The next time you’re at a hotel in an unfamiliar city and looking for recommendations on where to go and where to eat, do what I do.

Check with three separate people as great resources: the hotel maid, the hotel bellman, and the hotel doorman. Ask them where in town they live, then ask them for their favorite place for breakfast, lunch or dinner in those neighborhoods.

But then, don’t stop the questioning. Ask them for their favorite dish and their reasoning why.

Finally, ask them for the name of the owner, waiter or waitress. Chances are they know.

Then, you’re most likely to find a great, affordable restaurant in a neighborhood that doesn’t have a brochure and that the guidebooks would never even recommend. And it’s an opportunity to immerse yourself in the culture. You’ve also now made friends with the hotel staff.