meal by avoiding a few key dishes. Famous chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Anthony Bourdain
, and other culinary professionals from across the globe have strict rules they live by to
avoid a bad restaurant experience. Maybe a particular dish is unlikely to be
fresh, or it's notoriously overpriced or not even what it claims to be.
If you're unsure about a restaurant's quality,
it's best to steer clear of the following menu items. Cheap "Kobe" beef Kobe beef is the best of the best, so if a
Kobe beef dish sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Real Kobe beef doesn't come cheap, and is
only sold at a small number of restaurants in the U.S. So if you're in a restaurant offering Kobe
for a surprisingly low price, be skeptical.
Felix Tai , executive chef of Pounders restaurant
in Oahu, says you're likely not getting the real deal. "You're probably getting Wagyu beef, since
all Kobe beef is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu is Kobe beef. The labeling is used very loosely in the United
States." Chicken This might come as a surprise, since it's
such a common and beloved protein. But chefs tend to avoid ordering chicken when
dining out.
One executive chef from West Hollywood told
Reader's Digest, "I will order almost anything when I go out but never chicken, because
it tends to be overcooked at most restaurants." In a Food Network survey, chefs across the
country agreed, noting that chicken is also typically "the most overpriced and least interesting"
item on the menu. The bread basket The complimentary bread typically looks better
than it really is but it might also be a health hazard. It's hard to resist: you arrive at the restaurant
starving, and suddenly that incredible-looking basket of bread makes its way to your table. Unfortunately, it may have just been on your
neighbor's table.
According to that same Food Network's chef
survey, it's not uncommon for uneaten bread to make its way to multiple tables, in fact. And that's why chefs avoid it. Debra Ginsberg, author of Waiting: The True
Confessions of a Waitress, echoed this revelation on Inside Edition "Bread tends to circulate from table to table." "Are you saying that sometimes, when the bread
comes, this bread may have been at another table?" "It might have." Eggs Benedict Who doesn't love a leisurely brunch with friends? It's a meal beloved by many. But a lot of chefs reportedly despise making
it.
So unless you're at a trusted spot that specializes
in it, the quality of your meal may reflect that. Anthony Bourdain, in his 2000 book Kitchen
Confidential, says that cooks, quote, "hate brunch," especially on Sundays: "Brunch menus are an open invitation to the
cost-conscious chef, a dumping ground for the odd bits left over from Friday and Saturday
nights." "One of the tragedies of my life is that I'm
really good at it, so, y'know, after I screw up this TV career, I know there's always a
brunch job waiting for me. Maybe that's why I hate it so much." Bourdain says that the brunch classic Eggs
Benedict, in particular, with its generous coating of hollandaise sauce, is to be avoided:
"Bacteria love hollandaise. And nobody I know has ever made hollandaise
to order." Fish on Mondays Ordering fish in a restaurant is always a
gamble.
If it's freshly caught, it's heavenly. Frozen? Not so much. It's important to know where your fish comes
from and when it was caught. In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain wrote that
in many parts of the country, unless you're in a restaurant that specializes in fresh
fish, it's best not to order it on a Monday.
Many fish markets are closed over the weekend,
so if fish is on the menu on Monday night, there's a good chance it was purchased on
Friday. But Bourdain has since walked back that recommendation
a bit, clarifying for Tech Insider that restaurant standards and customer attitudes regarding
fish quality have changed tremendously since the year 2000. But he says at low-end local restaurants and,
quote, "fake Irish pubs," it's still a solid tip. The specials When dining at a new restaurant, always take
a look at the specials.
If there are too many to count, it's best
to avoid them entirely. Gordon Ramsay told the Daily Mail, "Specials
are there to disappear throughout the evening. When they list ten specials, that's not special." Ramsay says it's also best to avoid any dishes
labeled "famous" or "the best," calling this tactic a "suspicious boast" that is in no
way a guarantee of quality. "Wow.
'Denver's Best Pizza'? That is a bold statement." "Oh my God. Dripping in grease." Yikes. Thanks for watching! Click the Mashed icon to subscribe to our
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