Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
“Frozen Half The Time”: 41 Restaurant Workers Reveal Items On Their Menu To Never Order
Interview
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. We also got in touch with the netizen who made the question. So 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.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
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.
RELATED:
#2
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.
#3
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.
ALittleKnownGoddess 5 months ago
I avoid Subway for the simple reason that I cannot tolerate smelling like Subway for hours afterwards!
Bored Panda got in touch with the netizen who posted this question online and they were kind enough to share some more details with us. Firstly, we wanted to hear why they asked this in the first place.
“What prompted me to ask the question was a conversation I had at a family reunion. My cousin and I were talking about fried chicken gizzards being good from a local restaurant but his gf who worked there told us not to order them from there because they sit out in the warmers all day. I was on my way back to Colorado from Arkansas which naturally meant I was stopping for fast food more often than I usually would and it made me want to ask the public what I should avoid when I do.”
#4
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.
#5
Anything listed as “seasonal” but still on the menu yearround usually just old ingredients they’re trying to get rid of.
Oerff On Tour 5 months ago
25 years ago I worked in a hotel in Italy. Desert choice was for some sort of cake and "frutta di stagione", which was always an apple 🍎. The whole year around...
#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.
It ended up having thousands of comments, so we also were curious to hear their thoughts on that. “I think most working people in the US/Canada have worked in a chain restaurant at some point in their life so there are plenty of first hand accounts and secondly nearly everyone already has some lingering suspicion that they shouldn’t eat certain things from certain places and they want to make sure they avoid them.”
#9
Tim Horton's slogan of "always fresh" actually means "always frozen".
Another Panda 5 months ago
Frozen is not necessarily a bad thing. Foods that are snap frozen in the industry can easily have more nutritional value than fresh food that has been transported, and may degrade due to various factors (amount of time unused, heat, other conditions).
“I actually don’t have much experience in food service. I worked at a McDonald’s for about 3months when I was 16 and was a bar back at an upscale local restaurant called “Public at the brickyard” and the Hyatt in Wichita Kansas. Both Public and the one in the Hyatt were exceptionally clean and I never saw anything I would worry about in either. At McDonalds I’d probably stay away from the McRib and I never saw those McCafé machines get cleaned.”
#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
Charles McChristy 5 months ago
20 years ago Chipotle was being sued left and right for food poisoning. They were shutting down entire districts of stores. You lost all credibility.
#11
Red lobster microwaves the pasta in plastic bags. Not sure what they are made out of but I doubt that can be healthy.
#12
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. .
Lastly, we wanted to hear if they had any favorite comments. “I think the ones that stuck to me in the thread were the consistent ones. There were a lot of responses where one person was saying they worked in one franchise and it was disgusting and another would say they worked at a different location and it was clean which makes sense depending on the competency of management, but then there were others I kept seeing like subway where people would say not to eat there and no one refuted it. Another big one was ice machines which I’ve heard of before. My biggest takeaway was the guy who said don’t eat at restaurants that are always slow because it’s difficult to keep track of what food is going bad if it isn’t moving quickly.”
#13
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.
UKDeek 5 months ago
In the UK at least food can only be kept for a certain amount of time, so it won't be sat "for hours" as this post suggests. The recent release of the McRib was generally cooked to order, or at busy times a few were pre-assembled due to high turnover of stock. Out of temperature range? Disposed of. Out of time range? Disposed of. High profile food places like McDonalds don't take risks, as the local authority inspectors can turn up, without notice, and inspect the premises. Oh, and my local McDonalds was awarded a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 (maximum score).
#14
Don't order the chicken wings at Outback. Slow turnover means it's usually rancid.
#15
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.
#16
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.
#17
Wendy’s chili was the only sus thing. It’s never really put away or cleaned or refilled. The pot’s just always there….
Corwin 02 5 months ago
As long as the kitchen is clean there is nothing wrong with a constantly refilled never empty pot , it is a perpetual stew. A perpetual stew, also known as hunter's pot or master stock, is a type of stew that is continuously replenished and simmered for extended periods, sometimes for decades or even centuries. Ingredients are added as needed, and the pot is never fully emptied, allowing flavors to meld and deepen over time.
#18
If you’re getting any fountain beverage anywhere, cross your fingers that the staff clean the spigots. They get moldy if not cleaned regularly.
Trisec Tebeakesse 4 months ago
How about those unholy multi-flavor, single-spigot machines? A friend of mine calls them "Cloaca-Cola". (You could look that up.)
#19
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.
#20
Least cleaned in most restaurants are ice machines and soda guns.
PeepPeep the duck 5 months ago (edited)
I don’t serve the water especially 😂 the guns aren’t that bad though, you just make sure the nozzle is always mold free but I never trust other bar tenders with this and bottle glass jugs for water at the table
#21
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. .
#22
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.
#23
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.
#24
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.
#25
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!
LakotaWolf (she/her) 5 months ago
The only problem is that the menu is two inches thick and it takes an hour to decide what you want to order XD
#26
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.
#27
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.
#28
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.
Corwin 02 5 months ago
Yeah it is called buying in bulk and using cheaper materials and work the odds, for every person that gets 10 plates there are 10 people that have 2 or 3 plates at an all you can eat , pizza fills you up fast with the bread also you make sure the more expensive dishes are a little harder to get (think a carving station for when meat is served).
#29
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.
Spocks's Mom 5 months ago
I worked at Sonic a few forevers ago. I couldn't tell you how many styrofoam cups I busted making shakes and blended deserts. The ice cream station SUCKS.
#30
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".
#31
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.
Kira Okah 5 months ago
Those moved really fast in the one I worked in, fast enough that you're switching out that tray within food safety limits (less than an hour) because the thing is empty, and every one of those trays is scrubbed after closing. What pit hole franchises are some people working at so they can get reported?
#32
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.
#34
I worked at dennys in dtla, stay away from that one completely. They would stay getting their food delivered using a U-Haul.
#35
Mcalister’s don’t order the nachos bc we be skimping tf out the chips and meat.
#36
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.
meeeeeeeeeeee 5 months ago
In the McDonald's I worked in the fish and apple pies were cooked to order. 4 mins for the fish - 8 minutes for the pie.
#37
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.
Peter Bear 5 months ago
Arbys worker here. We still deep-fry the burgers, because we don't have a grill, flattop, or stove. And we put them in the micro afterwards to melt the cheese. If you want your burger well done, we will be happy to cook it longer for you.
#38
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.
#39
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.
#40
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’.
#41
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.
Peter Bear 5 months ago
I hate to tell you this, but any liquid cheese you get at any restaurant is the same.
What do you think ?
Oerff On Tour 5 months ago
What strikes me, ALL are American. This (hardly) happens in Europe, as we have very strict health and safety laws. That are enforced.
nicholas nolan 5 months ago
So do we, and many of these are b******t. If things like this are going on in the place you're working at, report it!
Load More Replies...
Carrie B 5 months ago
No one is stopping you from posting non US stories and lists.
Load More Replies...
Daune Tullina 5 months ago
If the bathrooms are dirty, so is the kitchen. Foh cleanliness equals boh cleanliness. If the dining room is visibly dirty, don't eat there
Oerff On Tour 5 months ago
What strikes me, ALL are American. This (hardly) happens in Europe, as we have very strict health and safety laws. That are enforced.
nicholas nolan 5 months ago
So do we, and many of these are b******t. If things like this are going on in the place you're working at, report it!
Load More Replies... Carrie B 5 months ago
No one is stopping you from posting non US stories and lists.
Load More Replies... Daune Tullina 5 months ago
If the bathrooms are dirty, so is the kitchen. Foh cleanliness equals boh cleanliness. If the dining room is visibly dirty, don't eat there
You May Like 97 Delectable Traditional Dishes From Around The World To Try At Least Once 50 Dishes So Stupid, It’s Hard To Believe Someone Actually Came Up With Them (New Pics) 46 Cooking Mistakes That Make Professional Chefs Cringe
Aivaras Kaziukonis
Greta Jaruševičiūtė
Gabija Palšytė
Related on Bored Panda
