Stay Far Away From These Restaurant Menu Items
Going out for dinner can be a real treat. It's nice to have someone else do the dishes for once while eating a hot meal with friends and family. The restaurant business can be shady, though, and there are some foods that you're better off making at home. You can't always see what goes on in restaurant kitchens, and we're betting that if you could, you might never eat out again.
That's not to say that all menu items are unsafe or better left unordered, you just have to know what to look for. Keep reading to find out which items you should never order off a restaurant menu.
Get Raw Oysters Only From Reputable Seafood Restaurants
Oysters are delicious and nutritious. They're an acquired taste, but some people can't get enough of these salty, slimy morsels. Oysters can carry harmful bacteria, though. Make sure that you're ordering fresh oysters from a restaurant that specializes in high-end seafood.
"Eating raw oysters is dangerous for certain groups of people because some raw oysters contain bacteria or viruses that can cause disease. A bacterium called Vibrio vulnificus that is in some oysters can cause severe illness and death in people with certain underlying medical conditions," says Dr. Duc Vugia, Chief of the Infectious Diseases Branch at the California Department of Public Health.
Order Bottled Water, Not Tap Water
Bottled water is wasteful, which is why it's best to invest in a water purifier at home, however, you can't exactly bring your water purifier with you to a nice restaurant. While in most states, it's safe to drink water straight from the tap, tap water can still be loaded with trace amounts of contaminants that can be harmful if continually ingested over time.
Why take the risk if you can avoid it? If you want to cut down on your plastic usage, ask if the restaurant has glass bottles or cans of carbonated water.
The Truth About The Soup Of The Day
The soup specials could be a seemingly innocent way to disguise the leftovers from a previous day. A discussion took place on Reddit with various anonymous users chiming in with there unique - and sometimes scary - accounts of working in restaurants. One tip from an anonymous user reading: "Soup of the day. It's just yesterday’s leftovers."
Further in the thread another user states: "[I avoid] Soup if it's late. That soup has been sitting on the warmer all day."
Creamy Soups Aren't Healthy
Many restaurants will ask if you'd like to start off with a soup or salad, sometimes at a discounted price. While brothy soups can be an effective way to curb your appetite without blowing the calories, creamy soups can be very high in the things you're trying to cut back on (salt, fat, calories, etc.) and low in the nutrients you're really after.
If you want to go for the cream soup, eat it as a meal with something to balance it out like a salad or a side of vegetables. But if your heart is sold on a different entree, skip the soup altogether.
Don't Order Medium Rare Burgers
This has to do with the nature of minced or ground meat. When meat is ground or minced, more of the surface area is exposed to the air, which increases the likelihood of coming into contact with harmful bacteria.
The United States Department of Agriculture recommends cooking ground beef to a minimum internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 °C) to effectively kill harmful bacteria that may cause illness. The safest bet is to ask for at least a medium cook next time you order a burger.
It's Extremely Difficult To Make Hollandaise Sauce To Order
Have you ever tried making hollandaise sauce at home? You have to stand over a pot constantly whisking to make sure that a proper fat emulsion forms and the sauce doesn't separate and go lumpy. Restaurants don't have time to make a fresh batch of hollandaise sauce every time somebody orders an eggs benedict.
The sauce also often contains raw, or undercooked eggs that can carry bacteria, especially when left out at room temperature for extended periods of time.
Buffets Are Breeding Grounds For Bacteria
Buffets are often wallet-friendly eating experiences, however, they aren't always stomach-friendly. In recent years, the health and safety regulations regarding buffets have gotten a lot stricter, but that doesn't mean that buffets are now totally safe.
Hot foods need to be kept hot and cold foods need to be kept cold. Buffet food often sits out at room temperature for far too long, and that's just an invitation for bacteria growth. Plus, you never know who's put what body parts in the food. Kids are always putting their hands in things they shouldn't.
Bread Basket Woes
This goes for all shared baskets of cheap foods - Like peanuts, popcorn, and various breads. These bar style snacks are teeming with bacteria due to the many hands typically passing over them.
If that weren't bad enough, bread baskets generally contain white bread which isn't great for your waistline. While a slice of white bread isn't really considered a high-calorie food at roughly 100 calories, if offers almost no nutritional benefit. There are enough calories in your appetizer and entree to justify skipping the bread baskets.
High Sodium Cheese Fries Are Dangerous
As though french fries weren't delicious enough, some genius decided to throw cheese on them. Many restaurants now include the popular dish on their appetizer list or as a side. While many would probably recognize this item to be high in calories and fat (four day's worth according to CSPI), the overlooked danger is the salt.
The CSPI reports that this delicious invention can contain 5,000 miligrams of salt, more than three times the recommended daily amount, when served with ranch dressing.
Save Money By Staying Away From The House Salad
This suggestion is the least scary of the list because it has nothing to do with health. Rather, ordering a house salad merely limits the diner in what they are ordering. When paying top dollar to eat out, you want it to be worth the expense. Sometimes house salads are one of the most marked-up items on the menu.
Chef Kayson Chong tells Reader's Digest, "I prefer to have something special that a chef created with seasonal products and interesting combinations."
Is It RVegetarian, Though?
A survey conducted by Food Network found that 15% of chefs admit to some animal products existing in a vegetarian dish. While not all restaurants are so careless, sometimes the chef preparing the food is unaware that a recipe has an animal product ingredient.
It is best to stick to places that specialize in vegetarian or vegan food, preferably one that omits animal products altogether to avoid cross-contamination. Otherwise, be sure to ask about each ingredient in the dish rather than asking about the menu item as a whole.
Don't Ask For Substitutions
Chef Christopher Faulkner told Delish, "Unless you are allergic to something, never sub-out one ingredient for another on a composed dish. In a trusted restaurant, the chef knows what he is doing, and a great marriage has been pre-arranged."
On top of the risk that you'll concoct something less tasty than the chef's original, even the slightest change can cause confusion in a kitchen with tons of other orders. With each change you make, the likelihood something will come back wrong increases.
Don't Order Water With Lemon
A study published in the Journal of Environmental Health found that 70% of the lemons tested contained bacteria. This is due to waiters not taking the necessary precautions (using tongs and gloves) to grab your lemon wedges.
Like most garnishes, lemons often are handled with bare hands, sometimes even while they are sliced. While a bartender who is being watched amy be more likely to wash their hands, a waiter who is rushing through the kitchen may not feel the same way.
Bottled Ketchup Isn't Always As It Seems
In an effort to avoid waste, many restaurants will combine the contents of tabletop ketchup bottles after a long, busy day. Surprisingly, this isn't against health codes (depending on which state you live in).
If you sanitize the bottles before refilling them, refilling isn't a big issue, but chances are your friendly neighborhood diners aren't boiling or sanitizing the ketchup bottles just before closing time. It's best to stick to ketchup packets. They might create more waste, but at least you know they aren't contaminated.
If It's Cheap, It Isn't Kobe
Kobe beef is some of the most delicious and most expensive beef that you can buy. It's so expensive because of its unique fat marbling. The fat of the animal is distributed in a thin web evenly throughout the beef, so when the meat cooks, all that fat melts and flavors the entire steak.
Also, Kobe beef has to be flown in all the way from Japan. If you're paying less than $100 per pound, you're not eating real Japanese Kobe beef. American Kobe beef isn't sold for less than around $50 per pound.
The Truth About Buffalo Chicken Salad
This bad boy breaks all the rules while appearing to be the healthy option. Fried meat and oily sauce contribute to this salad's 74 grams of fat and over 3,000 grams of sodium, according to WebMD.
While the lettuce does offer some vitamin and mineral benefits, it isn't enough to outweigh the rest of the salad's cons. Unlike many other salads which have a variety of fruits and vegetables, these salads often only offer a handfull of lettuce, which barely counts as a serving of vegetables.
Don't Fill Up On Sweet Tea
Sweet tea is delicious, but if you think you're being healthy by ordering a sweet tea instead of a soda, that would be incorrect. There is as much added sugar in sweet tea as there is in regular Coca Cola beverages.
All of that sugar can make you feel fuller quicker, which isn't great if you want to enjoy the lovely meal that you paid for. Not to mention that ingesting that much sugar is really bad for your health. Stick to unsweetened tea or plain old water.
Wedge Salads Are Wildly Over-Priced
Wedge salads are absolutely delicious, but if you think you're being healthy by ordering a "salad," you'd be dead wrong. Iceberg lettuce isn't very nutritionally dense at all, and blue cheese dressing and bacon are full of fat, sodium, and nitrates. If a wedge salad is your idea of indulging, however, you could make this dish at home for under $2.
Don't pay five or even ten dollars for something you could make at home pretty effortlessly.
Don't Pick The Chicken Parmesan
You might be thinking, hey, what is a delicious meal like chicken parmesan doing on this list? Well, we're here to tell you. Because of the way chicken parmesan is breaded and cooked, it more than often arrives to the table severely overcooked.
Chef Phil Pretty, of Long Beach's Restauration says, "I would never, ever order Chicken Parmesan. It's always frozen before cooked and tastes like a gross version of chicken nuggets." It's best to stay away from breaded chicken products in general unless you're getting some authentic European schnitzel.
Raw Sprouts Can Be Dangerous
Who doesn't love a little extra crunch in their dish? Evidently, people who would like to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Sprouts can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, and E.coli. This is because these harmful bacteria thrive in a warm, humid environment associated with growing sprouts.
With as many health benefits as they have, sprouts are probably best saved for consumption at home unless they've been cooked. Raw sprouts at restaurants should be avoided.
The Harsh Reality Of Fresh Squeezed Juices
Unlike pasteurized juices, freshly squeezed juices are dangerous for the same reason as drink garnishments. When squeezed, any bacteria on the surface of your fruit can contaminate your juice. A good option for enjoying freshly squeezed juice is do it at home.
You'll need to wash your hands, remove any fruit that's bruised or damaged, and thoroughly wash the surface before slicing and squeezing. Or you can simply purchase fruit juice that's been pasteurized and treated for bacteria and harmful pathogens.
Unpasteurized Cheese Can Cause Listeria
Pasteurization is the process of applying heat to destroy pathogens in food. However, certain soft cheeses skip this process, like brie, queso fresco, and camembert. These cheeses are therefore more susceptible to carrying certain harmful bacteria like Listeria. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend steering clear of these cheeses unless labeled as made with pasteurized milk.
The CDC estimates cheeses made with raw milk are 50 to 160 times more likely to cause a Listeria infection.
Careful With Those Take-Out Boxes
The FDA has a two-hour rule regarding food that is sitting at room temperature. Most people dining out don't get home for at least an hour after their food has left the boiling water, fire grill, or hot oven that it was cooked in, and that's just the people who are headed straight home.
As an alternative, share meals that you anticipate will be too large to finish completely. Better yet, order multiple plates and share them family style. Sides can always be added on to ensure everyone get enough to eat while nothing goes to waste.
Fish Isn't Fresh On Monday
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain (RIP) wrote a book called Kitchen Confidential in which he exposes the gritty underworld of the restaurant industry. In the book he writes, "I never order fish on Monday, unless I'm eating at a four-star restaurant where I know they are buying their fish directly from the source. I know how old most seafood is on Monday - about four to five days old!"
Fish markets aren't open on weekends, so Monday restaurant fish has likely been sitting in the fridge since Thursday or Friday.
The Truth About The Daily Special
Specials are typically avoided for the same reason as the "Soup of the day" - They're often made with leftovers! Many chefs won't even order the "chef's special" at restaurants due to popularity of using leftover meats, and old vegetables and sauces. Some restaurants tend to stretch these ingredients to avoid waste.
The truth is that you're more susceptible to foodborne illness when you're eating these past-their-prime foods as they aren't usually monitored as closely. That's not to say ALL restaurants are guilty of this entry, but it's a lot more common than you might think.
Pay Attention To The State Of The Bathrooms
This one just makes sense, a lot of people correlate a dirty restroom to a dirty kitchen. While this may not always be the case, it's definitely something to consider when choosing the establishment you'll be patronizing.
"I won't eat in a restaurant with filthy bathrooms. This isn't a hard call. They let you see the bathrooms. If the restaurant can't be bothered to replace the puck in the urinal or keep the toilets and floors clean, then just imagine what their refrigeration and work spaces look like" says Anthony Bourdain.
Raw Flour May Contain E. Coli
Caution should be exercised when handling raw flour products since it can contain harmful germs like E.coli. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2016, E.coli infections linked to raw flour made 63 people sick.
These germs and other harmful bacteria are typically killed when brought to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) or hotter so cooked pizza is usually safe, however, handling the raw dough should be treated carefully. Be sure to wash your hands to avoid cross-contamination.
If You Can Make It At Home, Make It At Home
This may sound a little obvious but it's interesting advice to live by and encourages adventuring and exploration of new foods. Tanner Agar, CEO of Rye Mckinney, suggests you should order foods you can't simply make on your own. He encourages his guests to explore dishes that require higher-level techniques or equipment.
"By ordering something you can make, you make it impossible to have that thrill of a surprise that a great, unexpected dish can create."
Don't Be Swayed By Luxurious Items
Caviar and white truffles are just a couple of the items restaurants will markup far higher than their worth, usually because they are items less sought after at the store and, generally, less known how to prepare.
However, you may be surprised how inexpensive and simple these gourmet meals can be to prepare at home. Plus, will many luxury dishes a little goes a long way, and can last longer when you're the one buying and preparing it, rather than paying top dollar for a tiny serving.
Stay Home On Valentine's Day
Like most other holidays, Valentine's Day leaves restaurants overcrowded, which often leads to issues resulting from overly congested kitchen orders. Plus, most of the tables are taken up by couples, which means there are less empty large tables to snag.
Notorious chef Gordon Ramsey became sentimental when he told Town & Country, "Busy kitchens with tons of diners means you don't get the true feeling of the restaurant. You should be cooking on Valentine's. What's more romantic than a meal cooked for your partner with good bottle of wine?"
Never Order A Well Done Steak
Most chefs agree that ordering steak well-done depletes the flavor out of the meat. A chef on Reddit wrote, "The care and dedication to a craft has been thrown out the window." This care and prepartation is exactly why you may so much for a steak at a reputable restaurant.
When steak is prepared closer to Medium, the tasty juice has not evaporated and the texture can cut and be chewed. Some are afraid of the safety, but that's why you go to a quality place. When the steak is cooked through, you may as well get a cheap one from a run of the mill spot.
Diet Cocktails Aren't As Advertised
A 2015 study by Northern Kentucky University found that those who consumed an adult beverage that had been made with diet soda had a 25% higher BAC when compared to those who drank a non-diet mixer.
While this may seem like a more costly way to dine, you're actually more likely to order additional food when your inhibitions are lowered. Plus, when it comes to driving home, the 0.08% limit can easily be crossed when a small detail like mixture increases the effects.
Value Meals Cause Obesity
Some restaurants, primarily fast food places, offer a lowered price when you order a drink and a side with the main dish as compared to paying for all three items individually. However, a study published in the Journal of Nutrition states that people who are faced with a stressor have higher blood pressure after eating a high-fat meal.
In other words, keep the calories and unhealthy fats to a minimum by staving off those cheap add-ons.
Ask For Drinks Without Garnishes
This one is a little tricky since bartenders technically aren't serving or preparing food, so they aren't held to the same sanitary standards of the kitchen. The problem is that when you order your favorite cocktail, it's garnished with fruit that hasn't been held to that standard either.
A study conducted by The Journal of Environmental Health found that 69.7% of lemons tested from 21 different restaurants were contaminated by some kind microbial growth. So, it's best to skip the lemon slices next time you hit the bar.
Too Much Pasta Isn't Good For You
Pasta is cheap to make and very filling, making it a perfect way for restaurants to turn a profit with all you can eat deals. The USDA suggests six to eight ounces of grains in an entire day. This means that if pasta was the only grain you ate that day, you should not exceed about one cup's worth.
Since restaurants often serve larger portions, you could easily blow an entire days worth of grains on one order of pasta, let alone countless refills. And given how cheap it is to make, you're better off ditching the bargain.
Free Refills Are A Trap
The American Heart Association recommends not exceeding 37.5 grams of added sugar per day. However, in just one soda there can be an entire days worth of added sugars. It can be tempting to quench your thirst with a sugary drink, especially when the refills are free.
Instead, order a soda water. If you would like to trade in desert at the end for a soda, then order a water with it and allow you're waiter to clear the empty glass rather than bringing back another one.
Don't Fill Up On Chips And Salsa
In many restaurants, a bottomless basket of chips and salsa are used as a means to tide over hungry diners. However, chips and salsa can do more than ruin your appetite. According to Livestrong just ten tortilla chips have about 150 calories. While salsa only has about 10 calories per every two tablespoons, it can cause you to continue eating in excess the chips.
In addition to increasing your calorie intake and ruining your appetite, these chips aren't as nutrient dense as the meal you've ordered. That means that calorie for calorie, the chips are less likely to keep you satisfied. So hold off and let a well-balanced meal feed your hunger.
One Piña Colada Is Enough
The NIH does not recommend consuming more than two drinks per day for women. According to their cocktail content calculator, one piña colada actually counts as two drinks, meaning that the content in two of these dense drinks is the equivalent of four recommended drinks.
On top of that, the sugar content in one, 4.5 ounce serving is about the same as a soda and nearly double the calories. Think of this drink as a spiked desert worth waiting until the end for.
Shark Meat Can Be Toxic
A study published in Science Daily found high levels of mercury, arsenic and lead in the blood of Great white sharks in South Africa. But these sharks aren't the only toxin-riddled ones. Researcher Neil Hammerschlag says, "As top predators, sharks bio-accumulate toxins in their tissues via the food web from the prey they eat."
This means that sharks accumulate these substances through the food they eat. Eating sharks continues this pattern by passing along these compounds to those that eat the shark.
Not A Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast specials are usually some variation of the following items: toast, pancakes, hash browns, sausage, bacon, and eggs. Then there's add-ons like cheese, syrup, butter, and jelly that cause the sugar and fat content to further skyrocket.
The primary issue is not just about the portions, but about how colorless the foods all are. Color is a simple way to evaluate your meal because foods that are naturally pigmented are often high in vitamins and minerals. Instead, order something that has more fruits and veggies and less sugar and starch.
