I can do serious, concise is more a challenge.. **Don’t read if squeamish.** Something has stuck in the back of my mind from many years ago in North Jersey, we ate out a lot. A friend of mine dad was eccentric, difficult to eat out with. He refused to order unless he first inspected the kitchen, at least someplace new to him. Sometimes for 20-30 minutes, occasionally we had to leave. OCD germophobic? Not really, more brilliant, aware, and successful, exceptional pallet . Paid huge tabs, worth the trouble he caused. Sometimes he refused to order, while we ate. Took him elsewhere later.
He made the case that people eat tainted food dozens of times a year without realizing it, he could taste anything off, sampled your plate, a personal food tester lol. Even before entering he’d say no in the parking lot if he smelled rancid grease, next place please. His point was that about three hours after a meal, if the taste lingered and you still feel undigested, heavy, sluggish and logy, maybe a bit tight in the forehead. You’ve been poisoned. I’ve traveled, most times were my fault, one was really serious, the last was local at Panera Bread, turkey sandwich, never returned.
Politics aside, consider the source to table. Increasingly it involves low wage immigrants, perhaps taking a dump in a field, to prep in a kitchen. No it doesn’t always translate, only the odds. It’s sheer economics. The hepatitis outbreaks were traced more to Central America. It barely surfaced until one place had five customers contracting, an infant succumbed. It had to make the paper, politics and the economy tangled. One brand new building proved not cost effective to sanitize, it was dozed in hazmat.
Well run kitchens are spotless, many have UV-lamps, chef whites and hats are not for looks. Master level chefs often use gloves, even if on one hand. Top Chef Pro, the show is an example. Waiters serve in white cotton gloves. Lesser places should as well. I try not to think about it, but do take notice where the inspection tag is posted. If you can’t read the date, be cautious, it only common sense. A give away is when it’s yellowed behind the register, next to that first dollar bill lol.
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