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[oneplugnickel]

I posted some of this on fark but I'll elaborate more here. I've worked in restaurants off and on for about 10 years. I've worked in every type, from fast food to diner to chain to pizza joint to fine dining. I've worked as *everything* including manager, bartender, server, line cook .. you get the idea.

First of all, I'd estimate that about 60-75% of restaurant employees smoke. Maybe more, depending on the type of place. You never get a 'real' break when you work at a restaurant (sometimes in fast food, but NEVER as a server unless you're working a substantial amount of hours and management feels like being kind). A lot of times servers duck outside when they feel they have 3 extra minutes,smoke, run back in, and continue to serve food without washing their hands first. I'll be honest and say *I've* done it, especially as a bartender. The cooks do this too. At a couple diners and restaurants I've worked at, it's been kosher to actually smoke right in the kitchen. I don't know if people find this especially gross, but it's the truth.

Also, everyone eats. Constantly. Not usually (thank God) off of other peoples' plates, but they are constantly shoving something into their mouths.

Also, a lot of the time in restaurant kitchens, the hand sinks are either a) broken, b) totally out of the way inconvenient to go to, or c) nonexistent. *I* like to wash my hands when dealing with food at least 15-20 times during a long shift, but not everyone does this.

The best bet for the cleanest environment and probably the safest food ~ go to a good chain restaurant. The highest standards of health code I've ever come in contact with occurred when I was working at a Bennigan's. Chain restaurants tend to adhere to high corporate standards, and are often visited by corporate employees, in addition to frequent health checks.
Also, the employees at all levels *usually* have to go through extensive training before they are put "on the floor.." often times in excess of 2 weeks. That may not sound extensive, but once you've worked in a gadzillion restaurants, it's just a matter of learning the computer system and the food

Privately owned restaurants aren't usually TOO bad, but they don't usually adhere to high corporate standards, usually making up their own rules. Just common sense... Joe Public running Joe's Bar and Grill is more likely to cut corners to save a couple bucks.

Fine dining isn't all it's cracked up to be either. The server may be dressed really well, and the place may LOOK great, but it's still privately owned and you have no idea what goes on beyond the kitchen doors...

Fast food and a lot of pizza joints are downright nasty. The best time to go for fast food is over lunch, when the full-time day employees are working, and there is high volume. One tip:
NEVER GET MAYONNAISE AT A FAST FOOD RESTAURANT DURING THE NON-BUSY PERIOD.
I guarantee that it will have been sitting out for hours, possibly unrefrigerated. Same with sour cream.

Speaking of dairy, never order milk at a restaurant where milk is not readily sold (ie. only order milk from a diner/breakfast place). I also guarantee that the restaurant has *one* gallon of milk that just sits until it is used up. Don't get milk for your kids... get water or juice. Milk drinks are OK from the bar because there are a lot of alcoholic drinks that require it. So if the milk comes from the bar, it's probably ok, but most times it's stashed in a server cooler in the back somewhere.

Speaking of bars, be wary of ordering alcoholic juice drinks that contain grapefruit (and sometimes tomato). Cranberry and orange most times come from the soda gun or a cardboard carton. Watch the bartender mix the drink. If it comes from a metal juice can from inside a cooler, it might be filled with bacteria. Refrigerating opened canned juice (or anything in a can for that matter) is a BIG violation of any health code and could make you really ill. When a can of juice is opened, what's left over needs to be put in a clean plastic container.

As far as pizza goes, unless you really trust your pizza place, don't order the toppings that don't move very well. Hamburger, pineapple, anchovy, often ham, may have been sitting out for HOURS and used and re-used for days. Stick to toppings that get used a lot, like cheese, pepperoni, mushroom, onion, pepper.

Be wary if your server is apparently ill. Unlike other jobs, restaurant employees (mainly servers) do not get vacation days, sick time, and are usually threatened with termination if they even TRY to 'call off.' And if they do manage to call out of work for a day, they are totally out the days' wages, so they have a tendency to just push on and go in anyway. I can't tell you how many times I've worked when I've had severe bronchitis, or a 103 degree fever, or something like that.

I haven't seen people do bad things (ie spitting, etc) to the food TOO MANY TIMES, but I have seen it. So here's some tips on getting clean food:

Do NOT go into a restaurant (especially sit-down dining) within 20 minutes of closing time and order a huge meal. First of all, you'll most likely get bad service, because the employees are trying to clean up and go home. Think about when you're asked to work extra time at your job when you hadn't planned on it. The servers have already made the money for the night, an extra $5 at this point usually doesn't matter. The cooks are tired and sweaty and want to go home, AND they're cleaning up and probably have chemicals all over their hands. And odd things are more likely to happen to your food. (I'm not trying to come off as a total jerk here, just talking from 10 years experience and this is JUST the way it is).

Be NICE. Being rude gets you nowhere. Unless you're getting the worst service ever, don't be a jerk. If you're unhappy, it'll show with the tip. If you're rude, you're more likely to get ignored. I've seen yucky things happen to rude peoples' food.

Don't send the food back more than once. If for some reason the kitchen just can't get it right, have it taken off of your bill and just call it quits. Probably the WORST thing I've ever seen is when someone sent their steak back 3 times. The third time, it ended up on the floor, then sent back out.

Don't let the server wrap up the food for you out of your view if he/she is very busy. Often times the server will take the plate, rush into the kitchen, and either use someone else's utensil (or whatever they can grab really fast) or their hands to wrap up the food. Sometimes they'll just let the plate sit there until they have a free moment to wrap it up; or they'll ask someone else to wrap it. Just imagine if two exact dishes were sitting side by side waiting to be wrapped. I've seen the switcharoo happen (usually not on purpose tho) and THAT is gross. 99% of the time I ask for a box.. it's easier on them and safer on me.

Also, the dishwashers in restaurants usually suck. BADLY. If you are questioning the cleanliness of the place, upon ordering drinks ask for a tall glass of hot water. Some places charge, but most don't. Put your silverware into the hot water glass, and see what comes off of it. If the water stays relatively clean, then your dishes most likely will be too. This may annoy your server, but it will help YOU see how clean the place really is. Cooks use dirty dishes constantly when they're in a hurry. Always check your wineglass for lipstick prints, a lot of times they don't come out in the wash.

A lot of places (mainly Italian) reuse bread. What is left in the bread basket usually gets thrown back in the bread bucket. So, my advice is - if it's not hot, don't eat it. Sometimes you can tell when the bread slices don't match up as if it was not freshly cut. Same with salsa/chips in low-end Mexican places. Bread gets reused all the time. Me? I don't eat it when I'm out. It just fills you up anyway.

I know this sounds weird, but try to match up food with whom you're dining with. For example, if I order Chicken Fingers and my husband orders a well-done steak, my chicken fingers (unless you've got a really organized kitchen staff) are going to be ready in 4 minutes and sit under the heat lamp while the well done steak takes 15-20 minutes. Usually food comes out of different 'windows' ... plates classified as appetizers come out of one, main dishes another, and salad/dessert another. So the appetizer cook will see the Chicken Fingers order and make it, without knowing or noticing (or caring.. HA!) that it goes with a well-done steak. Make sense?

Believe it or not, unless it's close to closing, buffet restaurants and happy hour bar food is usually really fresh and hot. I know there's always an exception, but I usually have good experiences with buffets and have seen the cooks prep the buffets enough times to know the food is usually fresh.

Well, I've spent WAY too much time on this, but I hope it helped someone. Basically, the rule of thumb is, use common sense and be corteous.. usually works in all walks of life

[Dilmon]

The information you presented will be equally helpful for restaurant patrons and restaurant personel. Having worked as a cook for many years I agree with everything you have said. You have pointed out many areas which restaurant employees should be aware of, and try to prevent. i.e, using clean cutlery and dishes, and being responsible with perishable products like milk. In regards to a steak being returned three times, we put our steaks on the floor after the second return.