There are some questions I'd like to have answered. These include:
How on earth do airlines calculate fares?
Will the DC Metro system ever run safely, affordably, and on time ... simultaneously?
Why didn't the Republicans print their new work of fiction A Pledge to America on softer paper so that it's more comfortable when I use it in the bathroom? (More on this in future posts.)
One of the rules I live by, however, is Don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer. This is important, because there really are some things you probably don't want to know about. But even though there are some things you're better off not knowing, you might nevertheless be interested in these five excerpts from the list of 25 Things Chefs Never Tell You ...
When eating out in other restaurants, avoid pasta and chicken. Chefs know that these dishes are often the most overpriced and least interesting on the menu. One chef said he wouldn't pay $24 for half a chicken breast. Neither should you.
The five-second rule actually applies. A quarter (!) of the chefs surveyed said they’d pick up and cook food that had been dropped on the floor. Yum.
Restaurants mark up wine by a lot more than you might expect. Bring that hip flask with you. Most chefs said that a bottle on their wine list costs 2½ times what the same one would cost in a wine store. My experience is that it's a lot more than that, particularly if you buy your wine at Costco or a similar wholesale store.
Roaches are more common than you think. A staggering 75% of surveyed chefs said they’ve seen roaches in the kitchen, but swear their kitchens are clean. Nevertheless, 85% of chefs ranked their kitchens an 8 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 10) for cleanliness. Perhaps the condiments on each table ought to include a can of Raid.
Your bread basket might be recycled. Three chefs admitted that uneaten bread from one basket goes right into another one. I'm shocked! Shocked, I say! Aghast, even.
Just a few things to think about as you get ready to go out for dinner this weekend. Don't thank me ... it's all part of the service.
Have a good day. Bon appetit! See you tomorrow for Cartoon Saturday.
Bilbo
8 comments:
Looking forward to the rant on a political party pledging to do what they've been sent to Washington to do.
ICK. I'm reading this before breakfast (at home). I'd rather have the usual political rant than something that really makes me sick like this set of insights!
Yes, moving right along to something political...PLEASE!!
I found this post very interesting. I always want to know how the experts in a field move around that particular field.
Roaches and recycled bread Yuck! I'd rather eat the chicken that hit the floor.
Time to start tearing all the left over bread in half.
As a former restaurant owner, I confirm some of the observations, and deny others. First, even brand new buildings have roaches (from the workmen leaving lunch messes). Most restaurants employ an exterminator service, which has to balance food safety in terms of chemical contamination against having a few roaches around. Generally roaches are not active in the food preparation area during business hours, because they are negatively photo-sensitive (they hate light). The food inspector knows no exterminator can kill all the roaches, and looks for active movement in the food preparation area, which is all that counts. PS: the roaches are likely to be drunk, as they love to police up spilled beer. Wine is a high profit item, but soft drinks are the bigger rip-off. A large soft drink costs the restaurant about a dime. You might as well drink the overpriced wine. It's better for you. Finally, restaurants remain the single most risky business in America, in terms of failure rates. Luckily, we were able to beat the odds, turn around the financial wreck we had bought, and find a restaurant professional to purchase the place.
Eminence Grise
I just always assumed that the left over bread found its way into other menu items like bread pudding, or as bread crumbs...
I understand, though, why some restaurants now only serve bread when it's requested.
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