The discussion of control dishes when visiting a new restaurant gave
me this insight:

an optimist would order the hardest dish under the theory that if they
get that right then simpler dishes should be a snap, and they can work
their way down.

a pessimist would order the easist dish under the theory that if they
get that wrong then any more difficult dish is beyond them. If the
restaurant does get it right, they'll work their way up in increasing
difficulty.