# What are your biggest restaurant complaints? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 30, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987 "2007-09-30T00:01:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2007, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/321 "2007-10-02T23:32:20Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] That’s kind of strange, because I’ve generally found that both cooks and servers included are some of the most forgiving restaurant customers. Generally, I’ve found servers more forgiving and empathetic to one another knowing the bad days, politics, and crazy customer shit that we have all had to deal with. Servers in my experience also happen to be some of the best tippers. [/QUOTE] Huh. Maybe it’s just a local thing then. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I think a place like Appleby’s or something which is cooking wings to order and which would have more equipment in back (e.g. extra bowls) would have no problem with it. I’ve been told by coworkers who have worked at Appleby’s that pretty much everything on the menu there comes pre-cooked, pre-prepped, and pre-portioned, and that the “cook’s” job is to grab the appropriate package, nuke it, and slap it on a plate. One former Appleby’s cook said even the _steaks_ come pre-cooked, in vacuum-sealed bags labeled “medium rare”, “medium”, etc. So maybe the wings are pre-sauced. Of course, these same people also told me that if you get a paper cut while on the clock, Appleby’s requires a drug test, so they may have been yanking my chain. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, although I also love nice crisp iceberg (with whaaaaay too much blue cheese dressing), I have to admit they are likely doing you a favor. Iceberg lettuce has nearly no nutritional value. That “spring mix” you despise is more likely to be loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins. More nutritious, possibly. But that does me no good if I can’t get the stuff to my mouth because the paper-thin leaves have pasted themselves to my plate. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/322 "2007-10-03T00:14:35Z")
[QUOTE=LurkMeister] Interestingly enough, I’ve started having a container of yogurt for breakfast with no apparent problem. [/QUOTE] Dudes with mild lactose intolerance seem to be aided by Lactobacillus, aka “Live culture”. They sell “Sweet Acidolpholus” milk for those dudes. Not to mention the bacteria have already broken down par tof the lactose anyway. I also have mild lactose intolerance, and treat it with Probiotics (aka Lactobacillus, Acidophilus, etc). Cheese and yogurt and even a single scoop of ice cream is Ok with my gut, now. I have switched to frozen yogurt (mmm, B&J Cherry Garcia FY! 😉 ) mostly anyway. wiki:[Probiotic - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probiotics) \*Managing Lactose Intolerance As lactic acid bacteria actively convert lactose into lactic acid, ingestion of certain active strains may help lactose intolerant individuals tolerate more lactose than what they would have otherwise.[3] In practice probiotics are not specifically targeted for this purpose, as most are relatively low in lactase activity as compared to the normal yogurt bacteria.\* > **[Yogurt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt)** > > Yogurt (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}UK: /ˈjɒɡərt/; US: /ˈjoʊɡərt/; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria ferment the sugars in the milk and produce lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Yog The ma... _Yoghurt has nutritional benefits beyond those of milk: people who are lactose-intolerant often enjoy yoghurt without ill effects, apparently because live yoghurt cultures contain enzymes which help break down lactose inside the intestine.[1]_ ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/323 "2007-10-03T00:18:36Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] Huh. Maybe it’s just a local thing then. [/QUOTE] Could be. Might be generational, too. Most of the folks I knew as servers were just some good midwest college kids in their early 20’s during the 90’s (a 50/50 mix of boys and girls). We were the night shift, and then diametrically opposite us, were the breakfast and lunch shift which consisted of a bunch of older ladies in their 40’s and 50’s …there was drama and pettieness all the time on that morning shift, and I can guarantee I’d never want to wait on some of those bitches. [QUOTE=Phase42] I’ve been told by coworkers who have worked at Appleby’s that pretty much everything on the menu there comes pre-cooked, pre-prepped, and pre-portioned, and that the “cook’s” job is to grab the appropriate package, nuke it, and slap it on a plate. One former Appleby’s cook said even the _steaks_ come pre-cooked, in vacuum-sealed bags labeled “medium rare”, “medium”, etc. So maybe the wings are pre-sauced. Of course, these same people also told me that if you get a paper cut while on the clock, Appleby’s requires a drug test, so they may have been yanking my chain. [/QUOTE] Nah, Applebee’s wings are definitely prepared to order. Frozen and deepfried wings with a pretty traditional Red Pepper Sauce, Butter, and Worcestershire Buffalo sauce to dress (that is probably premixed, bottled, and propriatary, though). They’re good compared to some other menu items. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/324 "2007-10-03T00:26:40Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] I’ve been told by coworkers who have worked at Appleby’s that pretty much everything on the menu there comes pre-cooked, pre-prepped, and pre-portioned, and that the “cook’s” job is to grab the appropriate package, nuke it, and slap it on a plate. One former Appleby’s cook said even the _steaks_ come pre-cooked, in vacuum-sealed bags labeled “medium rare”, “medium”, etc. So maybe the wings are pre-sauced. Of course, these same people also told me that if you get a paper cut while on the clock, Appleby’s requires a drug test, so they may have been yanking my chain. [/QUOTE] That’s just not true. I don’t work at an Applebee’s, but at least one of the other guys in the kitchen has, and while he did say it was one of the lower-quality chains, it wasn’t _that_ bad. Denny’s, OTOH… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/325 "2007-10-03T03:02:13Z")
I never worked at Appleby’s but I did work a sports grill and bar type place that was similar. It was privately owned, not part of chain. We did everything from scratch there, including the buffalo sauce and the blue cheese dressing. I also worked at a Perkins before that (I kind of worked my way through better and beter places) and they _did_ do an awful lot of prefabricated stuff. Sauces, gravies, soups and the like all came in frozen bags. Steaks came in little vaccuum bags but weren’t pre-cooked. I’ve never heard of a place – even a microwave franchise like Perkins or Dennys – getting steaks pre-cooked to temperature. I don’t think it would be possible to warm them up without _changing_ the temp. Appleby’s is a marginal step up from Perkins (if only because they have alcohol). Pre-sauced, pre-portioned chicken wings just would not accord with my long experience in a wide variety of menial cooking jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/326 "2007-10-03T03:12:40Z")
[QUOTE=diggerwam] I was a host/waiter long ago and an incident still bothers me. I worked at Denny’s, 24 hour place. The restaurant had 3 sections. We were switching from overnight to morning shift. One section was closed and dark, one section was the overnight smoking section, there was still a couple stragglers sitting w/ their coffee. I was instructed to sit no more smokers in that section and that I should start sitting smokers in the daytime smoking section. So temporarily, I had two smoking sections and no non-smoking section. [/QUOTE] Was the closed section the non-smoking section, or was it the case that the non-smoking section would be a smoking section at some other time of day? If so, that’s awful- that section would smell of smoke, even when it was the non-smoking section. P.U! > [@LurkMeister](#): > > I prefer properly aged cheese, but at $7-$20 a pound my budget prefers Kraft when the stores have it on sale for $3 a pound. Are you anywhere within a reasonable drive of the [Trader Joe’s](http://www.traderjoes.com) in Cary or Charlotte? If you are, you really should check out their cheese section sometime. They have good cheeses at reasonable prices. I got a nice New Zealand grass-fed cheddar at Trader Joe’s recently for $4.99/pound. It’s not a super-premium cheddar, but it is a real aged cheese, not processed cheese food. I’m just wondering how they fed grass to the cheddar, and whether cheese food is what they feed to the non-grass-fed cheeses 😉 > [@DrDeth](#): > > That “spring mix” you despise is more likely to be loaded with anti-oxidants and vitamins. And this thread inspired me to get some spring mix in a bag at Trader Joe’s, and have a bowl of it with my dinner. Yummy. Spring mix- it’s what’s for dinner. I hated salads until I moved to California at the age of 23, btw. That’s when I first tried one of the dark-green no-crunchy-veggies salads, and, much to my surprise, found myself missing them when I went back to visit my parents. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/327 "2007-10-03T03:33:27Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Are you anywhere within a reasonable drive of the [Trader Joe’s](http://www.traderjoes.com) in Cary or Charlotte? If you are, you really should check out their cheese section sometime. They have good cheeses at reasonable prices. I got a nice New Zealand grass-fed cheddar at Trader Joe’s recently for $4.99/pound. It’s not a super-premium cheddar, but it is a real aged cheese, not processed cheese food. I’m just wondering how they fed grass to the cheddar, and whether cheese food is what they feed to the non-grass-fed cheeses 😉 [/QUOTE] I’m in the Raleigh/Durham area, and I don’t drive, so Trader Joe’s is out of the question (unfortunately, since I’ve heard a lot of good things about it). I just moved down here from Chicago a year ago, and I’m still learning about the good places to shop. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Dudes with mild lactose intolerance seem to be aided by Lactobacillus, aka “Live culture”. They sell “Sweet Acidolpholus” milk for those dudes. Not to mention the bacteria have already broken down par tof the lactose anyway. I’ll have to check that out…I don’t buy much milk because it usually goes bad before I finish it, but occasionally I like to use it when I’m cooking. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/328 "2007-10-03T03:44:35Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] My own peeve with restaurants: why on earth are most of the vegetables available in most restaurants in my area some form of potato/plantain or iceberg lettuce? Why is it when there’s something besides a starchy vegetable, it’s almost always horribly overcooked or contains zucchini or cauliflower, which are also bland and boring? Sometimes I want to go out and not feel like I’m being forced to eat bland, boring food. If I wanted bland, boring food, I could eat in the home of someone who was a bad cook for free. I’m not paying more just to have a bad food experience. [/QUOTE] Oh, that’s one of my pet peeves as well. The vegetable selection is usually some horrid zucchini/squash/cooked carrot medley. I love pretty much all vegetables with the exception of those three. Similarly, the fruit cup is always 90% melon with two grapes and one strawberry. Bleh, melon… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/329 "2007-10-03T04:19:17Z")
I love all vegetables except celery - guess which veggie is usually prominently featured in dinners around these parts? And I’ll add my gripe to the overcooked veggies - _al dente_, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/330 "2007-10-03T04:30:13Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I love all vegetables except celery - guess which veggie is usually prominently featured in dinners around these parts? And I’ll add my gripe to the overcooked veggies - _al dente_, dammit! [/QUOTE] Or drowned in butter. I mean, who the hell puts butter on broccoli!? ---
**Author:** ![Cattitude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Cattitude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cattitude)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/331 "2007-10-03T04:49:58Z")
[continued hijack] LACTAID people! It really does wonders for your intolerant gut. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/332 "2007-10-03T05:56:41Z")
[QUOTE=tremorviolet] Oh, that’s one of my pet peeves as well. The vegetable selection is usually some horrid zucchini/squash/cooked carrot medley. I love pretty much all vegetables with the exception of those three. Similarly, the fruit cup is always 90% melon with two grapes and one strawberry. Bleh, melon… [/QUOTE] Our standard veg mixture is broccoli, carrots, zucchini, pea pods, and yellow/summer squash. So yeah, nothing too exciting. But we also have an option of broccoli only, or asparagus (though that’s a $1 upcharge, IIRC.) If it’s REALLY slow, and you ask real nice, you _might_ be able to get the veg without one or more of the things. But if it’s busy, there’s just no time for the cook to pick out the pieces of what you don’t want from the portioned bag before they get nuked (yes, we microwave our veggies.) However, don’t take “portioned bag” to mean that they are pre-portioned and/or frozen, though. We get fresh produce deliveries at least every other day, if not more. In the morning, the prep chefs cut up and portion all the veggies. At worst, you would be eating vegetables that were cut up and portioned out maybe a day and a half ago. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/333 "2007-10-03T06:07:50Z")
[QUOTE=Flutterby] Or drowned in butter. I mean, who the hell puts butter on broccoli!? [/QUOTE] :: looks around :: Just me, then? Mind you, it does need to be freshly-steamed, and still with a crunch, not boiled until it’s falling to pieces. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/334 "2007-10-03T06:34:50Z")
I saw Jaques Pepin do a nice little gratin’ of Broccoli- some breadcrumbs, garlic, and lots of butter baked around 375 (Blanched of course). Dairy and broccoli are like peas in the pod. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/335 "2007-10-03T07:48:51Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] :: looks around :: Just me, then? Mind you, it does need to be freshly-steamed, and still with a crunch, not boiled until it’s falling to pieces. [/QUOTE] No, not just you. Butter is great on broccoli. I think that steaming brings out the best flavor in most vegetables. I love steamed green beans with dill. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/336 "2007-10-03T08:28:18Z")
For you seafood lovers, if memory serves, the film _Last Tango in Paris_ included a great recipe for buttered Marlon. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/337 "2007-10-03T14:03:09Z")
[QUOTE=Flutterby] Or drowned in butter. I mean, who the hell puts butter on broccoli!? [/QUOTE] You’ve just reminded me why I hate going to Red Lobster-- everything is drowned in butter to the point that it ruins the experience of eating seafood. Hey executives up at the top: seafood is supposed to be healthy, fresh, and lower in fat than a plate of onion rings. Quit drowning them in butter because you think everyone likes it that way! You put butter on the side, so the butter fiends can ask for more on the side instead of the non-fiends having to wonder what to do with all the excess butter the seafood’s been drowned in. Red Lobster’s only redeeming value are those evil yet delicious cheesy bread thingies that come while you’re waiting for your entree. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/338 "2007-10-03T14:17:30Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] :: looks around :: Just me, then? Mind you, it does need to be freshly-steamed, and still with a crunch, not boiled until it’s falling to pieces. [/QUOTE] Actually, I love butter. Really and truly do, I even put it on lots of veggies but I don’t put it on broccoli as a matter of course (carrots, green beans, squash, lots of other things but not broccoli). I wouldn’t have minded if it hadn’t been drowning in butter, I probably would’ve enjoyed it even. But it tasted as if someone had taken it and just dunked it into a vat of butter, butter had seeped into the top part it wasn’t just a bit on the surface to add flavour, my plate had a puddle of butter beneath it and more oozed out when I cut it (it was a big single piece of broccoli). ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/339 "2007-10-03T14:22:52Z")
[QUOTE=nashiitashii] Red Lobster’s only redeeming value are those evil yet delicious cheesy bread thingies that come while you’re waiting for your entree. [/QUOTE] [Now you can make your own. 😃](http://www.recipezaar.com/54657) Seriously though, I love Red Lobster - and I don’t mind the butter - I usually get the scampi anyway. And I love butter on broccoli. I love butter on just about EVERYTHING. I use two of the prepackaged pats per biscuit for example - one on each side. I use one pat per Saltine if I am eating Saltines - I’m just a butter nut I suppose. But I can see how other people might not like it. Lately, though, I’ve stopped even eating out - I just haven’t felt like it’s worth the money. It’s kid of sad. ETA - Flutterby - we should go out to eat one day! It’s nice to find someone like minded!!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987/340 "2007-10-03T14:31:36Z")
[QUOTE=Missy2U] ETA - Flutterby - we should go out to eat one day! It’s nice to find someone like minded!!! 😃 [/QUOTE] We should. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-biggest-restaurant-complaints/420987.md?page=18)