Many French people are happily rediscovering the pleasures of good food. However, it often happens that we are very undecided about a restaurant’s menu. The different menus pass before our eyes as do the dishes, and we don’t really know what to choose. To help you in your choice, know that some chefs explained that certain dishes were far from quality. Also, if you don’t know what to order when you go to a restaurant, here are some dishes that it would be better to avoid so as not to be disappointed.
Of course, this does not concern all restaurants and these are generalities, hence the importance of relying on reviews and word of mouth so as not to come across an unserious establishment. However, this is still good to know.
1) A fish dish, yes, but never on Monday!
According to chef Anthony Bourdain, many restaurants order their fish on Thursday or Friday in preparation for the weekend. However, since the fishmongers are closed on Sunday, customers on Monday are left with the last remaining fish from the weekend. The freshness of the product is therefore not necessarily there. To eat good fresh fish, it is better to do it on a Thursday evening than on a Monday lunchtime!
2) The dish of the day: yes and no
Of course, not all establishments do it in the same way and some chefs offer an original seasonal composition. However, it also happens that this dish is a gloubi-boulga of leftovers from the fridge. Indeed, seeing certain products expire at the bottom of the fridge, some chefs decide to make a meal of them to avoid losses. Gordon Ramsay strongly advises against soup if it is the dish of the day. If you don’t know the seriousness of the place where you are dining, choose the chef’s specialty over the dish of the day.
3) Salad, among the worst dishes in a restaurant
Are you on a diet or would you like a light accompaniment? In this case, the temptation may be great to opt for a salad. But be careful of restaurants where this is not their specialty! Very often, chefs make it in a hurry with leftover ingredients lying around on a work surface that is not always clean. In short, the little iceberg salad that we serve you will not be very fresh or well decorated. And it’s a shame to go to a restaurant and pay to eat a sloppy dish.
4) Chicken or eggs: probably better at home
Go to the restaurant to paying three times as much for a dish that you could make at homeit’s a shame. Many recognized chefs therefore advise against ordering scrambled eggs in restaurants which will cost you far too much for a result that is often tasteless or dry. As for overcooked chicken to avoid bacterial infections, it is better to avoid it if it is not the establishment’s specialty.
5) Seafood dishes: often never to be ordered in a restaurant
If you are in the mountains rather than by the sea, the seafood on the menu will not have the same taste quality and freshness. Besides the taste disappointment, we don’t even tell you about the risk of food poisoning involved. So prefer this type of dish if you are on the coast for have the assurance of a better product. Let us also remember that seafood has a seasonality just like fruits and vegetables. Mussels, shrimp, oysters, clams… only order them if it’s peak season! Their taste will be infinitely better.