Restaurant Recipes @ Home
There are several restaurant cookbooks in stores these days. Todd Wilbur, for example, has written several restaurant secret recipe books. Let's say you've eaten at a certain restaurant, you get the book, and you see the recipe for the dinner you ate there, awesome! You thought it was one of the best things you ever ate, otherwise why would you get the book. So, you make the recipe at home, and it taste different, why?
It may taste even better, or it may be worse. Here is the caveat, where you obtain your ingredients and where they get their ingredients are probably different places. You buy retail, they buy wholesale. The brands are different, thus seasoned differently, and who cooks them, can cause deviation from the original recipe and we all put our own personal touches on everything.
Meat, Poultry, and Fish being involved can really change the dynamic. Organic, Free Range, Wild, Domestic, and the list goes on. One solution, become friends with the owner, have him or her sign your book, and explain how you duplicated their recipe, and it wasn't quite right. I'm sure they will be flattered enough to go over what you did, bought, etc and help you achieve your goal. You will still eat there, even if you can make it at home, because it's easier to eat out, but now you know you can do it, mission accomplished.