This story was originally published on March 29, 2016.
We all know that you’re not supposed to eat fast food even though it's insanely delicious. But just as how certain people drink Mexican Coke because it has real sugar and is supposedly healthier than American Coke (which has high-fructose corn syrup), we know that healthfulness is relative.
Which brings us to a recent Reddit thread that asked fast food workers: What should we never order? The whole discussion is full of stomach-turning grossness, but we wanted to highlight a few.
User Hotpotabo says that you should never get chicken at Subway:
“At our Subway,” the user writes. “The 'oven roasted' chicken was actually boiled in a microwave.”
Redditor likeabaker has a helpful tip for Starbucks fanatics:
“All Starbucks food is reheated frozen food,” likeabaker writes. “Ridiculous how little people realize that. Doesn't mean it doesn't taste good, it's just not fresh at all and incredibly overpriced.”
A couple of tips will be helpful for Chipotle addicts:
“I used to work at Chipotle, and never ever ever order the tacos,” KourageWolf writes. “You get less than half the regular portions. Instead, order a bowl with whatever you want in it, then ask for the taco shells, hard or soft, on the side.”
“Currently a service manager at Chipotle,” soflopaintball writes. “All peppers, lettuce, and tomatoes now come pre shredded and washed. Steak also now is pre cooked (well heated in hot water before being shipped to us). Really the only in house prep we still do is dicing onions and jalapeños and making guac. Everything else is coming pre shredded and ready to serve at a central kitchen.”
If you were thinking about getting hotdogs or taquitos at 7-11 (why?), pay attention to the clock:
“I used to work at 7-11, so i'm gonna say any of the taquitos or hotdogs around midnight, up through about 4 or 5AM,” novelty_bone writes. “Around midnight you can be almost assured that these are now high-mileage. That hot dog might have more miles than your car.”
It's not old until it's sold, indeed. Here’s a helpful time tip for Burger King: “If you're really short on time, don't count on chicken tenders or grilled chicken sandwiches or salads being made quickly at Burger King,” shmandameyes writes. “I remember that the tenders took forever to cook and we didn't really make them that often, so most times they were made to order. Same for the grilled chicken. Everything else is whatever, I mean, still shitty because it's Burger King but the normal amount of shitty.” And a great general tip for dining even at places that don’t fit the “fast casual” designation: “If you see something on the menu and can't find at least one or two other items that the ingredients could be used in, don't order it,” anc6 writes. “For example, my restaurant has a pulled pork sandwich. We don't use the pork for anything else. Since it's not ordered too frequently, it's not fresh and the product you're eating might be days or weeks old. It's not going to get you sick, but it definitely won't be as fresh as the other things on the menu.” Here’s a funny story in two parts to round out our fast food exploration:
“Please do not order 35 McDoubles at a Walmart McDonald's,” rajc6 writes. “As someone who once went through a drive thru at 3 am back when they were a dollar each, handed them a $20 and said ‘fuck me up with McDoubles’ I apologize,” Populo writes.
It's not old until it's sold, indeed. Here’s a helpful time tip for Burger King: “If you're really short on time, don't count on chicken tenders or grilled chicken sandwiches or salads being made quickly at Burger King,” shmandameyes writes. “I remember that the tenders took forever to cook and we didn't really make them that often, so most times they were made to order. Same for the grilled chicken. Everything else is whatever, I mean, still shitty because it's Burger King but the normal amount of shitty.” And a great general tip for dining even at places that don’t fit the “fast casual” designation: “If you see something on the menu and can't find at least one or two other items that the ingredients could be used in, don't order it,” anc6 writes. “For example, my restaurant has a pulled pork sandwich. We don't use the pork for anything else. Since it's not ordered too frequently, it's not fresh and the product you're eating might be days or weeks old. It's not going to get you sick, but it definitely won't be as fresh as the other things on the menu.” Here’s a funny story in two parts to round out our fast food exploration:
“Please do not order 35 McDoubles at a Walmart McDonald's,” rajc6 writes. “As someone who once went through a drive thru at 3 am back when they were a dollar each, handed them a $20 and said ‘fuck me up with McDoubles’ I apologize,” Populo writes.