Do you think restaurants are nasty and germy?

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I was going out and eat at our local Chinese restaurant today to have General Tsao noodles, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Wontons, fried rice and hot tea. But my 2 favorites are especialy General Tsao noodles and Wontons. So since I am getting more and more of a germ thing about them I decided to stay home and experiment. Lately the food has become more bland, some of the dishes are dirty and I have a thing about putting my fingers on those sticky sugar holders (another OCD behavior?).

Anyhow, after checking on the Internet and adding an ingredient that wasn't mention I not only duplicated the taste of the noodles but they have an unbelievable delicious taste. They are easy to make. I will be experimenting with other foods that I eat at our Chinese place. I have already experimented with food tasting like Long John Silvers food because I'm feed up with them and I don't like their fries anymore or their coffee if they happen to have it. But, we have restaurants that serve nothing but slop too and I would never need to try to duplicate any of their food. I'm beginning to get a phobia about going in restaurants these days.

Are any of you the same way experimenting with your own food to duplicate the taste of food in a restaurant, but only much better, because of the germs or really bad services.

not sure about restaurants but what i really hate is small cafes (greasy spoons as they are affectionately known in the uk) because as the moniker suggests they often fail to adequately clean the cutlery, leaving the last person's meal intact.

I particularly hate public toilets, especially when there is no flowing hot water or the previous person has left it caked in s**t or left piss all over the seat. Think even NTs can get upset about that though.

So far I haven't noticed anything highly unsanitary or germy about any restaurants I've been too, although I am concerned about a number of places that serve buffets that lack sneeze guards, and you have to dish the food up with utensils that have been touched by who knows how many germy hands, and you have to come as early as possible when the food is still hot and fresh. I have also had to ask waiters to replace my cups or silverware because they had tiny bits of food still stuck to them. However, if I try to duplicate certain foods I like in restaurants it's not usually a germ or bad service thing but because I want to enjoy them in my own home and because it saves money, like the egg breakfast sandwiches at McDonald's. Most mornings I really don't feel like hustling all the way to McDonald's before 11 AM to grab one!

Yes, they are.

Of course they can be. It doesn't follow that they all are. I prefer to eat at home, usually. It's cheaper, less noisy, and I know what it is I'm eating. But I've had some incredibly great experiences eating out. I love good food, and when the restaurant is good on many levels, it's just amazing.

I don't really think about all the germs and dirtiness that can be present at restaurants.

Restaurants frighten me, i don't like being trapped in the middle of a bunch of people with loudness and bustle going on.
I get really anxious and panicy. It is easiest for me if the place has no other customers or only a couple across the room. I won't even look around if it's busy with too many people. That type of situation makes me shut down a little. I have to be the farthest away from anything in the wall corner of a booth with my NT next to me, and friends/relative in front. We opt for fast food sometimes, as its so much easier going through a drive through.


Germs are present so many places, especially in the public, even on ourselves, yet i try not to think about that.
For the most part i avoid going to public places, especially if they are crowded. I am lucky to have my partner NT help with shopping and things like that. She likes to take her time in the supermarket, and i am in a rush to get down and leave. Sometimes its good for me to get out and if we are only getting a few things i will go with her.

ocd here...I never voluntarily eat out at restaurants. I only feel comfortable when I need too, Like if I'm traveling, or I have a gift card, or I did not have time to make lunch for work. If I do it just for fun then I feel like I deserve to get whatever disease might be on the plates or silverware or anything the cashier gives me...If the cashier looks gross or shady then I go to a different restaurant.

Then my day is ruined.

I also avoid public restrooms and If I do use them I wave my hands in the air to dry them after washing if I am in a public restroom or at my moms or my sisters house.

I will hold it even to the point of pain. No public toilets for me.

Haha apparently my body knows when I get home from work that it's time to go...I can barely get to the door...but I never feel like that at work.

Agreed. Eating out at restaurants and cafés can occasionally be a wonderful experience. Sometimes it's pretty good, often it's average and sometimes it's terrible. A person shouldn't block out that part of their life just because they're terrified of germs and bacteria. Germs (I nearly wrote "Germans!") and bacteria are normal parts of life anyway and are all around us.



Do you live in a rural area? Perhaps you could go for a slash somewhere?

Also, if it's the rear canal that wants your attention, you're not going to be able to hold on forever, especially if it's urgent. It's not worth the risk. If you can, you'd be better off picking decent restaurants that you actually trust.



There are good places to eat in Northern Ireland. In fact, the food there is often pretty memorable. There should be some good cafés where you live that aren't complete dumps.

Most of the jobs I've had have been in kitchens/restaurants. I have even done grease exhaust cleaning (for really good money) in the city I live in.... Very few restaurants I will eat at.




So. Gross.

I don't like going to restaurants - never have.

I try not to think about it, honestly.

But my anxiety around this area means that I will not eat chicken, pork or anything with cream in it at restaurants.

I hate eating at restaurants, but there are a few local to us that do excellent take-out. I get that.

Yes.

And I think a whole lot of people think the same. Just watch Fight Club

Our council's environmental health dept puts their food safety reports online. When I discovered them, what an eye-opener it was. I would never go back to most of the local take-aways. But, the worst thing was a lovely (or so I thought) little bistro, in a garden centre, which has a fairly posh image and we visited it regularly. There was a mention of maggots and the place scraped a single star (the maximum is 3). Thankfully, our favourite local restaurant got 3 stars.

I just had to go in our Chinese Restaurant again so I can study the Egg Foo Yung and figure out how they made it. I love it and it is so much better than mine. So once I got home I wrote down the recipe. Very simply made and deep fried. But of course I still like my sauce better than theirs and will make my own sauce. I also know why that I smothered the fried rice there in General Tsao Sauce. And that is because it just isn't good. I notice they don't put anymore ingredients in there food than they have and that is why I've been able to make better chinese food than the Chinese who serves it there.

Anyhow, the silverware was all sticky today and I had to wash the sticky off. I don't want to go in there anymore because everything is so sticky anymore. However, I love Chinese food and that is why I started studying how they made their food.