The longer you live, the more it makes sense why we’re told to avoid finding out “how the sausage is made.” While this saying can be used to discuss a lot of things, it’s just as true when taken literally. Food is wonderful and necessary, but as anyone who’s worked in a restaurant can attest to, sometimes the reality isn’t pleasant at all.

Someone wanted to know what items to avoid ordering from chain restaurants, so they asked people online to share some insider information. Get comfortable as you scroll through, take note in case some of your favorites show up, upvote the most interesting additions and if you’ve also worked in a chain restaurant, add your own thoughts to the comments section below.

#1

Anything listed as “seasonal” but still on the menu yearround usually just old ingredients they’re trying to get rid of.

Image credits: deduz00

#2

Red lobster microwaves the pasta in plastic bags. Not sure what they are made out of but I doubt that can be healthy.

Image credits: Environmental-Bit335

#3

Definitely not the soup.
Anything left over that’s still edible but not pretty good in the soup.
Over-steamed veggies? In the Soup.
Miscellaneous left overs? In the Soup.

Image credits: Kind-Elderberry-4096

#4

Avoid Starbucks cold brew from a tap. This also means Nitro.
Not a single person who closes knows how to clean the filter and I PROMISE you your drink is running thru hair and mold caught in the filter.

Image credits: Waanchor

#5

Applebees- your mashed potatoes are microwaved. Also your skillet meals are only “sizzling” because they tell us to put a piece of ice on it as we are walking it to your table so you can visibly see it.

Image credits: MA3XON

#6

Ranch dressing. It usually comes in a large plastic container, loaded with preservatives, and is brought out to a warm kitchen multiple times a week for months.

If a restaurant manages to get to the bottom of their ranch container, then the top will always be engulfed with a yellow sticky paste that all future ranch glides over to reach your sauce cup. Yuck.

On top of that, if it’s coming from a DC in California, it often sits in a 130F box and cooks and cools the entire way through the entire desert.

Image credits: ChatGPT-GaslightBot

#7

Wendy’s FrEsH never FrOzEn burgers. They come frozen half the time.

Image credits: Particular-Leaderr

#8

I’d avoid the chicken anything at Panera. Ours was shredded by the dishwasher guy who did not wear gloves and would stop shredding, handle the dishes, then go right back to shredding without washing his hands at all. 

I also always gave the soups the side eye. Sitting in luke warm water for hours – sometimes all day if it wasn’t a popular flavor – until someone ordered one. I’m just not sure about that. 

Edit: Dishwasher GUY 😂 Sorry y’all. He was a person who operated the dishwasher appliance and also shredded the chicken for some reason. .

Image credits: Its_Curse

#9

Subway! Our store was super clean and run by normal responsible people so no real issues there but if a store makes the tuna the way corporate wants you to it’s just WAY too much mayonnaise. We did half the amount and it was fine/good but I bet other stores just follow the directions.

Image credits: _mcfly

#10

I have worked at:

Chipotle

Steak N Shake

Subway

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

QDoba

Jimmy Johns

I would rather starve than eat at a Subway. That place is nasty. In particular the seafood salad or sensation or whatever it was (which I don’t think they do anymore) and the meatball sub are exceptionally nasty. But it’s all gross. Not clean. Cheap a*s ingredients and not real bread.

Chipotle was super clean when I worked there 20 or so years ago… but their food was also good 20 years ago… and now not so much. So I don’t eat there. But it was fantastic back in the day.

Jimmy Johns was very clean, I still love Jimmy.

Steak n shake – do not order chicken tenders. They take longer to cook than we can wait on a drive through timer so they get precooked and sit out far too long

Image credits: PepeSilviaConspiracy

#11

Tim Horton’s slogan of “always fresh” actually means “always frozen”.

Image credits: Tensor3

#12

Not food but the ice those ice machines almost never get properly cleaned.

Image credits: Kshi-dragonfly

#13

Don’t order the chicken wings at Outback. Slow turnover means it’s usually rancid.

Image credits: Siaburque

#14

A couple years ago burger king changed the chicken sandwiches to raw chicken. The person i know that worked there said when they are busy they pretty much never temp them to make sure they are fully cooked and after having raw ones returned, they didnt bother to fully sanitize the work stations.

Image credits: bergskey

#15

Wendy’s chili was the only sus thing. It’s never really put away or cleaned or refilled. The pot’s just always there….

Image credits: StumblinThroughLife

#16

I worked at McDonald’s in Highschool for 3 years back in the late 90’s and it was such a ridiculously clean store. We cleaned the soda machines every single night, we cleaned the grills every night, we cleaned the oil regularly, we cleaned the ice cream machine every single night. Our machine was never broken regularly, and if it did really break then it was down for a minimal amount of time depending on the time of day or if it was the weekend. We never messed with people’s food. We were high as s**t in the grill for sure but we never ever ever messed with food. We were one of the biggest and busiest stores in my city too.

It’s always so disheartening to hear how disgusting things are in kitchens in restaurants.

Image credits: SabresHerd007

#17

I never worked fast food, but please do not ever get the freshly squeezed orange juice at Sam’s Club. 

I used to work there and the horrors I would see. 

The juicer thinks they’re immune because they have gloves on. They wear the same gloves from the start of the shift until the end. Going to the bathroom with it, picking up stuff from the floor with it, scratching their a*s with it, etc. .

Image credits: xNesku

#18

I used to work at McDonald’s and I’m surprised the McRib hasn’t killed people yet. Weird-looking pork patties sitting in old BBQ sauce for HOURS without being cleaned or changed.

Image credits: KayderossKid

#19

Calamari. I don’t work in the industry, but there’s a recent ‘This American Life’ that investigates whether pork a**s is being used as a Calamari substitute. Their research was inconclusive but it wasn’t a hard ‘no’.

Image credits: PaMudpuddle

#20

Don’t order slushes from Sonic. The machine is difficult to clean, so it’s not done as often as it should be. Everything else is pretty clean though.

Image credits: NoNipNicCage

#21

Applebee’s, don’t order a steak when they’re really busy. Common phrase in the kitchen was “mark it and mic it”, as in put grill marks on both sides, then nuke it in the microwave to keep those 12 minutes ticket times rolling. Bourbon Street steak medium rare is safe enough though since it finishes on a skillet.

Image credits: kikazztknmz

#22

I’ve worked a lot of fast food. The big thing is never eat at a restaurant that doesn’t have a full parking lot at lunch or dinner time. They’re guaranteed to be using outdated products, selling leftovers, and making weird substitutions or leaving things out. Managing inventory is a nightmare in a dead shop.

So remember that the next time you pull into Long John Silver’s at noon and there’s only two cars.

Image credits: i__hate__stairs

#23

Don’t get the meatball subs at any sandwich place. They are kept in the sauce in the chafing tray all day, and then reused day after day. Meatball never seems to be a brisk seller so it’s very possible you’re getting some old meatballs.

Image credits: TodayIAmMostlyEating

#24

If you’re getting any fountain beverage anywhere, cross your fingers that the staff clean the spigots. They get moldy if not cleaned regularly.

Image credits: 2worms

#25

Mcalister’s don’t order the nachos bc we be skimping tf out the chips and meat.

Image credits: leonadus00

#26

Gonna break the hearts of a bunch of Chicagoland people here, but my cousin worked at a Portillo’s.

The burgers were always undercooked. There was no way they could cook them long enough and meet the prep time that their corporate overlords demanded.

Also, any hotdogs that were made in error just had the condiments wiped off and were tossed back into the water. He said the water would have a red tint from the residual ketchup.

However, when I told him I typically ordered the Italian beef with a side of chili, he said those were the few things he said were safe, so it’s not all bad. And the above issues I stated could’ve very well been relegated to the store he worked at.

Image credits: TricellCEO

#27

I refuse to eat any nacho cheese from Taco Bell. It looks fake AF and comes in a bag. One time a customer wanted no dairy, I had to remake an item because I accidentally put the nachos cheese on it. It’s so garbage that I didn’t register it as dairy, just That Fake Sh*t.

Image credits: Hyperactive_Sloth02

#28

Least cleaned in most restaurants are ice machines and soda guns.

Image credits: turkleton__

#29

Cici’s Pizza…..just all of it. I worked there from 06-09 and there is a reason it was like 3.99 for all you can eat. Checking their site now they still have a deal for 5.99$ all you can eat Mon and Tues. How they have kept that price point for almost 20 years should be all you need to know.

Image credits: alexdev50

#30

I worked at red lobster for a while between undergrad and law school. I would not order anything from there. There’s no way I’d probably even step foot in one. Jesus Christ that place is gross as f**k.

Image credits: Bliptown

#31

Steak ‘N Shake. Not exactly a “restaurant” but please don’t order the shakes lol!!

Unless things have changed, the shake station is one of the least favorite roles. The base for the shake is a very frozen, rock solid, “heavy cream” like mixture. It was almost impossible to scoop out and you have maybe 2-3 minutes to get the shake made. Attention to cleanliness isn’t prioritized when you have backed up shake orders and an establishment that’s short staffed.

#32

Years back I used to manage a Starbucks, the store I took over was pure black mold in the ice machine and the ice bins.

I used to go to different stores to show them how to properly clean the ice machines because people couldn’t read a manual.

#33

Dont get ice in your drink. The ice machines almost anywhere aren’t cleaned nearly enough.

#34

I grew up on a farm. when you go to amish country, beware that they are known for their craftsmanship and not their cooking. buy the chair, skip the pie. if you don’t believe me, look at their feet.

#35

Worked at The Cheesecake Factory in college. Honestly would go back and eat there now — I never saw any mishandling of food/bevs. The soup is made fresh every day btw — it’s all hella good so don’t sleep on it! The broccoli cheddar and chicken tortilla are 10/10!

#36

Bob Evans a few years back. If you go to Bob’s, just remember the old saying “it’s barely food in the first place, eat somewhere else”.

#37

I worked at dennys in dtla, stay away from that one completely. They would stay getting their food delivered using a U-Haul.

#38

Logan’s Roadhouse. Just don’t eat there at all. Every inch of it is disgusting.

Taco Bell. I can’t speak for every store, but the ones I worked in were clean an efficient.

The Olive Garden. Don’t bother ordering the breadsticks. They’re the WORST. Again, very clean, even if it’s pre-canned overpriced Italian “fusion.” Best to eat there at lunch rather than dinner, though. You can still order from the dinner menu, but the kitchen hasn’t lost its mind yet.

#39

I’d avoid most soups, they’re typically prepped in large batches then cooled rapidly, but the batches are too large to cool effectively and sit at temps ripe for bacteria. Then they are heated slowly again to a temp that is just high enough to reduce growth, but low enough not to burn. And that is where your soups cycle until the manager deems it too old, depending on the manager that could be one day, could be several.

Also avoid meat loafs, or any “specials” that are a hodgepodge of ingredients. These were made from ingredients that were about to turn. Again, that “about to turn” is determined by the management of that restaurant.

#40

Worked at McDonald’s in high school. The food is real, but it’s highly processed. The only I don’t recommend getting is the filet’o fish. Not because of bad product or anything. But because no one orders it so it usually sits in the heating cabinet far past its fresh window.

#41

Probably gonna get buried but for anyone who does see this – do not ever eat the burger from Arby’s. When it first came around, they were deep frying it. Now they microwave precooked patties because people were getting sick. Why do they do this? Because Arby’s doesn’t have a grill, flattop, or stove.

from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/0izT4ry
via IFTTT source site : boredpanda