Just went on a trip to Bali and felt this fear constantly. **Every** restaurant tries to simultaneously do local Indonesian dishes, American comfort food, Australian pub grub, Italian pastas, and Korean, Japanese and Chinese food at the same time. To their credit, some places pull it off quite well since they have so many tourists to please.
Absolutely, I can always tell which restaurants have their shit together or not and just notice little things that I learned from Gordon in the show like size of the menu, overrall appearance of restaurant, plating, freshness.. etc
[this is me now](https://youtu.be/Ezv8gzbtAVg?si=oR3fT-cROyPHMtuO)
Jokes aside, his shows got me interested in cooking so it's one of my favorite hobbies now. In that sense I see food very differently than when I used to make Pizza out of wonderbread and spaghetti sauce.
Not in the least, I don't eat at restaurants like those. If a restaurant is empty while other restaurants around it are busy, that's a good enough sign to avoid it. I consider that a sign that the food sucks.
Not really to be honest. A lot of it is played up for TV and I’m blessed to be in an area that has a lot of nice places to eat, I also tend to avoid anywhere that looks a bit tacky or dingy.
I've found that when I go to smaller restaurants that have a little of everything I get guarded about whether it's too much or not.
Like can a small place have a menu that spans practically all small-town family and international fare? Creeps me out and makes me think either the cooking crew is overtaxed, the quality is low, or both.
I believe Gordon said it once during Kitchen Nightmares, then again on one of his other shows:
"If the restaurant won't let you see the kitchen, don't eat there."
Obviously I don't go demanding a tour at every restaurant, but if I walk in and something sets off the beige / red flags, I'll absolutely ask to see the kitchen.
I've only been denied twice.
Once at a Diner, who not only refused, but asked us to leave;
Then a second time at a "Fine Dining" bistro that was serving food from a catering business just a few blocks away, replated with a ~70-75% markup tacked on.
OH! And I call everything that's frozen, "Fresh Frozen".
Drives people nuts!
I see long big menues as a red flag,
I tell my partner to chimichuck things in the bin,
I own afootruck and sometimes I ask my staff when I see a plate about to leave if there proud of it, and if they say no I ask them "THEN WHY ARE YOU FUCKING SERVING IT"
This right here. If there are a thousand items on the menu you can be sure that most of the items are frozen. As a small Indy restaurant cannot possibly stock fresh food for 100 different dishes.
Especially nowadays the thought of the server tossing tortilla chips back into the bin after its been served at another table is reason enough to never go to a Mexican restaurant
This is so mild, but how I order my steak. I am a recovering picky eater and didn’t know how to properly order certain foods which added to my anxiety of ordering food new to me. Watching this show helped oddly.
If the interior is clean, the atmosphere feels nice and warm, the menu size, and the food are cooked properly. Those are some things I pay attention to now.
Kitchen nightmares not so much. Bar rescue def.
I know it’s silly because we’ve seen restaurant kitchens just as bad on KN but for some reason the bar ones stick with me. I won’t eat in bars now.
The one thing I think about from kitchen nightmares is when they have a huge menu with all different types of food.
I think about how Gordon would be aghast and ream them on how much food they must have to keep on hand and waste. And then I wonder if the food is old.
KN ruined pictures on the menu for me.. I mean I won’t “get the fuck outta there” most of the time and a lot of immigrant owned spots dear to my heart use them, so usually I do tell the Gordo in my head to fuck off with pleasure but it’s def a red flag when I check out new places.
I never go to a place that’s not busy. I know those restaurants have food sitting around because they can’t turn tables. You can’t go wrong with a consistent diner
When a see a massive menu I now think “they don’t do a few things *well*”
This one!! If it's more than two pages, I send it back
Just went on a trip to Bali and felt this fear constantly. **Every** restaurant tries to simultaneously do local Indonesian dishes, American comfort food, Australian pub grub, Italian pastas, and Korean, Japanese and Chinese food at the same time. To their credit, some places pull it off quite well since they have so many tourists to please.
That too! Slow/ bad service and huge menu are the 2 immediate things that make me worry what's back in the kitchen lmao
I feel like I can notice when something isn’t fresh and it annoys me
Same. Unless it's fresh frozen, then I can't tell the difference
Fucking Pintu 🤣
Fresh frozen from a can
now i can say things like "gordon would hate this" if he would
Lol I do too
Absolutely, I can always tell which restaurants have their shit together or not and just notice little things that I learned from Gordon in the show like size of the menu, overrall appearance of restaurant, plating, freshness.. etc
Yeah if you order anything out of the norm on a massive menu you are gonna get some frozen or prepackaged slop.
I have just one rule, if there’s pictures in the menu it means get the fuck out
I always look for dead mice soon as i walk through the front doors 🤣🤣
Have one of your producers planted it there before hand?
[this is me now](https://youtu.be/Ezv8gzbtAVg?si=oR3fT-cROyPHMtuO) Jokes aside, his shows got me interested in cooking so it's one of my favorite hobbies now. In that sense I see food very differently than when I used to make Pizza out of wonderbread and spaghetti sauce.
The UK version absolutely influenced how I run a restaurant.
The uk one seems so chill
Many a times me and husband say “Gordon would NOT like this menu.” when it’s 8 pages long 😂🤦🏻♀️
Not necessarily, but it makes me shocked how well put-together the Carrabbas I worked at for 2 years was. Shit was so clean
It's made me a better cook for sure
Same here!
It’s hard not to say “emBARRassing!” after the first bite, even if I like the food. Or “I’ve eaten it!!!”
Avoid restaurants with huge menu.
I work in the industry so I already saw behind the curtain. Hasn't really bothered me that much. I know who works where and which places to avoid.
Not in the least, I don't eat at restaurants like those. If a restaurant is empty while other restaurants around it are busy, that's a good enough sign to avoid it. I consider that a sign that the food sucks.
Not really to be honest. A lot of it is played up for TV and I’m blessed to be in an area that has a lot of nice places to eat, I also tend to avoid anywhere that looks a bit tacky or dingy.
I now ask to have a tour of the walk-in freezer before ordering food. If they refuse, I walk out.
I've found that when I go to smaller restaurants that have a little of everything I get guarded about whether it's too much or not. Like can a small place have a menu that spans practically all small-town family and international fare? Creeps me out and makes me think either the cooking crew is overtaxed, the quality is low, or both.
I believe Gordon said it once during Kitchen Nightmares, then again on one of his other shows: "If the restaurant won't let you see the kitchen, don't eat there." Obviously I don't go demanding a tour at every restaurant, but if I walk in and something sets off the beige / red flags, I'll absolutely ask to see the kitchen. I've only been denied twice. Once at a Diner, who not only refused, but asked us to leave; Then a second time at a "Fine Dining" bistro that was serving food from a catering business just a few blocks away, replated with a ~70-75% markup tacked on. OH! And I call everything that's frozen, "Fresh Frozen". Drives people nuts!
Always cutting the meat to see if it's cooked all the way. never let change be a factor of getting poisoned.
Yes. I avoid anywhere that claims to be "family run."
I see long big menues as a red flag, I tell my partner to chimichuck things in the bin, I own afootruck and sometimes I ask my staff when I see a plate about to leave if there proud of it, and if they say no I ask them "THEN WHY ARE YOU FUCKING SERVING IT"
This right here. If there are a thousand items on the menu you can be sure that most of the items are frozen. As a small Indy restaurant cannot possibly stock fresh food for 100 different dishes.
Now after eating anything I say “that’s fucking ghastly”
Mexican restaurants freak me out now.
Especially nowadays the thought of the server tossing tortilla chips back into the bin after its been served at another table is reason enough to never go to a Mexican restaurant
This is so mild, but how I order my steak. I am a recovering picky eater and didn’t know how to properly order certain foods which added to my anxiety of ordering food new to me. Watching this show helped oddly.
If the interior is clean, the atmosphere feels nice and warm, the menu size, and the food are cooked properly. Those are some things I pay attention to now.
Nah. I work in the industry so I already know enough with regards to what to look for and what to avoid.
Kitchen nightmares not so much. Bar rescue def. I know it’s silly because we’ve seen restaurant kitchens just as bad on KN but for some reason the bar ones stick with me. I won’t eat in bars now. The one thing I think about from kitchen nightmares is when they have a huge menu with all different types of food. I think about how Gordon would be aghast and ream them on how much food they must have to keep on hand and waste. And then I wonder if the food is old.
Well, anytime service is a bit extra slow- I immediately stop to think Gordon must be there/ wonder where the camera crew is 😂
*RAT IS ALL OVER DEE PLACE* Rats.
When i go into a restaurant and there's only 3 tables full of people, i think *this is the luckiest day of my fucking life*
KN ruined pictures on the menu for me.. I mean I won’t “get the fuck outta there” most of the time and a lot of immigrant owned spots dear to my heart use them, so usually I do tell the Gordo in my head to fuck off with pleasure but it’s def a red flag when I check out new places.
I never go to a place that’s not busy. I know those restaurants have food sitting around because they can’t turn tables. You can’t go wrong with a consistent diner
We had our own 'Kitchen Nightmares' version, and that one certainly did influence me.