The Dining with Notebook Manifesto outlines an ingenious way to get a better dining experience, with some effort and preparation:
Because IÄôm a bit of a food-geek, I always had a notebook to take down my observations in text and drawings. I semi-noticed that the chefs and staff would become aware of my scribbling in the notebook and that the level of dialogue and service would go up Äì but it never quite surfaced in my mind why this was happening. It was not until one chef finally asked me what magazine I wrote for that the light bulb clicked on Äì they thought I was a critic. Cool.
Mark Larson 
