Re: Dining Out with Someone - This Bugs Me - Page 14

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@justmyopinion wrote:
@sunala wrote:
@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@HappyDaze wrote:
@Marienkaefer2 wrote:
What bugs me is when my dining companions eye my plate, like they would like to have a "taste" of my food. Then, when I don't say anything, the fork comes over and they spear something! Seriously, this has happened to me.

For some reason, I have never liked sharing from my plate. I order mine, you order yours. I don't ask to taste yours, either.

The other thing that bugs me is this:
We know a couple that we dine out with once in awhile. They each always order something different, finish half, then switch plates.

It's a little odd, sometimes gross. Fine if they do it in their home, but in front of others, I think it's a bit crass.

Anyway, that's it from me on this one!
And, with my own fork, I would spear the hand that is spearing the food on my plate. That would probably be the last time they'd ever try that with me.
I was going to post the exact same thing .... and I would do it!

And I was going to post the same thing too! Nobody touches the food from my plate, and I would never think of touching anything from someone else's plate either. That's a personal thing, and I think it's also extremely rude. Sometime the waitress will stop by and ask, "Are you done or are you still picking?" Somehow that word grosses me out when it refers to food. I want to say, "Here, pick THIS."

I think we could have a whole board dedicated to people's bad food habits.

Speaking of touching food. How about this - went to a restaurant (not so fancy but well known and on the beach) and I told the waitress that my eggs were served cold. She proceeded to touch them to verify if this was true. She then said "yeah, hon, they are cold, let me have the chef scramble you up some new ones." Well she brought the hot dish to the table and placed the plate in front of me and then shockingly put her finger in my eggs and said "yep, sweetie, they're plenty hot, he done good." Seriously, I was so disgusted I wanted to leave but my husband told me I was making a federal case over nothing. Um, Ok.

YUCK. I can see (but pushing the bounds of tacky/gross) MAYBE to verify they are not edibly hot/warm (since they were going to be tossed), but to me the second touching was a flip-off to you from the cook and the server. I would have definitely Yelped that experience to make it public.

Life without Mexican food is no life at all

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Moonchilde wrote:
@justmyopinion wrote:

Speaking of touching food. How about this - went to a restaurant (not so fancy but well known and on the beach) and I told the waitress that my eggs were served cold. She proceeded to touch them to verify if this was true. She then said "yeah, hon, they are cold, let me have the chef scramble you up some new ones." Well she brought the hot dish to the table and placed the plate in front of me and then shockingly put her finger in my eggs and said "yep, sweetie, they're plenty hot, he done good." Seriously, I was so disgusted I wanted to leave but my husband told me I was making a federal case over nothing. Um, Ok.

YUCK. I can see (but pushing the bounds of tacky/gross) MAYBE to verify they are not edibly hot/warm (since they were going to be tossed), but to me the second touching was a flip-off to you from the cook and the server. I would have definitely Yelped that experience to make it public.

**************************************

I would not have eaten anything on that plate. That's a serious breach of health standards. I would have said so, quietly and politely. Not sure what I would have done then, pay for DH's if he'd taken a bite and then left, I guess.

Daisy Sunflower · ‎10-26-2010

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

@Daisy wrote:
@justmyopinion wrote:
Speaking of touching food. How about this - went to a restaurant (not so fancy but well known and on the beach) and I told the waitress that my eggs were served cold. She proceeded to touch them to verify if this was true. She then said "yeah, hon, they are cold, let me have the chef scramble you up some new ones." Well she brought the hot dish to the table and placed the plate in front of me and then shockingly put her finger in my eggs and said "yep, sweetie, they're plenty hot, he done good." Seriously, I was so disgusted I wanted to leave but my husband told me I was making a federal case over nothing. Um, Ok.

There's a good chance the "Big B" did that on purpose because she was upset that you were complaining about cold eggs.

I would have told the manager...and asked for a new plate of food to be brought out by him...not brought out by the same waitress. Who knows what she would have done to it. I'd probably also make sure to get her name and let the health dept. know what's going on there.

I would have also been upset if my husband told me it was no big deal for strangers to stick their dirty hands in my food. Of course, he might have felt differently if it was his food.

*******************************

I have to agree with Daisy, it is a big deal, especially since we are always hearing news stories of customers who have become sick because someone in a restaurant touched their food and passed something along.

We had one of those incidents recently at a local restaurant. My daughter got a notice from Nordstorm's one year that the person who made her sandwich had been in a foreign country and had come down with something scary. She had to wait it out for 21 days to make sure she was OK

That's bad enough, but to have someone stick their finger in your food is outrageous and can be dangerous.

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

Oh my gosh. This is all too much. Take my plate. Leave my plate. Eat faster than me. Eat slower than me.

I don't care. I'm not that picky. I also guess I'm not that fancy either. LOL

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@Daisy wrote:
@sunala wrote:

Sometime the waitress will stop by and ask, "Are you done or are you still picking?" Somehow that word grosses me out when it refers to food. I want to say, "Here, pick THIS."

What they really mean by that is, "Are you still eating? Hurry up and eat and get out so I can seat other customers and get more tips."

Well, I don't like to be rushed, but I understand waitresses wanting to get another table. I used to be a waitress when I was 21 for a few months. I hated it when people sat for 3 or 4 hours. I made $2.10 an hour and losing multiple turns hurt.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

winamac1 · ‎12-29-2010

@justmyopinion wrote:
@sunala wrote:
@Tinkrbl44 wrote:
@HappyDaze wrote:
@Marienkaefer2 wrote:
What bugs me is when my dining companions eye my plate, like they would like to have a "taste" of my food. Then, when I don't say anything, the fork comes over and they spear something! Seriously, this has happened to me.

For some reason, I have never liked sharing from my plate. I order mine, you order yours. I don't ask to taste yours, either.

The other thing that bugs me is this:
We know a couple that we dine out with once in awhile. They each always order something different, finish half, then switch plates.

It's a little odd, sometimes gross. Fine if they do it in their home, but in front of others, I think it's a bit crass.

Anyway, that's it from me on this one!
And, with my own fork, I would spear the hand that is spearing the food on my plate. That would probably be the last time they'd ever try that with me.
I was going to post the exact same thing .... and I would do it!

And I was going to post the same thing too! Nobody touches the food from my plate, and I would never think of touching anything from someone else's plate either. That's a personal thing, and I think it's also extremely rude. Sometime the waitress will stop by and ask, "Are you done or are you still picking?" Somehow that word grosses me out when it refers to food. I want to say, "Here, pick THIS."

I think we could have a whole board dedicated to people's bad food habits.

Speaking of touching food. How about this - went to a restaurant (not so fancy but well known and on the beach) and I told the waitress that my eggs were served cold. She proceeded to touch them to verify if this was true. She then said "yeah, hon, they are cold, let me have the chef scramble you up some new ones." Well she brought the hot dish to the table and placed the plate in front of me and then shockingly put her finger in my eggs and said "yep, sweetie, they're plenty hot, he done good." Seriously, I was so disgusted I wanted to leave but my husband told me I was making a federal case over nothing. Um, Ok.

That is repulsive. I would NEVER have eaten that. She probably just handled money. Disgusting.

"friends don't let friends drink white zinfandel"

stevieb · ‎03-10-2010

@Q4u wrote:
@Hot Street wrote:
I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this when dining out with someone.

Yesterday, I had lunch with a nice lady I recently met. We've been trying for weeks to get together. She's had to cancel three times due to some work being done in her apt unit. We decided to meet and catch up.

When the food came we both were talking, sharing stories and the like. She ate her food so fast. I was so enjoying my lunch but had no intention of wolfing it down. She wasn't in a hurry to leave, but she ate so fast. When she was done, the waitress took her plate and there I am eating alone while she watched which becomes a bit awkward. You feel like you have to eat fast then.

I don't get to go out to restaurants a lot, so this was a treat for me. You can't really tell someone to slow down, but I mean she must have finished her lunch in 5 min! It was so awkward eating by myself. Part of the pleasure of dining out with someone is to enjoy talking and eating and relaxing.

I remember years ago, a friend of mine who used to be a banquet hostess at a big hotel, said a waitress should never clear someone's plate if others at the table are still eating. She said the waiter or waitress should wait until the other party is almost done so it's not uncomfortable as it was with me.

Oh well, I enjoyed my lunch and cleared my plate without wolfing it down. The irony is we sat and talked about 30 min after I was done! I guess everyone is in a hurry these days. My stomach thanked me for not rushing my meal! LOL!

I enjoy eating alone at times in a restaurant... that way I can take my time and enjoy the meal.

Just wondered if anyone else has ever experienced that.
Yes, I've experienced it and yes, it bothers me.

But the person I'm talking about was raised in a family of 5 kids and there was never enough food for all the kids to have seconds. I can understand developing the habit of eating fast so as to be able to get more if they're really hungry.

Add to whatever habits were developed while growing up, the habit of gobbling your lunch while working because you only have a half an hour to eat and you tend to work while eating has also developed scores of people who just can't slow down.....

I believe it's more or less an epidemic of sorts out there.....

If I'm at a really good restaurant with nice ambience and good choice across all the courses, then I don't tend to be in any sort of real rush. That said, I've also never been one to want to linger around a dinner table, either at home or when eating out. I don't gobble my food to get done quickly, but I also don't protract the dining process. Generally speaking, I would usually prefer to visit or 'catch-up' in a more comfortable setting than most dining rooms, kitchen tables or restaurants tend to be.

In my pantry with my cupcakes...

justmyopinion · ‎11-23-2015

Nobody really knows who touched your food in the kitchen of a restaurant before it made it to your table. Many chefs and sous chefs do not wear gloves. Is it mandatory? The servers are the worst offenders especially the ones who are untrained and have their thumbs with dirty fingernails in your soup or entree when serving. I remember back in the day when waiters would serve your plate holding a crisp white napkin and or gloves, yes white gloves. Now it's dirty fingers in my scrambled eggs in a restaurant that is #1 on Trip Advisor for that particular beach resort where it's located. People are way too easily impressed. Yes it has a great view, but the lines are long , service is slow and well, you have waitresses poking your eggs with her bare hands.

I really do not enjoy dining out that much but I do go because my husband enjoys it. I prefer to cook at home.

Moonchilde · ‎05-23-2010

@justmyopinion, as far as gloves in the kitchen I believe it's a local (state or county) choice. California had such a law, briefly, and repealed it within a year, 32-0, because it gave a "false sense of safety" according to the legislature. Politics and lobbying :-(

Life without Mexican food is no life at all