Creativity enters into it. But I have to agree with Maryrrf, also having had an expense account for guests at one time. Some enjoyable, some not.
The best French restaurant I ever found was in the market town of Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, and reasonable to boot.
A good continental chef operated a little restaurant in Black Diamond, Alberta, and we would drive down there (over an hour) just for a meal.
In New Orleans we ate several times at a hotel (name forgotten) where food was excellent, no wait, and service of a high standard, again not pricy. Much preferable to a couple of the big names. And for lunch some little gumbo places were excellent.
I never had a bad meal in Portugal. An excellent country for a food lover.

A few weeks ago for a birthday we ate at a restaurant in Calgary that was high on an international list, and were disappointed by both quality and service.