I don't like T-bone. Not in Thailand at least; it is worthless (unless you pay double for something imported, and by the way, Thai will tell you: buffalo work rice field, not for eat... okay, that explains a lot). There are some good places in town, like Cafe New Orleans or Patrick's Restaurant if you don't mind paying a Western price.
I drink wine occasionally; Thai are real barbarians when it comes to wine (they might serve you a glass of wine like a coke: with ice cubes and a straw!), unless you stay in the North near Laos, Nong Kai, where some old colonial French influences crossed the border. A baguette and a glass of wine is all I need when I stay there.
If you wanna get a Thai drunk, it's easy: they might drink Thai whisky like water, but give them a glass of wine and in many cases it works like magic...:-)
I avoid the clamshell stuff, and I will avoid the raw salads in most places too if I suspect some dirty water might be used, because there is one good rule I follow: Cook it, peel it or boil it. Pattaya is pretty safe, but after countless hours on the toilet, I'm careful...
Maybe McDonalds or KFC might be safe, yes, but... I'm not a fast food lover. Pizza in Pattaya? The last place to go is Pizza hut: Thai girls look nice in a Pizza Hut costume, but that's about the only positive thing I can say: the pizza is not the same as you might expect in a US or European Pizza Hut. Better go somewhere else.
In general, I avoid all the western stuff, for 2 simple reasons:
1) they don't know about western food!
2) Thai food is excellent
So, what is left?
Well, you could find me in Tops (corner second/central road) or Carrefour supermarket (near third road). For less than 100 baht you can join a buffet. only Thai food of course. Clean, quick and delicious. Want it really spicy? Then eat with the Thai near the small market, somewhere in between these 2 names I mentioned.
For non-Thai however, I might visit the Hippo/Welcome Inn in soi 2 or the French restaurant Chez Bernard sometimes in soi 3 (they both have good wines too, and they also treat it the way it should be: in a cool environment).
Near walking street I like the new Pattaya Beer Garden, or maybe the Kiss place on second road (opposite Mike).
When in soi 7 I prefer the norwegian Olala restaurant. Not only the food is great, it's a nice lookout too... ;-)
Yep, I know this is a very personal opinion on food.
