What is Digg?130 Comments
- Trogdor420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+48For those interested read 'Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Many of these are taken right from his book.
- AntiBollocKs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36Or for those with a smaller attention span, watch Waiting.
- timpkmn89, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34It's fast and no one has to cook
- CaptainNoPants, on 10/12/2007, -2/+26I have never in my life heard someone refer to McDonalds or Burger King as "safe" restaurants.
Burger King was my first job when I was 14, and I haven't eaten there after I quit after 3 months. Awful. - effedup, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25I worked as a Kitchen Manager for several years and I call BS on that list. That list might apply to some places, but for example the place I worked at recieved new shipment on Mondays so (as per #10 on that list), the food was actually the freshest on Monday (after the weekend). Stupid *****. You putin a food order to come monday for the week and thursday for the weekend. If you propely managed a restaurant you wouldn't have these issues. Also, getting sick? I'm not sure about the rest of the world but in Canada we have "Health Inspectors" that regularly inspect restaurants on scheduled and random unscheduled days. Yes, there are lazy people and problems will arise, but serious fines are the result of poor cleanliness.. and at my job.. I would be fired. So as a result my Kitchen was extremely clean and always had fresh food.
This is really good.. I love that I found this..
"At a fine-dining restaurant, the average cost of food is 38 to 42% of the menu price, says Kevin Moll, CEO and president of National Food Service Advisors. In other words, most restaurants are making roughly 60% on anything they serve."
Which is true.. food cost is about 38% although ttypically you would aim lower for like 33% but whatever.. 60% is not profit. The 60% goes to pay for labour (which if you think about it, it took at least 3 or 4 people to get that food to you.), as well as the cost of dishes, detergent, sanitizer, drying chemicles, water costs to clean your plate, garbage fees to get rid of your waste, more water fees for when you flush the toilte and wash your hands after you eat, etc etc etc.
Needless to say, this article was written by a douchebag who's never been in a Kitchen and is not qualified to report on the industry. - wageslaven, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23Wow, ive never heard anything less sensible.
The teenage staff -- not myself mind you (ahem) -- used to *constantly* fill up the pickle buckets with pee. Not at jsut the restaurant that I worked at, but every single one in town.
It was a ritual / tradition. It was ugly.
I always eat at independant places where I know either A) run by a foodie who is serious about quality food or B) a hardworking type who needs to keep his restaurant's good name to keep things going.
Further, go simply by the age of the staff. IF you see teenagers in the kitchen, expect "booger-level" hijinks simply because that was funny at that age... - picaman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20By saying this I don't intend to excuse the horrible things that go on in restaurant kitchens, BUT:
We've all eaten tainted, rotten, adulterated restaurant food our entire lives, and with a few extreme exceptions we've all survived.
I think there's a basic level of sanitation that needs to be adhered to. But this fanaticism people have about killing germs and such paradoxically contributes to a lot of ill health, because people's immune systems aren't taxed like they were historically. - brufleth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20My fiancee and I both work full time. There is also commutes, family obligations, etc. It is nice to have a good meal that you don't have prepare and do not have to clean up afterward. We both like to cook very much. Sometimes we don't have the time and energy and other times we just want to have a relaxing dinner out.
As far as this article is concerned...well we've also both worked at several restaurants. - thegreeneyedkri, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19I think its funny that they say in the article ""A lot of poor, transient people work in restaurants," says Peter Francis, coauthor of industry exposé How to Burn Down the House. "They're not giving up the $100 they'd make in a shift because they're sick."". Unfortunately, they seem to be forgetting the college kids, or kids just out of college who don't call out when they're sick because they'll lose their job. It's not the person who is sick who goes in even though people tell them not to, its management who say "you can't call out" and force them to go in or else they'll fire them. During college I worked at a steakhouse, they made me go into work for three days with strep. It wasn't until customers started asking if I was alright and my mom called and told them I wasn't going that they allowed me to call out.
- dtd00d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18"Whew, another second and we would've had to switch to the 10 second rule..."
- headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15I've spent my time working in restaurants, and trust me, plenty of food gets dropped on the ground, and goes right back on the plate. Every single day.
It's not that the cooks want to serve you that food, or that they're too lazy to make it again. It's because there isn't enough time to make it again. If there are two plates going out to the same table, and something falls off the one plate, they can't keep the other plate warm for 20 minutes while they recook the dropped food. Plus, they don't want to make the customer wait another 20 minutes. So, back on the plate it goes. - drmangrum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Due to massive influx of women into the work force ( and overall lack of men learning to cook) over the last 20 years, more and more people simply don't know HOW to cook. Cooking is far more than just mixing ingredients together, it's also time management. Someone who doesn't know to properly time the cooking of a complete meal from preparation to plating is going to make that meal take much longer than it needs to. For most, if they are going to spend an hour to prepare and eat a meal, they simply take the easy way out and go to a restaurant.
- ROFLance, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14FTA: "2. "Eating here could make you sick."
The 2006 E. coli outbreak that started at a New Jersey Taco Bell and sickened more than 60 people was traced to green onions."
lol, I just ate at the South Plainfield, NJ Taco Bell last night... the very same one they're talking about - lejohn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1211th: "That wasn't chicken"
- Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13That's why whenever I go out to eat, I dine in the bathroom.
- profOblivion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Some of the list is cause for concern, but others... totally agree that it's a little over-alarmist.
1 - More sizzle than steak: Who cares how a restaurant sells its food? Good marketing doesn't hurt anyone.
2 - Eating here could make you sick: Don't eat in dirty restaurants - not rocket science. Incidents like they describe are few and far-between, to put it lightly.
3 - Markups: You're not just paying for food, you're paying for all of the restaurant's expenses, as well as paying the owner - welcome to capitalism. Nothing new here.
4 - Cameras: ZOMG SOMEONE'S WATCHING ME EAT. You're in a public place, for chrissakes!
8 - Butter: If you're counting calories, eating out should be an occasional thing anyway..
9 - Tips: Most people know about tip pools. I'm not bothered by them myself - I'm more worried some random other patron's gonna come along and snatch it up after I leave.
And liminaldust... Profit (60%) = Revenue (100%) - Cost (40%)... what's this about graduating primary school? - Rikkochet, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13A tip pool is dishonest because I'm not tipping the bartender who sat there watching while my waitress poured my coke, or the hostess who was on her break when I got seated.
If I leave a tip it's first and foremost for my server, and secondly for the kitchen staff who directly worked on my meal.
I have no intention of leaving tips for other people who had nothing to do with me - that includes other staff working in different areas and management types who hover around doting on their high roller customers.
And it's things like that that are killing the concept of gratuities. Nowhere else in the world is it considered expected to pay more than what you are being charged to show gratitude or subsidize someone's bad wages. When I worked for years in retail and went above and beyond to help people make lengthy purchase decisions or fix their not-quite-broken stuff, I didn't expect a tip, I expected a smile and a thank you, and that was enough. God knows why the food service industry deserves more. - colinmhayes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I think a lot of people are making ***** up. I've worked at quite a few restaurants, and none of that ***** ever went on in the kitchen.
but maybe it's becaues i've worked at nice places. - speede06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I wish everyone who has these horrible things to say about restaurants would list where they live so I know not to visit. I've worked at many restaurants: family owned Italian, Outback Steakhouse, private owned grille, and a wine bar. At none of these places did anything like this ever happen. Outback's steaks are not shipped in marinade, and they have food shipments daily. Microwaves are the exception, not the norm, unless you're talking about desserts that the servers make, in my experience. Stop sensationalizing with unverified hearsay.
- headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I've found that many people simply don't have anything else to do. The small town I live in doesn't have a real night life. So people go out to eat just to get out of the house for a little while.
And I find drmangrum's comment a little hard to believe. The grocery stores are full of simple to prepare meals. The kind where you "just add chicken". - meshman, on 10/12/2007, -9/+16"Americans now spend roughly half their food budget dining out"
I've always found this weird. What's with the fascination about family restaurants in the US? I go to a restaurant maybe twice a year. Fast food maybe once every 3 months. Frankly, I don't know how people can afford it. - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9"I worked at recieved new shipment on Mondays"
You missed the point. Because you have brand new fresh food coming in Monday, you're quickly trying to get rid of whatever is still in the fridge from last Thursday's shipment, and you're gonna continue serving the old stuff until it's all gone. First in, first out, right?
I guess your restaurant is one of those very rare places, where you manage to completely sell every single thing in your refrigerators by Monday morning.
"but in Canada we have "Health Inspectors" that regularly inspect restaurants"
We have them in The States too of course. However health inspectors are not standing over the shoulder of every single chef in America, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A quick Google search on "food borne illness restaurant canada" will show that you Canadians have your share of people getting sick from restaurant prepared food.
"60% is not profit."
I guess you missed this part from the article:
"It's not all gravy though. Restaurants keep only four cents of every dollar spent by a customer... ...The remainder of the money, he says, is divided between food and beverage purchases, payroll, occupancy and other overhead costs."
"Needless to say, this article was written by a douchebag who's never been in a Kitchen and is not qualified to report on the industry."
I think you should watch who you're calling a "douchebag". You're not exactly proving your intelligence or know-how either. - famousdave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"For those interested read 'Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Many of these are taken right from his book."
I was in the restaurant business for a long time and we referred to that book as "The Bible" - Rikkochet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+71) On purpose?
2) You ate it? - headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@Rikkochet - Your comment is -- no offense -- a little short sighted. Or maybe it's just the meals you typically order, or where you go to eat. But in many restaurants, the bartenders are working their butt off in support of the wait staff. Keep in mind that bartenders work for gratuity too, so when they're constantly mixing drinks for you via your waiter, they aren't making tips from other customers. The quality of your drinks impacts your impression of the service.
The bus person is also important, and their performance will impact your impression of the establishment. Crumbs all over the table == bad impression. I don't think they deserve a large portion of the tip, but they deserve their share. They have to clean up after you.
The only person possibly working harder than the waitresses are the cooks. And oddly enough they usually are not included when the tips are divided. - drmangrum, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8If they deserve it.
Too many waiters/waitresses think that because they serve me they deserve a 15% tip. If I have to wait more than a couple minutes after my drink order is taken before i see my drink, your tip just went down. If my appetizers arrive 4 minutes before my meal does, your tip went down. If it takes 5 minutes for you to bring the A1/ketchup/lemon wedges/whatever after the food was delivered, your tip went down. If my glass is empty for longer than a couple minutes..you guessed it.
I don't give a damn how much money you make. You chose the job. Your finances are your business. If you give good service, you get a good tip. The same goes for mediocre and bad service. If you give REALLY bad service I'm gonna leave you my pocket change just so you get the point. - culebra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Plus if some managers have it their way they choose not to replace the item because of the cost involved. I've seen it 100's of times. For instance: What do you do if a case of bell peppers that cost $50 has 5-10 of them fall on the ground when you move the case? Sure you can throw them out, but so goes your bonus too. Most managers I have seen always think about the $ first, the customer second, and food safety last.
- joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6We can't. But this is America. "Affording" something doesn't stop us from doing it. ;o)
- navitatl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Am I the only one who doesn't really care as long as the food tastes good and I'm alive in the morning?
- tdogg241, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6To add to drmangrum's comments, it seems like there's also fewer and fewer schools that are requiring their students to take home ec (and similarly, shop class). I had home ec for one quarter in 7th grade and it was all overly safe. We didn't actually cook anything except for baking a pan of Pilsbury cinnamon rolls and we cut vegetables with butter knives. That said, my knowledge of cooking is very minimal and I eat out quite a bit as a result. I also won't be doing any woodworking anytime soon.
- joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"But people were still eating man ***** and sperm."
That still tastes better than a Whopper. - diulei, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I've had about 4 friends who worked at McDonald's. They'll never eat there again.
I have 2 friends who worked at In-n-out - they still eat there all the time. - dpcdomino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I have read many of his books. Very good reads. "There are no vegetarians in Portugal"
- CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5That's true... a recent episode of "Chef at Large with Michael Smith" recently showed how much money a restaurant typically makes off a $30 steak. After all the costs and labour are factored in, the restaurant takes home something like $1 + change as pure profit for every steak they sell.
A lot of people never consider all those extra hidden costs that a restaurant has, like property tax, utilities, laundry, etc.
Anyway, the only reason I head out to eat is to try something new, and then afterwards I try to copy it at home, and maybe make several copies for friends who might be over for dinner. I don't think the RIAA has got anything on this! - Cwo655321, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5if this includes fast food i'm screwed
- ChillyWilly5280, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'll take green onions over lettuce anyday. Green onions add far more flavor than lettuce does. Lettuce is mostly texture.
- clickwir, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6They tell you about how much markup there is on meals and how much you are getting screwed on the price..... yet suggest you toss $10-20 just to get seated.
Oh the ironing. - Technopundit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I want what he's having.
- headzoo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@drmangrum - That's not the point. Your point was more people go out to eat because they can't cook. My point is these days it doesn't matter if you know how to cook or not. Nearly everything you can think of can be bought from the store 3/4 of the way prepared already.
I'm not debating whether "just add chicken" meals count as cooking. I'm debating whether people not knowing how to cook is reason enough for them to always eat out. - clickwir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yup, I went to olive garden and tried to customize the dish a bit (no onions, no peppers or something like that) and they tell me they cannot because it's prepackaged.
Right from the employee serving us, it's a tv dinner on a fancy plate in a special building. For those prices, no thanks! - ChillyWilly5280, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5My sister told me that when she worked at Wendy's, if a customer gave them a hard time at the drive through they would scoop out the bread inside the top bun and fill it with mayonnaise. Much funnier than peeing in the pickles, and not an infection hazard.
- crackunicorn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4First of all, it is called Mr. Steak. That should tell you something. Second, a four star TAVERN? *****.
- signal15, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4My kitchen was being remodeled, so it was tore up for over a year. I spent over $18,000 eating out in one year. I could have paid like 4 guys to come work full time for a month on my house for that amount of moola.
- richdrogpa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Just two comments:
1. Whoever started this idea to call McDonald's, Taco Bell, Wendy's and the likes restaurants??? FAST FOOD joints, with "***** stuff" that's all they are!!!
2. Never ever I have heard, or experienced, a restaurant, where from $10 tip you pay out $2 to bartender and
$3-5 to busboy. That's complete BS!!! More like 20-25% max goes to tip out people other than waiters. BTW, tip sharing among waiters is idiotic, tip sharing with busboys and bartenders is necessary 'evil' to get job done;) - xaryss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Where I worked "#10 Never go out to eat on a Monday." did not apply either as our shipments also came in on Mondays and Thursdays.
- po43292, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4FTA: "Specifically, the use of bright light, bright colors, upbeat music and seating that does not encourage lolling."
But I always lol when there's bright lights and upbeat music! "Are you lolling? Stop that right now." - colinmhayes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4eh, that depends. butter is more expensive than an oil of some kind.
and that only flies for certain cuisines. There isn't an ounce of dairy is any of the traditional vietnamese dishes at the restaurant I work at. - joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Yea, at home I'm perfectly willing to eat food that has dropped on the floor. And our floor is likely cleaned less often than the restaurants.
- SpoonMachine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I used to wash dishes at a seafood restaurant, and the standard operating procedure was just to spray ***** with water until it looked clean. Apparently they though soap was for pussies.
- DrScott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Anybody I've talked to who has worked at a private restaurant has told me that there are things that happen in the kitchen I can't begin to fathom. I'm not taking any chances.
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