Eating out is one of life's little pleasures but it can also become a nightmare. Nothing dampens the mood quite like bad service, ingredients that are not fresh or worst of all — food poisoning.
Freeway Insurance recently reported that roughly 500 restaurant-related foodborne illness outbreaks are recorded each year in America. The stats are enough to make anyone want to throw their cutlery down and bolt from the restaurant they were enjoying a cozy dinner at but don't be too hasty just yet.
Rather than never dine out again, rather avoid ordering these nine things when you do eat at a restaurant, as listed by Love Food.
1. Ditch the drink garnish. That lemon wedge may add some zest to your drink but it could be teeming with bacteria and E. coli after being touched by a bartender who has been handling money all day.
2. Skip the Monday fish. If you are craving fish and it happens to be a Monday, rather prepare it at home. Seafood markets are not open over the weekends so the Monday fish special at a restaurant may not be as fresh as you think.
3. Be wary of the salad bar. While all the healthy food can be found at the salad bar the irony is that this is where you could pick up the most germs and bacteria. From children touching the food to other diners coughing and sneezing over the assortment of greens, it would be easy to get sick.
4. The not so healthy raw sprouts. We are often told of the benefits of eating raw sprouts but the truth is that this could be one of the riskiest things in your otherwise healthy meal. In order for the beans to sprout they are exposed to warm and humid conditions that are perfect for bacteria to breed.
5. No need for ice. It may chill your drink but that is not the only thing chilling about ice in a bar or restaurant. Many popular places skimp on cleaning their ice machines and there have been reports of mold in machines.
6. The not-so-special restaurant special. There is a reason why certain dishes are marked down or on special and it is not because the manager is feeling particularly giving on a certain day. Specials are often made up of leftover ingredients that would otherwise go to waste or are about to go off.
7. Skip the bread basket. If you are thinking about quelling your hunger pangs until your main meal arrives by tucking into the bread basket rather pause for thought. The bread basket is circulated between tables so you could actually be eating someone else's leftover.
8. Step away from the bar snacks. It may be tempting to dig in to the bowl of pretzels or peanuts at a bar but these can be stale and the chances are many other customers have grabbed a handful or two before you. Who knows when they last washed their hands?
9. Ditch the jug water. You may be thirsty but order a bottle of water rather than pour yourself a glass of water from a jug that has been left standing out all day and possibly not rinsed out in a while.