Scrappy Seafood
There is nothing more relaxing and enjoyable than going out to eat with your family and friends. Whether it’s visiting a new restaurant or returning to an old favorite, nothing beats dining out. Unfortunately, according to the employees at some of your favorite restaurants, these places might not be as safe as they appear to be.
Certain places have all sorts of different tricks to help them save a buck, but they could be costing you big time! Find out from the people who work there which dishes you should absolutely avoid when you go out to eat…
Scrappy Seafood
1. “Seafood specials or buck-a-shuck oysters.
Not As Fresh As You Think
It means, ‘My seafood delivery is tomorrow, and I’m trying to get rid of my old stock.'” Even if you are a passionate lover of seafood, this has to be enough of a scoop to keep you away from the stuff!
Not As Fresh As You Think
2.
If It's Unpopular On The Menu, It's Probably Not Fresh
“Check out the menu carefully, and if there is an item used only in one dish, like the only thing with cherries is the cherries jubilee, then the chances are it’s not as fresh as the rest of the menu and you’ll want to do your best to stay away.” That makes sense; if the item is in short supply, the restaurant is likely just trying to get rid of its leftovers.
If It's Unpopular On The Menu, It's Probably Not Fresh
3. “If you order something that’s not popular (grilled chicken sandwich, salad, etc.), it’s going to be old as s***.
Dirty Ice
I’ve seen grilled chicken sit in a warming pan for eight-plus hours before being handed out. Salads are usually pre-made once a week, and all we did was add some chicken strips on top before serving.” Oof, this is gross!
Dirty Ice
4. Think twice before you ask for extra ice in your drink—or just ice in general, if this employee is to be believed.
Order What The Place Is Known For
“Ice, almost everywhere. Unless you’ve seen people take apart the ice machine and scrub the whole thing out, there is definitely mold in those.”
Order What The Place Is Known For
5. “Order what a place is known for.
Undercooked
I used to work at an Italian beef place, and the beef sandwiches we served contained Italian beef cooked at another location and dropped off daily, giardiniera and peppers we prepped and cooked ourselves, bread delivered daily … quality food. Fresh.”
Undercooked
6. “As a prep and grill person for a burrito chain that advertises its lack of GMOs, I would say chicken.
Don't Order The Chilli
A lot of cooks tend to undercook it, so you get some raw pieces. I also suspect it’s where a lot of the outbreaks from years past originated.” Duly noted.
Don't Order The Chilli
7. Chili might be your go-to order at the restaurants in your area, but after reading this one, you’re going to want to think twice. “Don’t order chili at a certain ’50s diner-style fast-casual restaurant.
Well-Done Is Always A Terrible Choice
Just please don’t. I’m begging you.” It makes you wonder what’s in there…
Well-Done Is Always A Terrible Choice
8. “Never order a steak well-done. I guarantee you that the chef will pick the oldest, sh*ttiest meat from the back of the shelf.
Expired Antipasto
You’d be better off ordering a burger.” Yikes! Did you know that having this preference could result in your getting less-than-fresh steak?
Expired Antipasto
9. “We sold an antipasto salad that was just made up of the ends of all the lunch meats and cheeses we didn’t sell. They were usually expired, but we cut them up in cubes and covered them in Italian dressing.
Massive Menu
I never tried it, but it sounds disgusting. People loved it, though.”
Massive Menu
10. Does the menu seem a little bit too massive?
Fishy Rules
There’s a reason for that—and this employee isn’t holding back about it. “Any restaurant with an eight-page menu is serving you frozen food that gets microwaved or boiled in the bag.”
Fishy Rules
11. When it comes to fish there are some rules you need to live by—and this is one of them if you want to keep eating the stuff.
Regular Tea
“Don’t order the fish on a Monday, as chefs get their last fish order of the week on Friday, and they don’t get a new one ’til Tuesday.”
Regular Tea
12. If you love sipping a restaurant’s signature tea, then you need to hear what this employee has to say… and maybe go and check your sugar levels while you’re at it.
Moldy Produce
“The ‘famous’ tea is just regular-a** tea bags from a national retailer mixed with four pounds (literally) of sugar in a giant vat.”
Moldy Produce
13. “I don’t know what it is about raspberries, but out of all the fruit we received, they regularly had dead bees in the box and that’s just the beginning of their problems: they would get moldy.
Why Is That On Special Today?
I didn’t have that problem with blueberries or blackberries, though.”
Why Is That On Special Today?
14. You might think the special you’re getting is top-of-the-line, but it could be headed for the trash.
Expensive Salads
“Most special dishes are either ‘trying a new dish to see if it should go on the menu or not’ or ‘trying to get you to buy this product before I have to throw it out.'”
Expensive Salads
15. You might think that ordering a salad when you go out to eat is a healthy alternative to some of the more fattening foods, but sometimes salads hit your wallet hard, whatever the calorie count.
Gross Soda Machines
“Salads. Easily the most marked-up item.”
16.
Unwashed Lemons In Your Beverages
“Those freestyle soda machines almost always have mold up in the ice chute unless the chute is fully taken out and the inner bit actively scrubbed every night, which I would not trust is actually done regularly anywhere, no matter how nice the restaurant is.” Hold the ice, please!
Unwashed Lemons In Your Beverages
17. When you order a drink or a salad or some pasta you might expect a nice twist of lemon to add a pop of flavor and tang to your food and beverages. However, having a lemon at a restaurant is more dangerous than you might expect.
Frozen Pork Chops
“Lemons. They do not get washed.”
Frozen Pork Chops
18. In certain restaurants, there are particular types of meat you should just say “no” to. “Pork chops, for my restaurant.
Special Meat May Expire The Next Day
They’re frozen, don’t thaw well, and none of us cook them properly. They’re ALWAYS sent back, so we don’t quite understand why we still have them.”
19. If meat takes the center stage in the special of the day, run away.
If They're Known For It, They May Be Storing It Unsafely In Bulk
“Never get ‘the special’ if it’s chicken, fish, or beef because that means the meat is expiring the next day, and they are trying to sell it before they have no choice but to pitch it.”
If They're Known For It, They May Be Storing It Unsafely In Bulk
20. If a restaurant specializes in a certain type of dish, like a pasta, you might think that means that they whip up a fresh batch every time someone places an order.
Stay Clear Of The Loaded Baked Potato!
You would be wrong. “We kept the spinach Alfredo in a giant open tub underneath the sink.”
