Do you worry about sanitation when eating out?

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97guns

Senior Cook
Joined
Jan 24, 2010
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133
a few years back i saw a piece on 60 minutes or one of those news shows that talked about unsanitary conditions in many resturants. i was at a casino last week and one of the poker players got up to use the restroom, when he came back he tells the table that he just saw a cook use the toilet(not urinal) and leave without washing his hands. just wondering if this issue is on your mind when eating out?
 
I do not worry about it when I eat out. That is unless I actually see something that gives me reason to worry. My thoughts are that you can not live your life in a bubble. You are going to be exposed to things that you would rather not be exposed to. People who cook and handle your food WILL do things that are gross, unsanitary, and could possibly get you sick. You can either accept that or you can choose to only eat what you have prepared yourself. I go with the "whatever does not kill you makes you stronger" mindset and just hope that whatever I am exposed to will not be anything my body can not handle.
 
Before I order, I always check the Health Department Sanitation Score that, by law, must be posted in full view at the front desk/counter of every restaurant. I even noticed my local Harris Teeter Grocery Store's Deli Department where I was ordering thinly sliced Turkey Pastrami and the score was a whopping 106 (100 is condsidered tops usually)! I'm happy though with anything over 95 because it's difficult to get a score in the upper ninties as standards are quite high here (in the usa). After that I then go with GB and throw caution to the wind and never give it another thought.
 
There's a local restaurant that has the best burger in the area. The place could use a good scrubbing, and I'd hate to see what the health dept reports look like. But this place has been around for decades, and run by a Korean man and his wife. It's been like that for the 12 or so years I've been going there.
 
Don't know how it is now, but the last time I went to the Peking Duck in NYC's Chinatown, they had a lot of ducks stacked from the floor up against a wall next to the doorway to the men's room. I used to eat out quite frequently when I worked in NYC and rarely had a problem. Now that I live in the boonies, I've noticed getting the trots from the food at quite a few establishments. Needless to say I'm not a willing return customer to those places.
 
vagriller...Char-Grill is the #1 Top-rated burger in my area of NC and always has excellent Health Dept sanitation scores. It's a fast food drive-through of all things. It had 105 score once. When I drove through I gave them a thumbs up and congratulated them (praise encourages them to continue their efforts). I don't eat burgers anymore though. For those who like rare burgers then The Raleigh Times (downtown Raleigh), Abbey Road (Cary), and Ham's (Chapel Hill) are good choices in my area.
 
Normally, it is not something that is foremost in my mind when I got out to eat. But I will have to admit that I have looked at the sanitation scores that are posted on the local newspaper website. Depending on what the infractions are has determined whether or not I will eat at that restaurant. Food storage and sanitation is high on my list. But I am not so paranoid that I won't go eat in a new to me restaurant without checking the scores.
 
There was a Mexican restaurant in Denver, CO, that looked like a garage sale was taking place when you walked in. However, the tables and kitchen were clean and the best food ever! It's just not worth the 20 hour drive to get their green chili.
 
I usually don't think about it unless I see something. Like the day the cashier at a fast food place took my order and money, made change, then went and started making food. ICK.. I was so glad she didn't make my order.
 
I just asked SO this question. Here is her response.

"No. If I thought about it, I'd never eat out you know people drop stuff. You know people sneeze. You just can't think about it. That kind of stuff happens. You have to get over it."
 
I don't eat burgers anymore though. For those who like rare burgers then The Raleigh Times (downtown Raleigh), Abbey Road (Cary), and Ham's (Chapel Hill) are good choices in my area.

Rare burgers are not considered safe due to the potential contamination that occurs during the grinding process. If I wanted a burger that wasn't fully cooked, I would grind the meat myself as my first choice and get the meat from a deli/meat market I trust as a distant second choice.
 
I was in the grocery store on Saturday and a customer picked up and squeezed every single lose bun in the bakery section, finally she took two and put them in her bag. It's not the kitchens you have to worry about, it is everything everywhere, thankfully nature has given us pretty good immune systems and if we do get ill we rarely die...
 
Rare burgers are not considered safe due to the potential contamination that occurs during the grinding process. If I wanted a burger that wasn't fully cooked, I would grind the meat myself as my first choice and get the meat from a deli/meat market I trust as a distant second choice.

Cheeseburger in Paradise grinds beef chuck on site and will cook your burger to order. They still give a warning on the menu about eating undercooked beef though.
 
To me, eating out is to suspend disbelief. At home, and I cook for others often, I try to be as clean as I can reasonably be. That's how my mother taught me to be. However, when I'm in a restaurant or someone else's home I take a que sera, sera attitude. I will say I was having gastro-intestinal distress after eating salads at certain restaurants, and even though the incidents were isolated, I don't go back for more!
 
you know ....eating out is a crap shoot....you're taking a risk anytime someone is left in charge of your dietary needs.....that set aside......the human body is also capable of taking care and subverting a lot of abuse.......if you eat something and it doesn't agree with you....you don't go back......if you go to a restaurant and see that the restroom facilities are gross you can be darn sure that the kitchen is probably worse.....sanitation supervisors are definitely here to enforce the rules and do a good job but they can't be everywhere at all times..harmful bacteria levels only need about 3 hours in some foods to do serious damage and probably less depending..so you're the one who has to use common sense......no one is forcing you to eat......I ate a hamburger in Cairo years ago.....saw that the center was a bit pinkish and still ate it anyway......stupid me.....of course I was running to the loo 20 times a day......what else did I expect.......just use your common sense.....if a place really gives you an upset whatever (and it does affect whatever) report them.....
 
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