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Although some of the listed 'tricks' will be specific to the UK, such as #4 which refers to UK tipping regulations, others may be helpful here in the USA and in other countries as well.
I would also like to encourage readers to add their own suggestions on getting the best value from a dining experience :-)
Example: I've found that particularly when you're in for breakfast at downscale cafes and restaurants where the chef may not be the best, ordering a breakfast entree involving eggs will reduce the opportunities for screw-ups in the kitchen and wasting your time with re-ordering a mangled meal. How much damage can even a lousy chef do to fried eggs? Ordering more complex dishes may introduce more opportunities for mistakes.
Always order the specialty. Steak from a steakhouse, fish from a fish restaurant, Eggs and waffles from a Waffle House, etc.
Fish from a steakhouse usually makes for a mediocre meal.
Q: How much damage can even a lousy chef do to fried eggs?
A: Plenty!
Did the UK diners go thru the US educational system? The article seems to state that the UK diners are pretty damn dumb.
OK. When you go to Sonic, use the new drive-thrus. Management times these, and the service is faster than pulling into a slot your truck can't fit into, anyway.
Go on Tuesday after 5:00. This is when they run the #1s half price, or buy one, get one, depending on your accounting esthetics.
DO NOT let them talk you into putting cheese on the burger! This is an extra dollar, and you're driving these burgers home anyway where you already have cheese looking for a raison d'etre.
Here's where the math gets a little tricky. You clearly don't want to eat two separate hamburgers (how bourgeois is that?)
You want to pick the best top bun, the best bottom bun (yes, they differ in quality). You will use the second-best bottom bun for the middle, as you're essentially recreating the Big Mac.
Extract the two pieces of meat, cover with cheese, microwave, and re-assemble with all the lettuce, tomatoes and onions for one bigass burger.
Your cost: $3.50 including the tip for the carhop.
Two words: Wine Markup. For example: Why does a Montecillo Crianza that I can get for $12 at my local liquor store go for $40-$50 at local Spanish restaurants, particularly as said restaurants pay even less than $12 a bottle due to case/volume discounts?
In the US, the Chef's leftovers are often used for "Sunday Brunch." I'm willing to bet that the majority of Sunday brunches in this country are prepared using leftovers.
I don't know..."light custard" sounds pretty exotic to me.
No fish dishes on Monday, especially on special, even more especially if it’s in a sauce or cajun (to cover up the fishyness).
I think Anthony Bourdaine wrote that advice because fish markets are typically closed on Sunday. My experience is that the fish was delivered to the restaurant perhaps three times a week, so Monday’s meal might have been in the fridge since Friday.
At least this article isn't overly PC. I know plenty of feminist harpies who would be adamant that the above statement is sexist.