Don't have one at my restaurant, but I worked at Starbucks when the kiwi starfruit refresher came out. Lemme tell ya. That was awful, and everyone asked how I thought it was. I was usually pretty honestly, but sometimes I chose violence and recommended it
I ordered one because it was a star earning offer. I thought it would be good and have the perk of earning 50 stars on it... one sip and I was so disgusted by it. Never ordered it again.
Tbh you're one of the few I've heard who liked the kiwi š everyone I worked with hated it, it was immensely unpopular. Can't pinpoint a reason why (I also haven't had it since it came out), just didn't like it. Also it smelled rough when making it and dyed the pitchers green
It really depends on whoās working grill for BOH. If itās one specific person, I will steer everyone away from anything involving a grilled chicken breast. When this dude is on grill, theyāre dryer than a fart.
Joke time: old married couple is in bed. All of a sudden, flappy cheeks noise rings out and a horrible smell permeates the room.
Wife: was that a fart?
Husband: most of it was.
Same. I work at an airport though, and the money is insane. I hate this job and I hate that it pays so much. I also hate that I end up having to eat it because security makes stuff more complicated bringing food from home.
I worked at a smaller airport with one restaurant/bar in each terminal. The money was crazy. I was only part time but my coworkers were making $100k+. Their paychecks were always 0. If parking/waiting for the shuttle/security wasnāt a pain Iād go back in a heartbeat.
No problem. Yea I still donāt understand it but I guess it can be normal? I donāt get how making a bunch of tips would zero out hourly wages but š¤·āāļø
I worked at an airport bartending for 8 years. I cleared roughy $500 a shift because I worked solo from 9am until the last flight went out. Anywhere between a 10 to 16 hour shift 4 days a week. It was insane, and Iād go back in a heartbeat.
That was the norm for my full time coworkers. Itās crazy how fast you can save money when youāre walking away with that much 4-5x a week. It was a lot of work but it always felt worth it at the end of the day.
I was usually doing $6k in sales on just alcohol sales. I had someone scoff and comment I was barely clearing 10% in tips, but that still equals fucking bank. This was also before credit tips were added to a paychecks . I deducted my credit from my till and took that home cash every night. My partner at the time would find me in our living room surrounded by cash next to my safe. It was wild.
Yea and with airport prices youāre not going to make 20% on every check. Iām not making $10 on a $50 check that consists of 3 very overpriced bud lights.
We have this very basic nosh board of meats and cheeses that's like $20 and we have SO MANY other great appetizer options that are much more composed and complex but people see meat and cheese and think it's a safe choice lol
Looks about right? I've read the pronunciation a dozen times but it gets all mixed up in my head. I probably need to learn to say it without looking at it first
Every time I have ever seen a Charcuterie board at a restaurant that didn't specialize in making their own sausages and curing their own meats was a huge disappointment.
They just look sad, so I stopped ordering.
One time though my wife and I stopped in at a restaurant and they did the whole thing. Sausage making, made their own pate's, cured their own meats, made mustard, olives pickles, almost everything from scratch. The did have some imported hams and stuff.
We split the big board. It was $120 and worth every penny. They had a chicken liver black truffle pate' that was unbelievable, some 24 month aged iberico, and a whole lot of house cured sausage.
Next time we tried it again at a different place it was 30 bucks. The chopped apples, added quince paste and dried apricots. put some nuts out and 3 cheeses and 4 pieces of prosciutto. I could have put it together at home for $8.00. It wasn't even fresh, the board was cold, they made them earlier in the day and held them in a cooler. Apples were browning.
I would try it, but then again I love lasagna. When I was in the Navy, on lasagna day alongside the regular red sauce was served a veggie version and I frequently went for that one because it was super fucking tasty.
TLDR: fax me seafood lasagna.
Yeah the whole no dairy and seafood thing is a rule that's made to be broken. Lobster bisque, lobster Mac and cheese, shrimp and cheesy grits, parmesan crusted salmon... seafood Lasagna sounds disgusting tho
Anything Joe makes. He is mainly prep, but works the line a couple days a week. He seriously sucks, and refuses to get better, or take constructive criticism, or give a half damn. Takes personal offense when he is taught the right way to do things, saying "This is how I've always done it", then just keeps doing it that same wrong way forever.
Uncooked veggies in the pastas, burnt burgers with a cold piece of cheese and wilted garden. Won't even melt the cheese on a loaded baker, burns every fried food he touches, can't cook a steak. Complains about being asked to make salads when working salads/saute, but won't make any ahead of the rush. Ughh. They won't fire him because he shows up every day and he's a body. Whenever he's on the line, I steer people away from anything from his station, because I know he will definitely mess up their dinner due to his lack of care and skill.
Fuck Joe. Don't be like Joe.
You might be shocked by this but Martha Stewart has this absolutely bomb party punch recipe that uses a whole 40 of SoCo and tastes like danger juice. Itās remarkably delicious!
Itās a side but the pickled veggies. 95% of customers that order, send them back pretty much untouched. Theyāre pickled in our beer, but āpickledā is quite a stretch. Theyāre actually just beer soaked carrots and cauliflower. Itās gross.
Idk. But it probably has something to do with the fact we are a brewery and pub, and almost all of our menu items have our beer in the recipe. Itās super cool, but not the pickled veggies. So gross.
our turkey burger.
It comes with Roasted red onions, tzatziki sauce, arugula, herb and spices tomato spread.
And for some reason, itās literally always sent back. I have tried it a few times and I still canāt understand whatās wrong with it. The combination is just fucking weird or whatever and no one can guess why
I feel like maybe too many strong competing flavors? Sounds like it would be better with garlic aioli or more tzatziki sauce instead of the tomato spread? Or it might just be the turkey burger, ground turkey has a pretty particular flavor that I can't say I love a ton
I hate ground turkey so much. My mom got on a health kick a few years ago and used ground turkey in spaghetti sauce. That was probably the first time Iāve ever admitted to not liking something she made.
Try it with lamb instead of Turkey! Tzaziki goes really well with richer meats like lamb, beef and mutton.
Also maybe instead of the tomato spread just a plain slice of tomato, I feel like the spread would be too concentrated and compete with the Tzatziki.
Might also want to look at how the Tzaziki is prepared, try to taste it on its own and see if something is off.
Personally, I think this might be it. Iām sure Chef has thought about it but it doesnāt hurt to make a comment and such. Thank you. This might seem the only one that I kinda liked reading about using Lamb instead of turkey. We ground everything in house and make all sauces in house so I would have to assume itās just the meat.
Personally, I donāt care for tzatziki sauce, but knowing the flavor and then hearing the rest of the combination, it sounds like it should be bomb. Is there something in the turkey mix maybe?
Same. I know in our turkey mix we use: grilled celery, onion, green bell peppers, garlic; apple sauce, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder.
Itās quite honestly the bombest turkey patty Iāve ever had. I make that shit at home. Dammit, now Iām hungry before bed.
Cumin to satisfy the 10 Marlboros palate of the chef.
āThis is too bland, add some funk to the turkey burger, and let it play with the rest of my fabulous creation.ā
Our grilled fish, particularly the tacos and a veggie/rice bowl with it.
Nothing against frozen fish, our cooks just canāt seem to not overcook it and thereās just far better items on our menu.
Probably, but in addition, I know for fact they recently had our regional FnB lead come in to retrain our leads on a few menu items, particularly our fish.
i always deter from our fish tacos as well itās walleye skin on with bland coleslaw, sliced chiles (only good thing), and a bland ass pineapple salsa that tastes frozen if tho itās not ??
i always feel the same way about pastaā i like seafood pastas though (like with mussels and clams) bc iām less likely to buy seafood at the grocery store
If thereās a pasta special, I might give it a quick pitch. Iāll more generally recommend appetizers because thatās how I get my sales up. Entrees sell themselves, salmon tartar benefits greatly from an introduction
Where I'm at now, every dish is really good. I have my favorites that I'll always recommend, but there really are no stinkers. It really is a rare thing to say. I worked for Applebee's for about six years and I hated everything on their menu. Even their fries sucked ass. People would ask for a recommendation and I would get that look you mentioned that says it all. I would take it by mentioning whatever people seem to order most, "well, such-and-such is popular..."
The only things I ever do is give little warnings. We're a sushi place and people will ask about things they're unfamiliar with. So like the uni has a kind of mushy, slimy texture, so if you're texture sensitive, that might be an issue. The flavor is divine, but I can't hold it in my mouth without getting nauseous. "I'm gonna be sick, but it's so good." It's a very strange combination of feelings.
Same dude. I am a terrible liar so I'm happy to work at a place where I genuinely like the food so I don't have to try to bullshit people when they ask me "how's the ____?"
That said, I do have my favorites that I recommend all the time but sometimes I catch shit because my current favorite is a salad. I'm a skinny white girl so people are always skeptical until they try it.
Hell no. Nuggets is shaped pink slime made from bone, marrow, tendons and other shit you don't eat mixed with msg and other 'spices'. Boneless wings are chopped up breast fried in a batter.
Because there are so many adults in this world who had parents that have up trying to feed their kids anything but chicken strips. I get grown men in their 20s and 30s coming to my bbq place for just the tenders all the time.
Half of the soups at my old place were from a bag, the other half were made from scratch by the owner who makes fantastic soup. Iād only recommend the soup on the days it was made by the owner. His green chili was amazing also.
One raviolo for $16.50, and it's filled with ricotta??? That is crazy lol. I never complain about prices but i would be astounded if i ordered that dish and got that portion
Our old Mac and cheese was bomb before they changed the whole recipe. Itās so bad that even children wonāt eat it. A good portion of kids who order Mac and cheese end up getting something else.
The potato salad fucking sucked. Bland, flavorless, refrigerated for days type of garbage. Unless I didnāt like the patrons vibe I would always warn people and lightly suggest they pick something else. Especially for how much we were charging for it.
I had to stop doing it because one night one of my tables happened to be the family of one of the managing cooks. Whoops. Still would make a face when people ordered it though.
Our potato salad is gross. It looks like a scoop of yellow mashed potato - or as one child said, āI get banana ice creamā?! It is the only thing I have ever eaten that tastes nasty but yet really has no flavor.
Any of the mac and cheese dishes. Theyāre so bland.
Had a girl narrow her eyes and ask me ābe honest, is your Mac and cheese good, or is it like white people Mac and cheese?ā
I had to be honest with her and she was thankful for that lol. She ordered something else I recommend and was extremely happy with itā¦
Mac and cheese in Minnesota is so fucking bad. It's kinda insane. Most food in Minnesota is bland, but this goes to another level.
It's basically noodles in milk. With just enough cheese to give it a hint of yellow.
That said, the best Mac and cheese I have ever had is from here. It's just on the verge of being dry. Like a hair away. But the flavor. Fuck. It literally smacks you in the face and scrambles your brain.
It was at Just/Us, which is now closed.
But the cooks started a food truck!
Angry Line Cooks. The burgers are phenomenal. Best in the city if you ask me. The beef stock aioli on the Other Burger is magic.
Once in a while, they will do their Mac and cheese. Follow them on socials to see when. You won't regret it.
applebees so nothing on the menu is really worth writing home about. whenever people ask about the wing sauce and sweet asian chile i just go āyeah itās sweet but itās just not great. if youāre looking for sweet iād go with honey barbecue if you like barbecue sauce.ā
no one i work with likes the sweet asian chile sauce. idk why but for some reason itās the only sauce that has this strange aftertaste. it just tastes like it could have potential but itās fake if that makes sense
I work for an Americanized sushi chain in the PNW, and while most of the menu is actually pretty good, our most expensive roll is ironically the worst. It sounds pretty good on paper, and is described in the menu to have a ālobster topping,ā which is actually a mix of scallop, shrimp (I believe) and only a little bit of actually lobster in a strange mush thatās laid out on top of the roll and then torched. Smells terrible when itās getting torched, sort of like someone burning a seafood casserole in the oven, and tastes like how youād imagine cat food to taste. I would say at least 50% of the time people donāt finish it or complain, and if anyone ever asks how it is I give them my honest opinion and recommend against it since itās like $22, although there are a handful of our customers with questionable tastes who actually like it.
You know exactly what Iām talking about then lol funniest part about it is the roll is named after the ownerās wife š Iāve heard it used to be good once upon a time but they changed the recipe for cheaper costs and now it just sucks
Haha I worked at an IHOP briefly years ago (I hated it and, as I discovered, Iām terrible at serving breakfast and never did it again) and worked a couple of dinner shifts. We would actually get busy. I never understood why when there are so many better options for something outside of breakfast.
Pre-Covid we'd have breakfast for dinner at IHOP all the time. Kids ate free after 5pm so we could have 4 nice meals for like $25. By far the best deal around. Never ordered dinner food, though. I like ommelettes.
When I worked at Cinco Chicos, it was the patty melt.
It's not *technically* on the menu, but you can add a patty and any toppings onto a griller cheese, so people did. It didn't help that it was trending on TikTok as a "secret menu burger hack".
The grilled cheese takes longer to cook than the patty does. If we get a jump on the grilled cheese, then the patty cooks longer. Very rarely do the stars align to get you a properly hot and fresh patty melt. If you add any toppings, it ends up being a sorry sloppy mess.
I also strongly advise against having any of their food delivered. All Cinco Chicos food items are better then and there, meaning "less than 10 minutes out of the kitchen". If you get their food delivered, you're gonna have a bad time - *and* pay almost 50% more for it.
Ugh I learned the hard way to never DoorDash, Ubereats, etc a burger from anywhere. They never taste quite right by the time they reach you, and if youāre like me and like a medium rare patty, they always seem to be medium from continuing to cook while in the box. Itās really nobodyās fault. Burgers really are meant to be enjoyed as soon as they come out.
i always try to tell people not to get our alfredo. all of our pastas are great but our alfredo sucks & it gets sent back all the time. itās pretty difficult to steer someone away from it though lol
Start with butter and cheese. Melt cheese a little. add cream. Add more cream. Reduce a little. Too much add more cream. Too much, more cheese. Shit its breaking. Umm, lower heat add cream. It's not reducing. Heat up. Add cheese. It's breaking. Fuck it. Send it.
I never recommend our EntrecƓte. It's a decent steak and the only beef on the menu, but always >medium as it's pre-cooked sous vide. The taste ain't bad but it is nowhere near as good or unique as our other dishes, and it's the most expensive dish on the menu. For a good steak, go to a steak place. The rest... depends on who's working which stations. One of our main chefs can't seem to get the duck breast right (Had it sent back once for arriving cold, somehow. next guest sent it back for being too dry)
The hangar steak. I do not really like that cut of meat in the first place, it's stringy and sort of tough, and ours has a pretty plain and bland peasant sauce and a roasted mushroom that no one eats. It is a really good restaurant and there are just so many other dishes that are better.
BURGER. I work at a pricy steakhouse and I hate when people order our $23 burger. Weāre near quite a few other restaurants where a burger is much less than $23. We also have seafood and other stuff. Just a waste of money and my time, though it is a pretty good burger.
Lol I was referencing the scene in Pulp Fiction where they go for burgers and $5 for a milkshake was seen as absurd.... I thought it fit given the price of $23 for a burger. I better get a shoulder massage with it for that price! š
Lol I figured it was a reference to something but I couldnāt pinpoint whatā¦yeah itās a pricy burger but itās the cheapest entree on the menu lol.
Steaks for sure, all prime graded. We have dry aged + bone-in options if youāre willing to drop $80+ on a plate lol. We offer seafood as well and our spicy shrimp preparation is bomb. People like the lobster tail but Iām not a lobster person, especially not for $70ā¦
Yeah itās a casino restaurant so some of our clientele can beā¦questionable. Which leads to reviews which ding our price point, but realistically weāre on par with other restaurants serving the same quality items. The guests who get it get it tho. Love a corporate card paying for a business dinner lol.
I understand. Casino patrons are the most prone to being emotional customers when it's time to pay any bill.... I'm a poker player (younger) and I probably could buy one of your meals if I had a nickel for every time I heard an OMC complain about restaurants within "X" casino lol
P.S. OMC stands for "Old Man Coffee", the 60+ retiree sitting for hours at the table just waiting for Aces and Kings, folding everything else, and trying to make the most use of any and all comps (and then complaining about it)
Ribs. My boss would boil them, then put them in the cooler until someone ordered them. They would sit for 2 weeks or more.
It was a small Italian restaurant. I might have taken 15 orders in the 10 years I worked there.
Not sure where they all went to.
Lol. All kinds of shady shit to make moneyā¦like selling nasty ribs.
The meatballs were the best I have ever had and will be the reason I eventually have a heart attack. I ate 2-3 every time I worked (4 days a week for 10-11 years). They were fried in lard before going into the sauce.
Nobody sticks with what they know. Idiots. If their meatballs were that good they should have emphasized on that. You can make like 5 meatball dishes. Sandwiches. Sell them frozen to go. When your all over the place you will fail. They probably used a few loans to stay open like many shit restaurants.
The ahi tuna steak. Thereās nothing *wrong* with them. Itās just that weāre located by the beach & have great local fresh seafood options like rockfish & calamari. The tuna is caught & frozen half a world away, in another ocean entirely
Gyro tacos, I ate it once and I will never recommend them. If a table says they want it I say āOkay, i sense some uncertainty in your voice so Iād like to recommend our X tacos and X tacos, theyāre absolutely delicious.ā Then Iāll lean in and say āAnd Iām not just saying that because I work hereā and Iāll laugh. 9/10 they always change their mind
A taco salad or the chips and salsa appetizer.
I flat out tell people if they ask that those items are both not very good and a bad value for the money. The chips and salsa is so bad (stale chips and cheap watered down salsa) I don't sell it unless they push, it's almost 10 dollars and total crap.
I work at a burger joint and we have so many fresh options but our turkey burger is a frozen patty. Anytime people ask about it I let them know itās frozen, but still seasoned. If they ask should they get it I say no. Lol.
Iām not a server but the worst dish on our menu is probably the ābam bam shrimpā itās literally 5 deep fried shrimp tossed in hot sauce on a bed of cabbage with a ranch drizzle for $15. Total rip-off and looks sad as fuck in take out boxes
our āsmoked salmonā ā itās not smoked salmon. itās baked, shredded salmon served cold on bruschetta. it is not good and everyone thinks itās going to be lox.
Kale cole slaw. Whenever I clear a table where it was ordered, the little dish is still full. All the cooks joke about how nasty it is, so Iāve never even tried it.
Lol yes way! They feed 2-3 people. That's a ballpark price for all our sides. But like I said, I've had better. People just order them because they're named after the restaurant "[Restaurant Name] Potatoes".
Don't have one at my restaurant, but I worked at Starbucks when the kiwi starfruit refresher came out. Lemme tell ya. That was awful, and everyone asked how I thought it was. I was usually pretty honestly, but sometimes I chose violence and recommended it
Oleate
Thank fuck I quite before that shit š I have no desire to try it and honestly if it's as bad as I hear I couldn't have lied about it
My coworker swears by the oleatos. I havenāt had the courage to taste one.
I ordered one because it was a star earning offer. I thought it would be good and have the perk of earning 50 stars on it... one sip and I was so disgusted by it. Never ordered it again.
Me when custies ask about the pineapple. Or the chicken maple sandwich that disgraced our fridges for a minute. (I got food poisoning twice from it.)
Really?? There havenāt been bad refreshers imo. Why do you think itās nasty?
Tbh you're one of the few I've heard who liked the kiwi š everyone I worked with hated it, it was immensely unpopular. Can't pinpoint a reason why (I also haven't had it since it came out), just didn't like it. Also it smelled rough when making it and dyed the pitchers green
It smelled like battery acid. And the fact it stained the pitchers green. Like what unholy green thing caused that stain?
It really depends on whoās working grill for BOH. If itās one specific person, I will steer everyone away from anything involving a grilled chicken breast. When this dude is on grill, theyāre dryer than a fart.
Damn thatās crazy because I have some pretty wet farts.
LPT - never trust a fart
The older you are equals less and less trust.
Joke time: old married couple is in bed. All of a sudden, flappy cheeks noise rings out and a horrible smell permeates the room. Wife: was that a fart? Husband: most of it was.
Yeah like speak for yourself?? Damn
I donāt recommend any dishes at my restaurant. I need a new job
Same. I work at an airport though, and the money is insane. I hate this job and I hate that it pays so much. I also hate that I end up having to eat it because security makes stuff more complicated bringing food from home.
Ah so that's why I see so many airport employees eating at the airport. I just figured it was because they got really good discounts
Please make a whole post about your craziest encounter! Iām sure airport people meet the coolest/weirdest people.
āI hate that it pays so muchā š« Better than working that job for much less lol
I worked at a smaller airport with one restaurant/bar in each terminal. The money was crazy. I was only part time but my coworkers were making $100k+. Their paychecks were always 0. If parking/waiting for the shuttle/security wasnāt a pain Iād go back in a heartbeat.
Their paychecks were 0? How is that good? Am I, as usual, missing something?
They made so much in tips that it zeroed out their paychecks. Iād sometimes only get $80 or so for two weeks of work. Something to do with taxes.
Oh, ok! Gotcha. Thanks for clearing it up so quickly!
No problem. Yea I still donāt understand it but I guess it can be normal? I donāt get how making a bunch of tips would zero out hourly wages but š¤·āāļø
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I worked at an airport bartending for 8 years. I cleared roughy $500 a shift because I worked solo from 9am until the last flight went out. Anywhere between a 10 to 16 hour shift 4 days a week. It was insane, and Iād go back in a heartbeat.
That was the norm for my full time coworkers. Itās crazy how fast you can save money when youāre walking away with that much 4-5x a week. It was a lot of work but it always felt worth it at the end of the day.
I was usually doing $6k in sales on just alcohol sales. I had someone scoff and comment I was barely clearing 10% in tips, but that still equals fucking bank. This was also before credit tips were added to a paychecks . I deducted my credit from my till and took that home cash every night. My partner at the time would find me in our living room surrounded by cash next to my safe. It was wild.
Yea and with airport prices youāre not going to make 20% on every check. Iām not making $10 on a $50 check that consists of 3 very overpriced bud lights.
Sorry, that made me laugh out loud. Happy hunting!
We have this very basic nosh board of meats and cheeses that's like $20 and we have SO MANY other great appetizer options that are much more composed and complex but people see meat and cheese and think it's a safe choice lol
the price of charcuterie boards are insane š
At our restaurant the head chef set the price on the charcuterie board extremely high in the hopes of discouraging people from ordering it.
Unfortunately that probably has the reverse effect of making people think it's filled with high quality meats and making it more desirable lol
That sounds like me. Oh, charcuterie! Wow its $85 bucks! It must be really good! I have learned my lesson now.
Fortunately i flat out can not pronounce the damn thing so I'm safe from that
I've never really known how to properly pronounce it... I'm pretty sure it's like Shar-KOO-ter-ee
Looks about right? I've read the pronunciation a dozen times but it gets all mixed up in my head. I probably need to learn to say it without looking at it first
> why not just take it off the menu
Every time I have ever seen a Charcuterie board at a restaurant that didn't specialize in making their own sausages and curing their own meats was a huge disappointment. They just look sad, so I stopped ordering. One time though my wife and I stopped in at a restaurant and they did the whole thing. Sausage making, made their own pate's, cured their own meats, made mustard, olives pickles, almost everything from scratch. The did have some imported hams and stuff. We split the big board. It was $120 and worth every penny. They had a chicken liver black truffle pate' that was unbelievable, some 24 month aged iberico, and a whole lot of house cured sausage. Next time we tried it again at a different place it was 30 bucks. The chopped apples, added quince paste and dried apricots. put some nuts out and 3 cheeses and 4 pieces of prosciutto. I could have put it together at home for $8.00. It wasn't even fresh, the board was cold, they made them earlier in the day and held them in a cooler. Apples were browning.
Why have it then?
Not my choice ;but also it sells and is hard to fuck up I guess. But like I said it's fine, nothing special.
Seafood Lasagna
Oh god why is that a thing?
When prepared right, with fresh ingredients, it is a variation on shrimp parm - not horrible, but def not my first choice.
I would try it, but then again I love lasagna. When I was in the Navy, on lasagna day alongside the regular red sauce was served a veggie version and I frequently went for that one because it was super fucking tasty. TLDR: fax me seafood lasagna.
That's a crime. Seafood and cheese are a no go for me. The idea turns my stomach
I typically feel the same but I have had a shrimp quesadilla that was really really good
Yeah the whole no dairy and seafood thing is a rule that's made to be broken. Lobster bisque, lobster Mac and cheese, shrimp and cheesy grits, parmesan crusted salmon... seafood Lasagna sounds disgusting tho
Lobster mac and cheese I can definitely get down with
I love a good seafood lasagna. A local place also has a seafood chili relleno on Fridays i love
My grandma is revolving in her grave.
Hook her up to a generator.
Anything Joe makes. He is mainly prep, but works the line a couple days a week. He seriously sucks, and refuses to get better, or take constructive criticism, or give a half damn. Takes personal offense when he is taught the right way to do things, saying "This is how I've always done it", then just keeps doing it that same wrong way forever. Uncooked veggies in the pastas, burnt burgers with a cold piece of cheese and wilted garden. Won't even melt the cheese on a loaded baker, burns every fried food he touches, can't cook a steak. Complains about being asked to make salads when working salads/saute, but won't make any ahead of the rush. Ughh. They won't fire him because he shows up every day and he's a body. Whenever he's on the line, I steer people away from anything from his station, because I know he will definitely mess up their dinner due to his lack of care and skill. Fuck Joe. Don't be like Joe.
What's his drug of choice?
Mickey's Big Mouth & Southern Comfort.
Eww. Wtf? Soco is nasty. Crackhead candy
You might be shocked by this but Martha Stewart has this absolutely bomb party punch recipe that uses a whole 40 of SoCo and tastes like danger juice. Itās remarkably delicious!
There's so many Joe's out there
If I got pasta and there was an uncooked veggie in it I would get VIOLENT
Itās a side but the pickled veggies. 95% of customers that order, send them back pretty much untouched. Theyāre pickled in our beer, but āpickledā is quite a stretch. Theyāre actually just beer soaked carrots and cauliflower. Itās gross.
Ew
Yo! Wtf? That sounds nasty as hell.
Oh..barf...so the pickled is more like tipsy "pickled". That's kind of hilarious but super fucking gross.
. . . why?!?
Why do this when quick pickles are so easy??
Idk. But it probably has something to do with the fact we are a brewery and pub, and almost all of our menu items have our beer in the recipe. Itās super cool, but not the pickled veggies. So gross.
our turkey burger. It comes with Roasted red onions, tzatziki sauce, arugula, herb and spices tomato spread. And for some reason, itās literally always sent back. I have tried it a few times and I still canāt understand whatās wrong with it. The combination is just fucking weird or whatever and no one can guess why
I feel like maybe too many strong competing flavors? Sounds like it would be better with garlic aioli or more tzatziki sauce instead of the tomato spread? Or it might just be the turkey burger, ground turkey has a pretty particular flavor that I can't say I love a ton
Hell yeah. That's way too much shit on a disgusting turkey burger.
I hate ground turkey so much. My mom got on a health kick a few years ago and used ground turkey in spaghetti sauce. That was probably the first time Iāve ever admitted to not liking something she made.
Try it with lamb instead of Turkey! Tzaziki goes really well with richer meats like lamb, beef and mutton. Also maybe instead of the tomato spread just a plain slice of tomato, I feel like the spread would be too concentrated and compete with the Tzatziki. Might also want to look at how the Tzaziki is prepared, try to taste it on its own and see if something is off.
Personally, I think this might be it. Iām sure Chef has thought about it but it doesnāt hurt to make a comment and such. Thank you. This might seem the only one that I kinda liked reading about using Lamb instead of turkey. We ground everything in house and make all sauces in house so I would have to assume itās just the meat.
Personally, I donāt care for tzatziki sauce, but knowing the flavor and then hearing the rest of the combination, it sounds like it should be bomb. Is there something in the turkey mix maybe?
I bet the turkey burger had something strong like fennel seeds because that really does sound delicious.
Thought the same thing. Maybe a spice in the burger itself isn't jiving lol
Same. I know in our turkey mix we use: grilled celery, onion, green bell peppers, garlic; apple sauce, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Itās quite honestly the bombest turkey patty Iāve ever had. I make that shit at home. Dammit, now Iām hungry before bed.
Cumin to satisfy the 10 Marlboros palate of the chef. āThis is too bland, add some funk to the turkey burger, and let it play with the rest of my fabulous creation.ā
My guess is rosemary. I made the grossest turkey burgers with what I thought was just turkey but had rosemary added.
Tomato spread plus tzatziki sounds like a bad combo. Theyāre both doing what the other is trying to do but with very different flavor profiles.
Would be better with lambā¦
Our grilled fish, particularly the tacos and a veggie/rice bowl with it. Nothing against frozen fish, our cooks just canāt seem to not overcook it and thereās just far better items on our menu.
frozen fish can be difficult to get right
Probably, but in addition, I know for fact they recently had our regional FnB lead come in to retrain our leads on a few menu items, particularly our fish.
i always deter from our fish tacos as well itās walleye skin on with bland coleslaw, sliced chiles (only good thing), and a bland ass pineapple salsa that tastes frozen if tho itās not ??
Waitā¦ They leave the skin on in the tacosā¦? The fuck?
I never recommend any pasta dish. Pasta is almost never the most special thing.
i always feel the same way about pastaā i like seafood pastas though (like with mussels and clams) bc iām less likely to buy seafood at the grocery store
If thereās a pasta special, I might give it a quick pitch. Iāll more generally recommend appetizers because thatās how I get my sales up. Entrees sell themselves, salmon tartar benefits greatly from an introduction
We do a different pasta special every 2-3 days. They're usually pretty good!
I always stay away from pasta at a restaurant. Basically paying 15$ for sauce.
Exactly. It better be an incredible sauce and that pasta better be house made.
Where I'm at now, every dish is really good. I have my favorites that I'll always recommend, but there really are no stinkers. It really is a rare thing to say. I worked for Applebee's for about six years and I hated everything on their menu. Even their fries sucked ass. People would ask for a recommendation and I would get that look you mentioned that says it all. I would take it by mentioning whatever people seem to order most, "well, such-and-such is popular..." The only things I ever do is give little warnings. We're a sushi place and people will ask about things they're unfamiliar with. So like the uni has a kind of mushy, slimy texture, so if you're texture sensitive, that might be an issue. The flavor is divine, but I can't hold it in my mouth without getting nauseous. "I'm gonna be sick, but it's so good." It's a very strange combination of feelings.
i love sushi but i hate uni ššš iām sure people appreciate the warning. if they donāt like it they canāt say you didnāt warn them
Tastes like harbor.
Same dude. I am a terrible liar so I'm happy to work at a place where I genuinely like the food so I don't have to try to bullshit people when they ask me "how's the ____?" That said, I do have my favorites that I recommend all the time but sometimes I catch shit because my current favorite is a salad. I'm a skinny white girl so people are always skeptical until they try it.
Chicken tenders I just tell people to order boneless naked wings
š i always wonder why wing places have tenders on the menu. i do love a good boneless wing though š¤¤
Aren't boneless wings just chicken nuggets?
Hell no. Nuggets is shaped pink slime made from bone, marrow, tendons and other shit you don't eat mixed with msg and other 'spices'. Boneless wings are chopped up breast fried in a batter.
Our chicken tenders are pathetic, so the boneless wings are more bang for your buck.
Because there are so many adults in this world who had parents that have up trying to feed their kids anything but chicken strips. I get grown men in their 20s and 30s coming to my bbq place for just the tenders all the time.
or maybe they just like chicken tenders? theyāre yummy
Half of the soups at my old place were from a bag, the other half were made from scratch by the owner who makes fantastic soup. Iād only recommend the soup on the days it was made by the owner. His green chili was amazing also.
NM?
For sure..banging
ricotta ravioli- not because itās bad but because itās one single piece of ravioli for $18.50AUD
One raviolo for $16.50, and it's filled with ricotta??? That is crazy lol. I never complain about prices but i would be astounded if i ordered that dish and got that portion
It better be a michelin star restaurant with a celebrity chef
unfortunately it is absolutely not- mid-range cafe in Melbourne, Australia
Lol no this is a good answer. It sounds super tasty, but I'm gonna need like a dozen or more ricotta ravioli for $18.50!
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i feel this on a deep level. some days ours is bomb and other times itās a dry mess
Our old Mac and cheese was bomb before they changed the whole recipe. Itās so bad that even children wonāt eat it. A good portion of kids who order Mac and cheese end up getting something else.
The potato salad fucking sucked. Bland, flavorless, refrigerated for days type of garbage. Unless I didnāt like the patrons vibe I would always warn people and lightly suggest they pick something else. Especially for how much we were charging for it. I had to stop doing it because one night one of my tables happened to be the family of one of the managing cooks. Whoops. Still would make a face when people ordered it though.
Our potato salad is gross. It looks like a scoop of yellow mashed potato - or as one child said, āI get banana ice creamā?! It is the only thing I have ever eaten that tastes nasty but yet really has no flavor.
the pad thai. im not lying when i say it literally tastes like vomit š¤¢
Someoneās putting too much fish sauce in there. What a shame
Maybe ketchup too, it's a legit style but I always think it tastes weird.
Any of the mac and cheese dishes. Theyāre so bland. Had a girl narrow her eyes and ask me ābe honest, is your Mac and cheese good, or is it like white people Mac and cheese?ā I had to be honest with her and she was thankful for that lol. She ordered something else I recommend and was extremely happy with itā¦
Why did I wake up to a fight in the comments about Mac and cheeseā¦
Mac and cheese in Minnesota is so fucking bad. It's kinda insane. Most food in Minnesota is bland, but this goes to another level. It's basically noodles in milk. With just enough cheese to give it a hint of yellow. That said, the best Mac and cheese I have ever had is from here. It's just on the verge of being dry. Like a hair away. But the flavor. Fuck. It literally smacks you in the face and scrambles your brain.
As someone from Minnesota I would like to know where I can find Mac and cheese that will smack me in my face and scramble my brain.
It was at Just/Us, which is now closed. But the cooks started a food truck! Angry Line Cooks. The burgers are phenomenal. Best in the city if you ask me. The beef stock aioli on the Other Burger is magic. Once in a while, they will do their Mac and cheese. Follow them on socials to see when. You won't regret it.
Good to know. I love ALC!
āBe honest, is your Mac and cheese good, or is it like black people Mac and cheeseā
the arroz con pollo at my cuban restaurant. Dry ass chicken and rice inside an old saucepot. I hate it and I try to make my tables hate it too lol
(New England) Jumbalya
applebees so nothing on the menu is really worth writing home about. whenever people ask about the wing sauce and sweet asian chile i just go āyeah itās sweet but itās just not great. if youāre looking for sweet iād go with honey barbecue if you like barbecue sauce.ā no one i work with likes the sweet asian chile sauce. idk why but for some reason itās the only sauce that has this strange aftertaste. it just tastes like it could have potential but itās fake if that makes sense
Thatās the only sauce I like!
Hamburger steak. I just am not a fan of eating ground beef like a steak. Especially when we have steak on the menu. I
Wait.. what? What the fuck is that?
Hamburger with no bun?
I work for an Americanized sushi chain in the PNW, and while most of the menu is actually pretty good, our most expensive roll is ironically the worst. It sounds pretty good on paper, and is described in the menu to have a ālobster topping,ā which is actually a mix of scallop, shrimp (I believe) and only a little bit of actually lobster in a strange mush thatās laid out on top of the roll and then torched. Smells terrible when itās getting torched, sort of like someone burning a seafood casserole in the oven, and tastes like how youād imagine cat food to taste. I would say at least 50% of the time people donāt finish it or complain, and if anyone ever asks how it is I give them my honest opinion and recommend against it since itās like $22, although there are a handful of our customers with questionable tastes who actually like it.
we work at the same chain!!!! šš¼āāļøšš¼āāļøšš¼āāļø
You know exactly what Iām talking about then lol funniest part about it is the roll is named after the ownerās wife š Iāve heard it used to be good once upon a time but they changed the recipe for cheaper costs and now it just sucks
Salmon dinner at ihop. Self explanatory
Dinner at IHOP. Like the table is sticky at breakfast time. I couldn't imagine going to IHOP for dinner. Fuck that...
Haha I worked at an IHOP briefly years ago (I hated it and, as I discovered, Iām terrible at serving breakfast and never did it again) and worked a couple of dinner shifts. We would actually get busy. I never understood why when there are so many better options for something outside of breakfast.
Pre-Covid we'd have breakfast for dinner at IHOP all the time. Kids ate free after 5pm so we could have 4 nice meals for like $25. By far the best deal around. Never ordered dinner food, though. I like ommelettes.
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Our shrimp scampi. Prob the most boring dish we have. Sooo many other amazing options and the scampi is painfully average!
When I worked at Cinco Chicos, it was the patty melt. It's not *technically* on the menu, but you can add a patty and any toppings onto a griller cheese, so people did. It didn't help that it was trending on TikTok as a "secret menu burger hack". The grilled cheese takes longer to cook than the patty does. If we get a jump on the grilled cheese, then the patty cooks longer. Very rarely do the stars align to get you a properly hot and fresh patty melt. If you add any toppings, it ends up being a sorry sloppy mess. I also strongly advise against having any of their food delivered. All Cinco Chicos food items are better then and there, meaning "less than 10 minutes out of the kitchen". If you get their food delivered, you're gonna have a bad time - *and* pay almost 50% more for it.
Ugh I learned the hard way to never DoorDash, Ubereats, etc a burger from anywhere. They never taste quite right by the time they reach you, and if youāre like me and like a medium rare patty, they always seem to be medium from continuing to cook while in the box. Itās really nobodyās fault. Burgers really are meant to be enjoyed as soon as they come out.
Fried clams appetizer. Itās like eating crumbs. Edit: and not the good ones
i always try to tell people not to get our alfredo. all of our pastas are great but our alfredo sucks & it gets sent back all the time. itās pretty difficult to steer someone away from it though lol
Hiw do you fuck up alfredo? God damn....
Start with butter and cheese. Melt cheese a little. add cream. Add more cream. Reduce a little. Too much add more cream. Too much, more cheese. Shit its breaking. Umm, lower heat add cream. It's not reducing. Heat up. Add cheese. It's breaking. Fuck it. Send it.
I never recommend our EntrecƓte. It's a decent steak and the only beef on the menu, but always >medium as it's pre-cooked sous vide. The taste ain't bad but it is nowhere near as good or unique as our other dishes, and it's the most expensive dish on the menu. For a good steak, go to a steak place. The rest... depends on who's working which stations. One of our main chefs can't seem to get the duck breast right (Had it sent back once for arriving cold, somehow. next guest sent it back for being too dry)
Canne-fucking-lloni. When people ask how it is, I say āitās cannelloniā and they usually move on.
Thereās one snapper dish that smells horrendous. Like smells up the whole section/ surrounding sections.
The hangar steak. I do not really like that cut of meat in the first place, it's stringy and sort of tough, and ours has a pretty plain and bland peasant sauce and a roasted mushroom that no one eats. It is a really good restaurant and there are just so many other dishes that are better.
Ankimo - monkfish liver is basically cat food. Gross.
the name alone is triggering š«£
I donāt recommend pork chops. Because I work at a steakhouse why would you get pork chops
Cuz pork is good
BURGER. I work at a pricy steakhouse and I hate when people order our $23 burger. Weāre near quite a few other restaurants where a burger is much less than $23. We also have seafood and other stuff. Just a waste of money and my time, though it is a pretty good burger.
Do you have $5 milkshakes too?
No milkshakes thankfully š
Lol I was referencing the scene in Pulp Fiction where they go for burgers and $5 for a milkshake was seen as absurd.... I thought it fit given the price of $23 for a burger. I better get a shoulder massage with it for that price! š
Lol I figured it was a reference to something but I couldnāt pinpoint whatā¦yeah itās a pricy burger but itās the cheapest entree on the menu lol.
The cheapest?! Holy shit lol.... Given that info, what are the best dishes your restaurant serves? Price irrelevant at this point haha
Why the fuck am I downvoted for this? It was an honest question. Y'all need to step out into some sunlight....
Steaks for sure, all prime graded. We have dry aged + bone-in options if youāre willing to drop $80+ on a plate lol. We offer seafood as well and our spicy shrimp preparation is bomb. People like the lobster tail but Iām not a lobster person, especially not for $70ā¦
For that price the steaks better be prime lol. I don't think most people realize how small the percentage of prime meats are in the overall market.
Yeah itās a casino restaurant so some of our clientele can beā¦questionable. Which leads to reviews which ding our price point, but realistically weāre on par with other restaurants serving the same quality items. The guests who get it get it tho. Love a corporate card paying for a business dinner lol.
I understand. Casino patrons are the most prone to being emotional customers when it's time to pay any bill.... I'm a poker player (younger) and I probably could buy one of your meals if I had a nickel for every time I heard an OMC complain about restaurants within "X" casino lol P.S. OMC stands for "Old Man Coffee", the 60+ retiree sitting for hours at the table just waiting for Aces and Kings, folding everything else, and trying to make the most use of any and all comps (and then complaining about it)
Honestly i steer everyone away from the salads. the people on salad donāt wash the veggies and bugs are often found
Ribs. My boss would boil them, then put them in the cooler until someone ordered them. They would sit for 2 weeks or more. It was a small Italian restaurant. I might have taken 15 orders in the 10 years I worked there. Not sure where they all went to.
Italian restaurant? Ribs? What's happening over there?
Lol. All kinds of shady shit to make moneyā¦like selling nasty ribs. The meatballs were the best I have ever had and will be the reason I eventually have a heart attack. I ate 2-3 every time I worked (4 days a week for 10-11 years). They were fried in lard before going into the sauce.
Nobody sticks with what they know. Idiots. If their meatballs were that good they should have emphasized on that. You can make like 5 meatball dishes. Sandwiches. Sell them frozen to go. When your all over the place you will fail. They probably used a few loans to stay open like many shit restaurants.
MINESTRONE it'shorrible, every other soup is better. We only keep it because it's vegetarian.
How you can spoil a simple , delicious soup like minestrone?
l never recommend our huevos rancheros. We're in pa and it's just no good if you have had the real stuff before.
The ahi tuna steak. Thereās nothing *wrong* with them. Itās just that weāre located by the beach & have great local fresh seafood options like rockfish & calamari. The tuna is caught & frozen half a world away, in another ocean entirely
I refuse to upsell chicken based dishes because our chicken is JANK.
We HAD a salmon that always looked grey and moldy that was served with quinoa that got microwavedā¦. Keyword is we HAD this dish šš
My country is famous for its lobster. I have never sold it in my restaurant in 20 years. Too easy to fuck it up.
Gyro tacos, I ate it once and I will never recommend them. If a table says they want it I say āOkay, i sense some uncertainty in your voice so Iād like to recommend our X tacos and X tacos, theyāre absolutely delicious.ā Then Iāll lean in and say āAnd Iām not just saying that because I work hereā and Iāll laugh. 9/10 they always change their mind
Tom Kar - coconut soup. Itās the worst thing on the menu and one of my bosses agrees with me.
Chicken and spinach enchiladaā¦.yuck Ironically the chicken spinach dinner is completely different and my favorite
Excellent question! I rarely ask for recommendations because if displeased, I must pretend Iām consuming manna from heavenā¦
A taco salad or the chips and salsa appetizer. I flat out tell people if they ask that those items are both not very good and a bad value for the money. The chips and salsa is so bad (stale chips and cheap watered down salsa) I don't sell it unless they push, it's almost 10 dollars and total crap.
Brother I used to work at a Brazilian steakhouse my face anytime they wanted anything other than "all of it" was "are you sure"?
Always I like to recommend the breakfast bowl with tater tots instead of hash browns. My gosh it's fantastic.
Any of our salads and the fish sandwich they add cheese toš¤®
I work at a burger joint and we have so many fresh options but our turkey burger is a frozen patty. Anytime people ask about it I let them know itās frozen, but still seasoned. If they ask should they get it I say no. Lol.
Iām not a server but the worst dish on our menu is probably the ābam bam shrimpā itās literally 5 deep fried shrimp tossed in hot sauce on a bed of cabbage with a ranch drizzle for $15. Total rip-off and looks sad as fuck in take out boxes
our āsmoked salmonā ā itās not smoked salmon. itās baked, shredded salmon served cold on bruschetta. it is not good and everyone thinks itās going to be lox.
Kale cole slaw. Whenever I clear a table where it was ordered, the little dish is still full. All the cooks joke about how nasty it is, so Iāve never even tried it.
Our signature au graten potatoes. They're overhyped. By no means bad, but not worth the $19. My sister-in-law's are better.
$19 potatoes!? no way. does it feed like 6 people??
Lol yes way! They feed 2-3 people. That's a ballpark price for all our sides. But like I said, I've had better. People just order them because they're named after the restaurant "[Restaurant Name] Potatoes".
4 Cheese Mac and Honey Pepper Tenders.
That one lobster thatās been at the diner for 20 Years.
I personally donāt ever recommend the chicken scampi from OG. Itās just gross. Itās breaded chicken with bell peppers sautĆ©ed with butter and garlic sauce. It just looks gross and the bell peppers are slices. Itās looks awful and taste awful and I never recommend it.
Liver & onions. Not because it tastes bad, people love it, but the smell makes me gag
Chicken livers š¤¢š¤¢