Ex-Staff Reveal The Secrets: Stay Away From These 15 Foods When Dining Out
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When it comes to fast food, there are certain foods on the menu that might make even the biggest food fans feel uneasy. We often hear stories about what really happens behind the scenes. In this conversation, people who work at fast-food restaurants are sharing their secrets. They’re telling us about the menu items that the staff might not trust. So, if you’ve ever wondered what not to get when you go to a drive-thru, just relax and listen to what they’re saying.
Grits
A Waffle House employee said, “ I say grits because they can sit for hours, and managers will try to keep them looking fresh even though they cost next to nothing to buy.”
Nacho Cheese
To begin, a user shared, “To help earn money for my son’s school trip to the British Isles, he and I worked at the concession stand for HS football games, among a bunch of other things. At the very first game, the Stadium Supervisor helped us set up. He opened a cabinet and took out the Nacho Cheese machine, and plugged it in. He opened the lid and looked inside. “That should last a couple of hours. When it starts getting low, take a bag, cut a corner off, and squeeze it in. When you are done tonight, just unplug it and stick it back in the cupboard so it will be ready for next week.”
That was 20 years ago. I haven’t eaten nachos since that evening.”
Coffee Beak Drinks
An employee from Krispy Kreme said, “Don’t order any of the Coffee Bean drinks, though- they never ever change the ice chest.”
Another employee said, “I worked at Starbucks. Nobody who values their health should order a white mocha anything. That white mocha stuff is absurdly unhealthy and disgusting to work with.”
Movies Theater Hot Dogs and Butter
A user replied, “I used to work at a movie theater. Unless things have changed, never order the hot dogs…they sit there for a long time. “Butter” most likely gets removed from the pumps and put back in jugs for the next day…so don’t do that, And stay away from pickles.”
A second user added, “Worked at an AMC theater for 2 years. Do not buy the coffee unless it’s early morning when we first open. Otherwise, you’re gonna drink coffee that’s been sitting out for a solid 5 hours, at least.”
Fish
A Long John Silvers employee shared, “Long John Silvers, 2006, baked cod on a bed of rice. We would microwave it in a paper dish.”
Another person said, “Used to work at Panda Express, no real complaints about the ingredients and food prep, but don’t buy any shrimp entrees if you actually want to a full meal. They purposely use a smaller serving spoon to make it appear you’re getting a lot of food. I believe it was 6 shrimps per serving max was the policy.”
Gluten-Free Stuff
One person shared, “Culver’s worker here. We’re usually actually kinda serious about making everything fresh, but crispy chicken sandwiches are usually the things that are around 30 minutes here. If we’re talking annoyance to make, stop ordering gluten-free buns unless you have an allergy. We need to get all new condiments specifically for your order.”
Small Ice Creams
A Sonic employee stated, “Sonic – small sonic blasts. They break the cup every time.”
A Diary Queen employee added, “I once worked at a Dairy Queen. This is definitely true. I was always on the mixer, and the mini and small cups definitely get wrecked pretty often and make a mess.”
Microwaved Dishes
One person said, “Burgers from Sheetz are microwaved. The grill marks are fake. Bacon is microwaved too.”
Another person added, “I work at Outback. Don’t get the lobster tails. They’re microwaved.”
Pizza Deals
A user replied, “When you order a pizza, look for the specials. On Pizza Hut’s website, you could order a large pizza with two toppings for $18. But if you go to the “Deals” tab, that same pizza could be had for $8. They won’t apply the discounts for you automatically. Sometimes you gotta look for them.”
Another user commented, “Dominos worker here. Nothing gross really that we do, but for the love of god, stop ordering our bread twists. (Unless you want the cinnamon ones). You can order the Parmesan bread bites. It’s the same amount of dough in total for like 3 bucks cheaper.”
“Fresh” Ingredients
An Applebee’s employee stated, “Former Applebee’s employee. It’s not quite fast food but fast and casual dining. So so much of the food is in frozen vacuum-sealed packages that are thawed in vats of boiling water or microwaved. The things that need to look nice spend 1-2 mins on each side on a grill for appearance, but they are NOT fresh (think steak, burgers, chicken breast).”
Room Service
One person shared, “Not technically fast food but don’t order room service at small hotels. You’re getting charged really high prices for pre-prepared, oftentimes frozen food that is heated up in what is basically a toaster oven.”
Breakfast Foods
A reply was, “If you order any of the all day breakfast items at McDonalds after around 1:00, it will most likely be a few hours old.”
Side Dishes
One comment was, “Jack in the Box. I don’t know why anyone orders the bacon cheddar potato wedges. It’s fake cheese with fake bacon on fried potatoes. I’m trying to remember the ingredient list on the cheese, but I distinctly recall nowhere on the packaging did it say it contained dairy. It also smells like feet.”
Another comment was, “I used to work at Papa Johns’s. Everything. But in particular, the garlic knots. Full of salt and dripping with faux butter.”
Chicken
A user said, “I used to work at KFC, and our manager tried to make us cook chicken that was past its expiration date.”
Another user added, “My mom Worked at Dairy Queen and told me to always get the chicken because they have to make it fresh she said that they just microwave the hamburgers Edit maybe not at all locations but at this one.”
Queso Fresco
Finally, a Moes employee replied, “Worked as a shift leader at Moes for 2 years. Do NOT get the queso fresco. Since no one gets it, it just sits there sometimes for days. Absolutely disgusting.”
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