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There's no denying that, at times, fast food can be pretty gross. But some of it is definitely more gross than the norm. And now, thanks to some fast food workers posting on Reddit, the not-so-nice insider secrets have been revealed. We sifted through several threads to see which menu items are the worst culprits. And it's not just a case of funny food fails or horror stories like employees using utensils to style their hair in the kitchen—some of these tips are really practical. Like, if you're in a big rush, chicken might not be your best bet.
Keep in mind that many of these restaurants are franchises. And not every franchise has the same rules or standards, although some would argue "don't order tuna" at a fast food restaurant is a hard-and-fast rule regardless of where you go.
steak n shake
"I worked at Steak n Shake for a while. Pretty much the only thing I'd never order is a BLT. You're paying like $6 for two pieces of toast and two strips of bacon. The problem is that the BLT is supposed to be made with 4 strips of bacon (8 pieces when broken in half) but nobody does this, usually due to managers trying to invisibly cut costs." —
panera bread
"Any of the soups. Soups were frozen in a bag and shipped. They were thawed using a 're-thermalizer,' a sink full of heating elements that boiled water. Yeah well, that sink wasn't cleaned out all the time, sometimes bags burst. Soup that survived was cut open with a pair of scissors, usually a pair from the managers office or from the prep line, they weren't too picky during dinner rush. Then it was poured into a pitcher. Then transferred to soup line. Problem: the pitcher was hardly ever cleaned, if poorly rinsed out could be considered cleaning." —Demonic_Toaster
little caesars
"Don’t EVER get the breadsticks at Little Caesar’s. Literally tons of day old butter are painted on to the bread. I’ve seen co workers pick up breadsticks off the ground and put them back in the bag just because they are in a rush." — Nico6001
tim hortons
"The soups are frozen (and have found maggots in them before), the sandwiches are alright but it's iffy most of the time. I suggest sticking to the bagels and butter/cream cheese. Those aren't made in store but it's better than pretty much anything else. (I'm not a fan of timmies coffee/drinks but that would be the next best thing)." — octopus_salad
jersey mike's subs
"I worked at Jersey Mike's subs. The only thing I wouldn't eat is the chicken parmesan. It's a frozen pre breaded chicken patty that we just microwaved for a few mins that just turns to mush in the sandwich. It was gross, stick to the cold cut subs or cheesesteaks." — Dr_Schalke
checkers
"I would never, ever, ever, in a bazillion years, eat any fast food place's chili after working there. The "chili" is just the past few day's unsold, sat in the heater too long to sell as a hamburger, meat that gets chopped up and thrown in some chili seasoning and beans. The batch of chili was never thrown out, just always sat there getting replenished with new chili sauce and meat, so some of the chili in there was months old at least." — DuctTapeChainsaw
panda express
"I work at Panda Express and you should never order orange chicken. Yeah it might be the most popular item, but sometimes when it isn't busy, and the food get dried up, we put uncooked sauce on it to make it more moisturized. Even my manager says its ok, as long as I do not do it in front of the customers. Panda Express is disgusting..." — Sup3rh3r0_31
domino's
"At Dominos, don't order the Philly steak or American cheese, it's only used on the sandwiches and one specialty pizza so it usually goes bad and we have to throw it out often." — whyamiupattwoam
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. 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." —shmandameyes
"The fish sandwich. It's a rectangular piece of fried fish and breading. Absolutely disgusting. They also keep some surplus so they don't have to make it new each time someone orders it, so you may be getting old fish." — thesituation531
chick-fil-a
"Don't order grilled foods if you're gluten-free. While technically gluten free — a lot of cross contamination can occur. Be specific to be safe. Oh, and don't order a standard salad at night, it was probably made that morning. Request something else on it and it'll be fresh." —SwagSorcerer
"Only thing i would be iffy on is the chicken salad sandwich. We cool some of the chicken once its hold time is up and de-bread it and use it in the chicken salad. but other than that not anything really bad or gross." — deleted user
taco bell
If you're trying to get in and out quickly next time you're at Taco Bell, forget about ordering a quesadilla. "It has to be steamed and grilled. It's the only item that I can think of that needs both besides the AM Crunchwrap." — Shamm-Wow
www.cosmopolitan.com
Keep in mind that many of these restaurants are franchises. And not every franchise has the same rules or standards, although some would argue "don't order tuna" at a fast food restaurant is a hard-and-fast rule regardless of where you go.
steak n shake
"I worked at Steak n Shake for a while. Pretty much the only thing I'd never order is a BLT. You're paying like $6 for two pieces of toast and two strips of bacon. The problem is that the BLT is supposed to be made with 4 strips of bacon (8 pieces when broken in half) but nobody does this, usually due to managers trying to invisibly cut costs." —
panera bread
"Any of the soups. Soups were frozen in a bag and shipped. They were thawed using a 're-thermalizer,' a sink full of heating elements that boiled water. Yeah well, that sink wasn't cleaned out all the time, sometimes bags burst. Soup that survived was cut open with a pair of scissors, usually a pair from the managers office or from the prep line, they weren't too picky during dinner rush. Then it was poured into a pitcher. Then transferred to soup line. Problem: the pitcher was hardly ever cleaned, if poorly rinsed out could be considered cleaning." —Demonic_Toaster
little caesars
"Don’t EVER get the breadsticks at Little Caesar’s. Literally tons of day old butter are painted on to the bread. I’ve seen co workers pick up breadsticks off the ground and put them back in the bag just because they are in a rush." — Nico6001
tim hortons
"The soups are frozen (and have found maggots in them before), the sandwiches are alright but it's iffy most of the time. I suggest sticking to the bagels and butter/cream cheese. Those aren't made in store but it's better than pretty much anything else. (I'm not a fan of timmies coffee/drinks but that would be the next best thing)." — octopus_salad
jersey mike's subs
"I worked at Jersey Mike's subs. The only thing I wouldn't eat is the chicken parmesan. It's a frozen pre breaded chicken patty that we just microwaved for a few mins that just turns to mush in the sandwich. It was gross, stick to the cold cut subs or cheesesteaks." — Dr_Schalke
checkers
"I would never, ever, ever, in a bazillion years, eat any fast food place's chili after working there. The "chili" is just the past few day's unsold, sat in the heater too long to sell as a hamburger, meat that gets chopped up and thrown in some chili seasoning and beans. The batch of chili was never thrown out, just always sat there getting replenished with new chili sauce and meat, so some of the chili in there was months old at least." — DuctTapeChainsaw
panda express
"I work at Panda Express and you should never order orange chicken. Yeah it might be the most popular item, but sometimes when it isn't busy, and the food get dried up, we put uncooked sauce on it to make it more moisturized. Even my manager says its ok, as long as I do not do it in front of the customers. Panda Express is disgusting..." — Sup3rh3r0_31
domino's
"At Dominos, don't order the Philly steak or American cheese, it's only used on the sandwiches and one specialty pizza so it usually goes bad and we have to throw it out often." — whyamiupattwoam
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. 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." —shmandameyes
"The fish sandwich. It's a rectangular piece of fried fish and breading. Absolutely disgusting. They also keep some surplus so they don't have to make it new each time someone orders it, so you may be getting old fish." — thesituation531
chick-fil-a
"Don't order grilled foods if you're gluten-free. While technically gluten free — a lot of cross contamination can occur. Be specific to be safe. Oh, and don't order a standard salad at night, it was probably made that morning. Request something else on it and it'll be fresh." —SwagSorcerer
"Only thing i would be iffy on is the chicken salad sandwich. We cool some of the chicken once its hold time is up and de-bread it and use it in the chicken salad. but other than that not anything really bad or gross." — deleted user
taco bell
If you're trying to get in and out quickly next time you're at Taco Bell, forget about ordering a quesadilla. "It has to be steamed and grilled. It's the only item that I can think of that needs both besides the AM Crunchwrap." — Shamm-Wow
Fast Food Workers Reveal What You Should Never Order at Their Restaurants
Seriously though, don't get the tuna salad.
What are you doing posting that **** to reddit.
