Our favorite places to eat in Bangalore...

are the Chinese delivery place on New B.E.L. road, formerly known as 'TAO' but now moved across and down the road with the name 'Tung Nam,' and the Indian-run 'Relish' on the same street.
Both deliver which is a major plus for our lazy, non-cooking selves. Tung Nam has the best fried spring rolls I've ever eaten in my entire life not to mention an assortment of heavenly vegetable dishes - try their 'babycorn and spinach in kanshao sauce' or the 'veg wonton soup' - delectable!
There is also 'Infinitea' on Cunningham Road: a custom tea and chocolate/lunch and dinner kind of place with well prepared western food that keeps us sane during wild cravings for old standards like fish and chips, pasta salads, quiche, and lasagna.
'F-bar' (yes, it's part of the Fashion Bar scheme to take over the planet with huge monitors displaying rail-thin girls prancing around on Milan's catwalks wearing haute couture to the sounds of the latest remix a la heavy bass) has great sushi dishes, and a decent martini on the right night.
'Taika' - also a discotheque/restaurant, offers sprawling white couches to perch prettily upon while enjoying high-priced western/asian fusion entrees, deserts, and salads, plus everything you could ever hope to imbibe from the swank bar housed further inside the establishment.
On a side note: the latter two are some of the very few destinations in this city that actually warrant my penchant for stilettos.

But as far as I can tell it's not so much a matter of which place exactly is fabulous to dine at as it is a set of general rules for all of India:

-Never, ever under any circumstances order a salad that lists mayonnaise as an ingredient. It will come to table as a whopping scoop of the fat white goop with a few bits of whatever-the-salad-is-meant-to-be tossed in for good measure.
If you do opt for such a salad, be prepared to pick the always-inexplicable maraschino cherries off the top.

-If you don't want food so chili it burns your mouth and leaves you wincing with every bite repeat the phrase "No chili please, I am allergic to it, it will make me sick...maybe I will die..." until the guy taking your order actually writes something on the ticket about your request.
There is a chance the kitchen will do what it wants anyway, so order 'mast' (also known as curd or plain yogurt) to help kill the pain after your meal is finished.

-The famous Indian meal of Biriyani rice is spicy by definition, and while you can get an entire Biriyani meal, veg or otherwise, on the street for less than Rs 10 (like 25 cents U.S.) do not be fooled by its mild appearance - it has likely been coated in an oily death-fire sauce that lingers on the palate for ages.

-DO NOT DRINK THE WATER. Under any circumstances. I don't care if you're dying of dehydration. If your server brings you a glass of water it is invariably from the TAP. The tap is taking the water from somewhere beneath the street. See that man outside peeing against the wall into the gutter? He's one of thousands who ignore the many spraypainted 'No urination here' signs. Ask for mineral water, cold or room temp.

-DO NOT DRINK THE MILK. Unless it is in a tetrapak. See that cow outside....near the dogs...no, that one over there...she just ate that entire gutter full of garbage and oil and probably the pee from the guy (Do you feel sorry for the cow? You should.) That cow lives at the local dairy, which is literally right around the corner in the old rundown building surrounded by wild dogs and the upturned autorickshaw with all of its toxic leakage, and will go back later in the day to be milked.

-There is no such thing as Mexican food in this part of the world.
Borrowing from an earlier post:
"Mexican food in India means a "burrito" - vegetarian of course (but that's fine with me all over again), with most of the usual stuff or at least some reasonable facsimile, and a special added bonus, Indian style: a pickled maraschino cherry right on top. I was too curious not to try it - having never seen such things mixed with salsa. It was, as I suppose anyone would expect, sort of icky."

-The yummiest item to order from any place, be it a highway-side dhaba with the lounge beds made of thick rope set out in the carpark for people to sit on, or any of the Sagars (veg places that offer traditional Thali meals [say it "tally"] from the North and South) is:
Babycorn Manchurian, Gobi Manchurian, or any of the other manchurians with a piece of fresh Naan or a Roti. If you don't mind a bit of grease, try a Paratha (say it "parata" or "parota") - a piece of fried dough I can only describe as a wheel of batter spiralled onto a griddle and cooked like a pancake. They are delicious but are so heavy you will weigh a full KG more for two weeks afterwards if you eat one. Here's a little tip: Paratha can also be used in place of laxatives.
Manchurian is a Chinese recipe actually, something the Indians have adapted and put on just about every menu in the country, and it is delicious. Order it dry or with gravy.

The aforementioned Sagars are found all over Bangalore, and India in general, and will be marqueed under various versions such as: Shanti Sagar, Ganesha Sagar, Raja Sagar....whatever. They all seem to share the same essential and extensive veg menu and most offer a wonderful assortment of absolutely delicious Indian sweets. Just point through the glass display case and choose which ones to try, they're all lovely, and at about seven rupees each are a happily cheap mouthful of sweet.

-DO enjoy the coconuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables (especially the coal-fire cooked corn on the cob slathered with salt, lemon, and masala) sold by various street vendors. Let the seller chop open the top of the coconut with a machete so you can drink the cool-sweet water, then wait while he cuts the entire thing in half to present you with the fresh insides.
One note: I would advise against purchasing the oranges and small bananas - at least in large quantity - as they taste just plain weird. I have started calling them 'meat oranges' et al because of the icky-strange carcass-y aftertaste they offer. Not pleasant. Oranges are best purchased at a supermarket like Nilgiri's or City Market - someplace that sits tight and is therefore a bit more responsible about their stock than someone who hightails their wares from street to street on a wheeled cart and has no qualms about pawning the meatiest meat-oranges off on you, the unsuspecting tourist.

-DO try the street food. Particularly from the places that fill up with dusty construction laborers and their families during the afternoon lunch break rush or afterwork and latenight hours. You can get everything from samosas to veg puffs, juices, and various other chaats (snacks) prepared fresh right in front of you. In these cases it's not a bad idea to be ready to eat with your fingers (the traditional Indian way of taking a meal from plate to stomach) or carry your own utensils, as any dishes you will be offered have been used again and again only to be dipped in a bucket or bin or plain tap water for rinsing.

-DO NOT DO WHAT I DID AND EAT EVERYTHING THAT LOOKS INTERESTING.
I ate fried bugs and random other nameless bits of food from streetvendors in Thailand, and while it's a great story and I didn't have any ill affects it made me believe my insides were invincible so I decided once I got to India I was going to eat whatever, whenever - an 'of the people' kind of mentality. Bad move. I was sick in a way that meant hair loss for a number of months because of it.
Remember, you are not of the people. You have not built up since birth the necessary inner fortitude it takes to digest everything and anything that turns out of these taps, kitchens, and farms. Your stomach has been pampered by the luxury of westernized health standards.

Best general advice: when in doubt, don't eat it.
You will have to contend with the fact that India is a generally dirty place and unless you find a way to eat only at the overpriced five-star hotels - thereby avoiding the fact that you are in India altogether - you'll have to eat the food. Some of the restaurants look like they used to be a garage for oil changes but this is just the way it is.
Get used to it, be careful what you put in your mouth, and enjoy!

Some of my favorite foods have been discovered with a random pointing of the finger at an interesting word on the menu. After all, travel is an adventure, and should be treated as such in every presented opportunity and at every possible turn - even of the stomach.
Live and learn and eat, and then live and learn and eat some more.
What else is there?