Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I was a waitress at a little pizza shop/Italian restaurant in Centereach. I'm not sure if it is still open or owned by the same people, but it is not in the same location.

I stopped eating there after we found mice in the pizza dough machine with a fresh batch of dough. They got the mice out but used the dough. The owners were also hunters and we would find carcasses hanging in the freezer all the time.

I worked at a bakery and wouldn't eat their lemon filling anymore-we used it as a glue to attach the paper thingy to the cardboard for cookie trays. Not necessarily bad, just really sticky.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Both hubby and I have have practically worked at every restaurant!

Chili's - relatively clean and fresh, just don't eat the endless chips bowl, chips are made weeks in advance and when the machine that keeps em warm is cleaned each night they just dump the chips back in the bucket and use them again in the am. Not to mention half the time gloves and/or scoop are never used and machine was cleaned out with windex making the bottom chips bluish lol .

Pomodorinos- location I worked at was ok... Kitchen was just a little dirty and chaotic. Everything was made fresh though.

Watermill - wouldn't eat there if you paid me a million bucks. Heard they have gotten better in the last few years but not much.

Applebees - same as everyone else says everything is fried and microwaved but it's ok.

Okey dokies- family that owned it were a-holes. Everything was made pretty much to order but kitchen was a lil slimey all the time... Which was odd. Would go back (if it were still open)


Smithtown Sheraton - we actually still go there to eat sometimes although the restaurant service is terrrrrible. Catering is good and food is good depending on the chef.

Worked at manor east for one day. That place was so disgusting I didn't even go back for my paycheck. Took my tips n ran.

Long island manor - another dive. Left over Food was frozen from party to party and just reheated 2-3 times or from week to week.

Smokey bones- almost like applebees. A Lot was pre cooked in the am and heated to order. All the BBQ was made in- house, along with the sides though. Still go back, not sure if it's the same now since it's a different franchise. They have te best broccoli though and although they claim things are "steamed" it was really microwaved lol.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Worked for Disney (mostly at Animal Kingdom) - insanely clean. If things sat out more than 5 minutes they had to be thrown away - temperatures were taken of every piece of meat served, gloves were worn at all times, and we cleaned all the time. This was fast food - not one of the restaurants.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

don't worry, I worked at houlihans and it was very clean! Most everything is made fresh there and prepped in the morning. i think that is the best "chain" place (compared to fridays/chilis/applebees etc)

I am w the applebees girls - kitchen was clean bc EVERYTHING is frozen. The soup comes frozen in plastic bags and they boil the bags to defrost them.

I also worked at Dave & Busters - kind of the same as applebees - it was clean but they didn't do much cooking.

and please don't tell me about mama's - that is DH & I's favorite!!

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Pumpernickels: Worked there eons ago but it's run by one of the same owner, although not the original. Would definitely eat there again. All the food was made on premises and delivered fresh.

Chicago Pizza Pub: wouldn't eat there if they were still around

DiBernardo's - very clean and would eat there aside from the owner who was a db.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I worked at a KFC in high school. NEVER will I eat there again. While the chain was good about throwing food away that sat too long and making things fresh, the place was SO infested with roaches that we used to have to scoop them out of the oil every morning. And I don't mean a few, I mean the entire top layer of the fryers. Apparently the roaches came in from the distribution house for the containers because the District manager had told me it was a problem in ALL of the stores. I guess the roaches liked the glue on the boxes and even though the actual restaurants would exterminate, they would get reinfested with every delivery

Also worked at a Friendly's. Ours was clean but I think with any chain type restaurant it's hit or miss.

Message edited 11/8/2010 10:40:13 AM.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

an ex of mine was a server and is now a manager at ruby tuesday - he has worked at several of their locations. as far as food prep - things are pretty fresh and they even have fresh seafood and steaks now. they are probably the most quality (food wise) out of all the chains. he used to bring home food for me - he would cook it but it was always fresh (turkey burgers, etc).

he said no one he has ever personally seen has ever done ANYTHING bad to the food (spitting in it, etc) -- he has never, as a server and then up, seen that take place and he had some really bad customers and so did his friends and they would tell him if they did but he never saw that go on - they were good about that at the locations he worked at which is nice to know.

the only thing i wouldn't eat and i don't eat is the salad bar - they are very dedicated to keeping it clean but there's always bugs, no matter how hard they try, beneath the salad bar, underneath the bowls and stuff like that. it's just the way it is when you have food sitting out. they would have the ecolab guy (who was nuts lol) come in like once a week and spray, they would clean it constantly, they had two salad bar guys on it at all times but still - it's just the way it is with an open salad bar. i do know that, depending on the location, most of the kitchens are pretty clean - commack is pretty clean although a lady that worked there did drop dead in the kitchen and they took her out the back in the middle of dinner service while he was working there, miller place is probably the cleanest, lake grove was skeevots but that has since closed, selden is just ok - medium. overall, i would eat there - just not the salad bar. and the lady dying in the kitchen of the one location is creepy.

i stick to miller place if i must. it also depends on which location he is currently managing - i try to avoid seeing him lol he's a great manager but as my ex i try to NOT run into him! LOL!

Message edited 11/8/2010 11:34:58 AM.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by DRMom

I worked at Milleridge Inn GROSS Never ate there when I worked there or ever again

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by 2ForMeIn2011

I also worked at a well known Catering hall and would NEVER have my wedding there. The food was great and the chefs were amazing but 75% of the staff including the Maitre d's were big drug attics and they also did a lot of horrible stuff to the food, silverware, cups, liquor, cakes...etc

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by greenfreak

Posted by DRMom

I worked at Milleridge Inn GROSS Never ate there when I worked there or ever again

Please tell me that the restaurant doesn't cook for functions at the Cottage & Carriage House.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by greenfreak

Posted by 2ForMeIn2011

I also worked at a well known Catering hall and would NEVER have my wedding there. The food was great and the chefs were amazing but 75% of the staff including the Maitre d's were big drug attics and they also did a lot of horrible stuff to the food, silverware, cups, liquor, cakes...etc

Dude. Must post or FM the name. I promise I won't tell more than 2 people.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I worked in a local bakery called Catalano's....

it was iffy. Some things were fine and others were
they did have a mice problem... they had a cat there that they would starve and never feed so he would eat the mice.... So on occasion there were some dead mice around.
At least once I found a bug in the bread. the bread is baked fresh each night.... idk it was ok... but on occasion there would be a problem with a loaf but they would still sell it.
Some of the cookies are the rest are OK. There was one cookie that was made out of all the scraps of other cookies. Cookies that broke or fell on the floor...etc. they were thrown into a bucket and at the end of the week they made this cookie out of it. totally gross.
they are huge on child labor and paid very very little... and totally overworked the teens there. I was just a teen myself... and the holiday's were the worst!! I worked over 86 hours the week of christmas and that's with getting sick and calling out the day after christmas because I had no voice. I think i got so sick from being so overworked. Lots of things that went on there were completely illegal.
There was also one worker who smelled soooooo bad all the time! i mean from the moment he walked into work in the morning he stunk the the high heavens of BO and he did the bulk of the baking... which is pretty gross to me!!!

I also worked at Georgia Diner - the managers were kind of douche bags. At least one was nice but the rest stunk. I def saw managers eat a fry off a plate in the kitchen a few times.... those would be the plates that would sit there waiting for the waitress to pick up and bring to your table.
Also, the coldslaw is they are kept in huge buckets and there are no gloves so they are literally scooped into the little plastic container they are served in... by hand... that hand of the waitress. that's also the usual method for serving the salads... by bare hand. pretty gross!!
And for some reason... the cook's always looked sooooo dirty!!!

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I know a LI catering hall that uses the same chocolate for the fountain over and over again for weeks/months... and they leave it in a disgusting pot on the floor when not in use.

GROSS.

I did part-time DOC way back when here and there and did almost a dozen weddings at this place -- saw it everytime and was told by the people that run the place that's what they do. Eeek.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

THis is a GREAT thread for those of us trying to diet and stay away from fast food! lol!

I worked at wendys in HS. Honestly, it was ok. They were GREAT about changing gloves every 15 minutes..it was a rule and everyone had to do it.

We prepared food fresh every am for the salad bar...

But..there were occasional mice/roaches. That always grossed me out. But it was always taken care of and as I understand very typical part of a kitchen...

I also worked at a very well known cafe in old town alexandria. Lets just say that this cute and charming little cafe was one of the dirtiest places ever. Roaches would crawl on the walls as they were prepping sandwiches. I worked upstairs from the cafe and every morning I had mice pellets on my desk. DISGUSTING. They set traps constantly..we always found dead ones in the morning. There was once a mouse found floating in the prepped soup. Luckily the whole vat was discarded and sanitized but I never ever ate the food again. EVER. I quit shortly after.

Its insane because people LOVE the place. It appears very very quaint and clean. But if they saw the kitchen...ugh.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by BumpinBean10

Posted by gporka23

I worked at Boulder Creek - I will still eat there but never ever ever use the steak sauce that they have on the table!!! ask for A1 instead!

I worked there too! Which one did you work at and when??

and I agree with you on the sauce!!!

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Taco Bell - I actually had a higher respect for them after working for them. A lot of stuff was prebag, but the piso sauce was made fresh and the veggies were all fresh. I agree I with a pp that I stucked only to the chicken as it looked like chicken. The beef really didn't look to good. The kitchen was very clean. If I still ate at fast foods I could eat there, but not really my cup of tea.

Subway - Very clean and fresh ingrediants. Would eat there again.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by gporka23

Posted by BumpinBean10

Posted by gporka23

I worked at Boulder Creek - I will still eat there but never ever ever use the steak sauce that they have on the table!!! ask for A1 instead!

I worked there too! Which one did you work at and when??

and I agree with you on the sauce!!!

I worked at the one in hicksville... so so long ago.. sadly can't even remember the year (trying to think!!)..maybe 2002ish? I only worked there for like 6 months

What about you?

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I worked at Friendly's my senior year of HS all through college. From that experience, I know to tip my Friendly's servers much more generously. The management at the chain is AWFUL and always understaffed. I was on grill/fountain/hosting/waitressing all at once because no one else was there. Yeah, the majority of the waiters tend to be partiers out of work, but they bust their butts when it's busy at work.

I also agree with someone else to stay away from the salads though. Nothing is wrong with them, but they just aren't as great as a restaurant salad should be.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

This thread is making me never want to eat out again

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by DRMom

Posted by greenfreak

Posted by DRMom

I worked at Milleridge Inn GROSS Never ate there when I worked there or ever again

Please tell me that the restaurant doesn't cook for functions at the Cottage & Carriage House.

I can't remember but I think its seperate. AND I think the cottage is better

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

Posted by DaniRella

I know a LI catering hall that uses the same chocolate for the fountain over and over again for weeks/months... and they leave it in a disgusting pot on the floor when not in use.

GROSS.

I did part-time DOC way back when here and there and did almost a dozen weddings at this place -- saw it everytime and was told by the people that run the place that's what they do. Eeek.

Re: If you ever worked in a restaurant/food establishment...

I have never worked at one but my fiance is a chef

Carrabras- he said was very clean, the pasta was all cooked before hand and then boiled like for a minute when needed so wasnt fresh

Danfords-high class with great food

Olive Garden- everything is microwaved and/or frozen, refused to eat there except for the salad, soup and breadsticks lunch

Ruby tuesdays-he wont eat there but wont tell me why so i no longer eat there