I have this sentence in my JLPT textbook:
話{はなし}の種{たね}に、新{あたら}しくできたレストランに食{た}べに行{い}ってみた。
I think I understand the part after the comma, which I believe is saying, "... tried to go eat at the new restaraunt."
But I have a hard time connecting it with the part before the comma, 話{はなし}の種{たね}に
. 話{はなし}の種{たね}
is, as far as I understand it, a "topic of conversation."
Does it mean something like, "We went to go eat at the new restaraunt to have a conversation"? Or maybe, "we talked about going to eat at the new restaurant"?
What does this sentence mean, and how does it come together?