WHAT RESTAURANTS RATHER YOU DIDN’T KNOW
Most of us love to eat out at restaurants. As we get older I think we especially enjoy not having to cook or clean up. However, this means trusting others to prepare and handle our food. At home you keep your kitchen and dining area clean and prepare your food with proper regard to its freshness and at appropriate temperatures. Who knows at a restaurant? More people are getting sick with flu this year—which can strike especially hard at seniors. Plus a dose of food poisoning is mighty unpleasant at any age. Still, with a bit of knowledge and some precautions you can lessen your chances of jeopardizing your health.
Here are some tips from Pragati Shukla at NDTV.com in her article Kitchen Confidential: 10 Dirty Secrets Restaurants Don’t Want You to Know [I haven’t included all 10, as some aren’t relevant to this article.]
Pass on the Buffet: Most buffets are a breeding ground for bacteria for the simple reason that all that food sits at uneven and inconsistent temperatures. In addition, a buffet is always almost full of leftover ingredients, food made from starch or food that’s heavy in fat.
The Cold Truth: The ice machines at most restaurants are almost never cleaned. When they do clean it, after six months or even a year, there’s mold and black gooey stuff that comes out of the filters and ice holding bins. This comes from a guy who has worked in the restaurant industry for over 11 years and has seen this first hand. Same goes for the soda machines. Tell the waiter to skip the ice in your water or mixed drink. And pass on the sodas (which is healthier anyway).
Clumsy, Ho: If you drop food at your table that’s not covered with linens, do not pick it up and eat it. Most restaurants use the same old rag to wipe tables, transferring all that filth and germs from table to table. Same goes for the tray; restaurant workers hardly have time to clean them – or they’re cleaned with that same old dirty cloth.
Word-Play: Usually, all those warm and toasty words on the menu are meaningless. The word “fresh” is the worst offender – it could just mean ‘never frozen’ or something that’s recently been brought into the restaurant. Other words to steer clear of are ‘of the day’ and ‘specials”—soup of the day and chef’s specials are usually made from yesterday’s leftovers and they’re highlighted or marked down until they run out of it. Especially watch out if the specials contain fish or is some kind of ‘gumbo’ – you know they’re trying to get rid of that stuff – fast.
Walk Past the Salad Bar, Please: The toppings, fruits and vegetables like carrots, tofu and chickpeas could be heavily reused for days. At some places, toppings that aren’t used one day are stored in a refrigerator and just reused the next day. It’s common for restaurants to repurpose ingredients—but it’s not always done in the most creative way, and you really don’t want three-day old chickpeas on your plate.
I Wouldn’t Touch That: That pineapple slice that comes with your cocktail? Don’t eat it. Most toppings that come with drinks are left on the bar minus refrigeration for the entire duration of a server’s shift, and they’re used in the next shift as well. Likewise, never touch lemons or limes at restaurants. They’re cut up in the morning, left out in the open, handled by way too many people and they’re never washed. They’re the most unsanitary item you can find at a restaurant.
Here are some other tips:
Wash your hands after reading the menu. Menus are hardly ever wiped clean even though they’re handled by party after party of diners.
Bread or chips may have been at other tables before they’re placed on yours. Rather than throw them away, the restaurant may assemble your basket from uneaten slices of bread or chips from other patrons rather than throw them out. Just skip them—if nothing else it leaves more room for your main course.
Your glass of wine could have come from a bottle open for days or from a bottle sent back by another customer because they didn’t care for it. If possible, order the full bottle and share it at your table.
Ordering coffee at night? It’s probably decaf. When you order regular caffeinated coffee and the restaurant is out, chances are you’ll get served a cup of decaf. Since many restaurants only brew decaf in the evening, it’s even more likely that you’ll get the switch. Still, if you tell them you need that real coffee to help you drive safely home, they’ll probably brew some up just for you.
Hopefully, these tips will help you breeze through dining out during these winter months with good health.
Bon appétit!