How Picky are you about cleanliness when patronizing restaurants/eating establishment

[sho'nuff]

I got to admit, I am sort of (very) picky when it comes to cleanliness at eating places. My wife tells me at times to chill out, but i cannot help it.

I walk into let say today during work lunch, Sushi Boy (not alot of eating variety near where i work) i see the guy in the kitchen sweeping with a broom and a dark grubby towel in hand. As soon as I order something with a california roll in it with the cashier girl, the guy drops his broom and goes directly to where the rolls are and with his bare hands without even washing handles them.
I smile, say sorry, and i just walk out...

At restaurants where they keep the silverware rolled up in the hankerchiefs, I always give the silverware a good wipe down, and sometimes i would even ask for a wedge of lemon, spray it on the silverware and then give it a wipe down.
I used to work at a restaurant so i know how unclean the silverware is: at the end of the night, you count your tips, clean your station, collect all dirty dishes and silverware with who knows saliva stuck on it, and have to roll out a batch of silverware in the hankerchiefs all with your bare sweaty hands. No one concerns enough to go wash their hands before rolling the silverware....


At fast food establishments, after i order, i am consummated with watching who is going to prepare my food, where he/she has been prior, and how it is being prepared. any unacceptable action like the cashier going back and helping out to make a burger with his hands that touched the register and possibly some cash, i go to once in awhile to the point of asking them to make a certain item over again but this time with clean hands.


i know i cant prevent all uncleanliness and i know sometimes it is best to go with ignorance is bliss policy and just dont stress over all of it, but who can relate to me and what extremes do you go and what pet peeves do you have about in regards to uncleanliness/unsanitariness?

 

[JayJay]

My tolerance for untidy restaurants is not what it used to be. There was a time when I overlooked dirty windows and doors, a bit of dirt on the walls and floor, but not anymore.

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by JayJay

My tolerance for untidy restaurants is not what it used to be. There was a time when I overlooked dirty windows and doors, a bit of dirt on the walls and floor, but not anymore.

oh and that's another thing. why do they put door knobs on the restroom doors in some places?? like at my work, the bathroom doors are way heavy and have knobs. i dislike that.

i like the restroom doors that are push doors with a handle on the inside.

 

[Real estate]

I'm picky about my hair, skin, clothes, cars, etc, but oddly my favortie places to eat are the cheap Chinese retaurants. You know the ones where the walls and floors havent been cleaned for years and the bathrooms are horrid. I've never been in the back kitchen but I'm assuming If the parts where the customers are allowed arent that cleanly then the parts where the customers aren't allowed ie kitchen, must be even worse. In the end, the food ends up in my stomach, I don't get sick, and it tastes good.

 

[Milhouse]

I guess I don't care anymore. I travel to less developed countries and eat there and don't get sick very often. In the US, I just don't get sick much at all, I can only remember about two or three cases of food poisoning in my life in the US.

So, why worry? Your body has an immune system for a reason. If you are immune compromised, then sure, I understand, but otherwise, I don't see a point.

 

[Notreknip]

As a dentist, I've always been amazed by how strict infection control is on something as harmless as steel impression tray when we eat daily with silverware handled in the fashion the OP mentions.

The impression tray is in the average mouth less than a minute per year, and forks and spoons spend probably 10-15 minutes per day in/around our mouths.

 

[RedLantern]

I'm not concerned at all. I think people over-estimate how clean their own kitchens are.

 

[Augusto86]

When I was in Cairo, there was a place with the most amazing chicken where kittens ran around the floors, you could see cockroaches scuttle under the linoleum and grim was everywhere.

I don't really care, any more. Dirt doesn't kill.

 

[kwilkinson]

Originally Posted by Augusto86

When I was in Cairo, there was a place with the most amazing chicken where kittens ran around the floors, you could see cockroaches scuttle under the linoleum and grim was everywhere.

I don't really care, any more. Dirt doesn't kill.

Well, the things that go along with dirt actually could kill you, but it doesn't really matter.

I think there are times to care and times not to. If I'm travelling somewhere or going somewhere I know I love the food, I'll overlook it. I don't want to be one of those people who carry out bottles of hand sanitizers and use kleenex tissues to pick up phones. But on the other hand, if I'm paying $100/plate for a nice dinner, then I'd be pretty upset if the place wasn't kept meticulously clean.

 

[Eason]

In america I was pretty picky, I really love my good food. Here in korea, I've abandoned all hope.

 

[sho'nuff]

So for all those who replied you don't care, you honestly can say that if you see the cashier handle making your burrito or burger right after handling cash without washing hands you truly don't mind and will still eat it??

 

[limping_decorum]

Unless I notice fromunda cheese in the dish, no.

 

[acidboy]

My folks used to own a Chinese restaurant when I wa sa kid and I pretty much accepted not all kitchens are like El Bulli but there are also some things that is just plain wrong- like hair in the food, lip marks on the glass, grease stains on the silverware, and maybe worst of all from experience is small cockroaches on the plate.

 

[Milhouse]

Originally Posted by sho'nuff

So for all those who replied you don't care, you honestly can say that if you see the cashier handle making your burrito or burger right after handling cash without washing hands you truly don't mind and will still eat it??

I've eaten food from street vendors in less developed countries. I'm not sure how I can make it any clearer. . . I notice that a small wooden cart does not have a sink or hand washing facility of any sort. Handling money before they handle food is the least of my concerns.

So really, with all the food safety laws in the US, as long as they get it right somewhere over half the time, I really don't think there is anything to worry about, again, unless you are immune compromised (new kidney maybe??).

In fact, I think I side with the group that believes the immune system needs constant exposure to stay sharp and that we are screwing ourselves with constant hand washing and hand sanitizing and such.

 

[Matt]

if I was picky I would be a hungry hungry boy.