them to be pretty bland. There's not a lot of complex flavor, food is inconsistently cooked, stored, etc. The weird thing is that the meals look incredible, like they're visually stunning but boring to eat. I only really noticed this after I started copying some Gordon Ramsey videos I was watching online. Preparing easy, simple meals the way that he prepares them (taking care to select produce and quality dairy, using fresh herbs, etc.) yields food that's better than I've eaten in 90% of restaurants. These aren't the really long "how to cook like a Michelin chef with a blowtorch and truffles" videos, either, these are like the "quick and easy broccoli soup with goat cheese and walnuts" videos.