Restaurant Secrets

Today on the Dr. Oz show they talked about restaurant secrets. They video clips and previews they showed made it look like something sinister and like running a restaurant was some sort of sneaky society attempting to deceive the public.

Curious, I watched the show.

Ultimately, they simply offered a few common sense tips. They talked about the bacteria levels on cafeteria trays. You know, the plastic trays you might use to carry your meal to the table at the mall food court. They revealed that they are rarely washed and dozens or even hundreds of hands can touch the trays between washing. Oooooooh.... a good reminder, but hardly shocking.  A real world remedy to this situation would be to use hand sanitizer after you touch the tray and not eat any of the food that comes in direct contact with your tray.

Another supposedly shocking "restaurant secret" was that buffet food can spoil if left out too long, or at incorrect storage temperatures. Yes. Absolutely right, but again I think that is common sense. If something is crusty or dry looking or has been there a very long time, don't eat it. I would suggest, if you do love buffets to go early, within the first hour or so, of the buffet commencing. Never in the last hour. (That food is just minutes away from the garbage, for a reason.) For example, if the lunch buffet is served from 11AM-4 pm, I would never consider eating it after 1 pm. (But I might be more cautious than most.)

Another note was how restaurants design their menus to lead your eye to the items with the greatest profit margin. They can do this with bold print, or feature symbols or even by putting it at the top of the page. Absolutely that's correct. Not sinister, or deceptive in my opinion at all. It's called marketing. The restaurant business has a very narrow profit margin and in order to compete, you need to be able to provide the meals customers want, at a price that the consumer is willing to pay and that the restaurant needs in order to cover its costs. It's BUSINESS. Very simple.

If I could go a little further and add a snippet of my own restaurant advice, I would urge the guest to stick to the popular menu items if they are at all concerned about the restaurant's food quality. If you are at a place that is not very busy, has an incredibly detailed menu, or perhaps has uneducated kitchen staff, ALWAYS choose the most popular item. (Get this info by asking the waitress. - Don't be confused with the daily special, but ask about popularity.) Why do I give this advice?  Because, the most popular menu item will be the freshest, because quantities are always being replenished. Plus, if the staff is weak, or untrained, they should still be able to make the best seller.... because they are doing it 20-30 times a day anyway.  There.... there's an insider tip, not seen today by millions of viewers.