One day, a Redditor took to the subreddit, r/AskReddit, to ask the following question:
“Fast food workers of Reddit, what should we NOT order at your restaurant? And why not?”
From there, the thread blew up. To be fair, many of these incidents may be isolated to
a very few specific locations. Here are the Top 10 Fast Food Items You Should Never Order
According To Reddit (Part 2).
The Starbucks Secret Menu is Secret No More
The Starbucks Secret Menu is a thing of legends. It consists of decadent and elaborate beverages,
including things like the Harry Potter inspired Butterbeer Frappuccino, the Honey Nut Macchiato,
and the Strawberry Sunset Refresher. How on Earth can baristas manage to remember not
only how to prepare the dozens of items on the official menu, but the hundreds of Secret
Menu Items, as well? The short answer is they can’t. Because there’s no such thing as
the Starbucks Secret Menu. You might think that employees are just saying that because
they want to ensure that the Secret Menu stays, you know, secret. But, we promise you, it
really doesn’t exist. Most baristas would be happy to prepare a customized drink for
you, provided that the café isn’t too busy, and you have a recipe on hand. But don’t
be that person who waltzes into a Starbuck during rush-hour and demands that they whip
you up a Rocky Road Frappuccino, stat. If you want to deviate from the official menu,
be patient, let the barista know the exact ingredients and quantities you want, and don’t
complain about the cost. But really, it’s just so much easier for everyone involved
if we just stick to the good old Caramel Macchiatos and Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Hold the (Mac and) Cheese at Panera Bread
The consensus among Panera Bread employees on Reddit seems to be that the bakery’s
Mac and Cheese is a total rip off. While a couple of commenters seemed to simply feel
that it just isn’t worth the price, one person actually went as far as to describe
it as downright “nasty”. While many of the restaurant’s pastries are made fresh
in-house, their pastas are frozen and prepackaged. Before being served, the frozen dishes are
simply reheated. Not exactly the authentic, homemade cuisine you may have been imagining.
It’s really all about what kind of standards you have for your pasta. You might be a bit
disappointed with these reheated dishes if you’re used to your nonna’s authentic
cuisine. A Panera Bread worker actually posted a video on TikTok 'exposing' the frozen mac
and cheese. The video features a worker placing a bag of Panera Bread's Mac and Cheese in
a vat of boiling water. Unfortunately, the Panera Bread worker who revealed the frozen
mac and cheese actually ended up being fired after the video went viral. When it comes
to Panera Bread Mac and Cheese, it’s really just one of those things where, if you like
the taste and don’t mind paying the relatively high price, by all means, have at it. But,
keep in mind that, even Panera Bread’s employees don’t think you’re in any way getting
your money’s worth.
Little Caesar’s Breads
A former manager of Little Caesar’s chimed in to say that the fast food joint’s patrons
should avoid ordering pretty much any of the breads on the menu. They mentioned Crazy Bread
and Italian Bread specifically. Apparently, these popular side dishes are buttered with...
well, would you believe it’s not butter? Instead of butter, an imitation product is
used. What seemed particularly distressing to this fast food worker was that it didn’t
require refrigeration to keep fresh. Some people don’t notice much of a difference
between the imitation product and butter, while others agree with this former Little
Caesar’s employee and think it’s disgusting. Some people are relatively unbothered by this
revelation, which is fair, since a lot of fast food employees from other restaurants
were reporting things like mold. So, if imitation butter is as bad as it gets, Little Caesar’s
is pretty okay.
Movie Theater Pop Corn
This one is not specific to a certain restaurant but more so to certain establishments, movie
theatres. When we think of movie theatre food, we all think of warm, buttery, salty popcorn.
It's the perfect snack to munch on while you enjoy a flick. However a user on reddit revealed
the reality of movie theatre popcorn. The users states to never order popcorn during
that day's first movie showings. He states the popcorn sold during the first showing
is actually the night before's popcorn simply re-heated in the warmers. While this maybe
specific to the movie theatre this user worked at, we could see this being a tactic used
by other movie theatres. On the plus side, that means the popcorn for the other showings
throughout the day and evening would be fresh, so it's not a total loss for those who love
a tub of popcorn with their movies. Unfortunately though, the user went on to paint an even
more disturbing picture."You know those sticky aisles at movie theatres?" He claims they
attract all manner of bugs like ants and cockroaches and goes as far as calling movie theatre floors
"bug buffets". This is obviously a pretty gross thought, and with how dark movie theatres
tend to be, this could be true without us even knowing it. Hopefully this user just
worked at one dirty movie theatre and this isn't the case for most of them.
Convenience Store Slushies
We've all heard of the countless issues that face the dreaded ice machines at various fast
food restaurants. However, a reddit user who once worked at gas station went on to say,
and we quote "The amount of mold in those machines would crush your childhood to a pulp."
yikes. That paints a pretty bleak picture for any of us who've enjoyed these drinks
on a hot day. We'd like to say this was an isolated issue, and this reddit user just
worked at one dirty gas station, but this is just a reality of these machines, wherever
they are found. So whether it's a slush puppy at the corner store, or a slurpee at 7-eleven,
we suggest you proceed with caution when ordering these, no matter how hot it is and how refreshing
they may seem, you might be drinking more then just fruit flavored ice.
Taco John’s Beans
This warning goes out to all of you in the Midwest. A Redditor who used to work at Taco
John’s implores you to stay away from the beans. Reportedly, they should be safe to
eat during peak hours, when lots of orders are coming in and fresh food is constantly
being made. But outside of rush hour, it’s not recommended that you order them. Turns
out that the beans are just left to sit on a hot table. When they start to dry out, instead
of being thrown out and replaced with a fresh batch, water is simply added to plump them
back up. Yum. So, if you find yourself craving Taco John’s beans, try to time yourself
accordingly. Stop by right at lunchtime and you’re good to go. For reference, some of
the Taco John’s food items including beans are their Bean Burrito and Refried Beans.
Finally, if you’re a big Taco John’s fan, you should be happy to hear that this particular
employee didn’t have anything else bad to say about the establishment. In fact, they
still eat there themselves!
Tim Horton’s Iced Coffee
Calling all Canadians (and anyone lucky enough to live near one of the rare Timmy’s outside
of its natural habitat)! Many Canadians are incredibly passionate about Tim Horton’s,
and won’t hear a bad word about it. However, some employees would have us know that it’s
not necessarily as perfect as the great white north makes it out to be. For one thing, the
“always fresh” motto is a bit of a stretch, since most of the pastries are shipped frozen
to each location. But that’s not such a big deal. What’s harder to get over is the
fact that, while many locations have very strict policies on cleanliness, some neglect
their frozen base machines to the point where they can start to get moldy. The employee
who reported this tidbit also added that the iced coffee, which is supposed to be kept
no longer than twelve hours, would actually end up sitting out for far longer. To help
put your mind at ease, many other employees chimed in saying that this was not the case
at any of their locations, but, still, it’s hard to know which restaurants you can trust.
Wendy’s Baked Potatoes
The thing about Wendy’s Baked Potatoes is that they’re not inherently bad. Actually,
they can be quite good. The issue is that it’s like you’re playing Russian Roulette
each time you order one; you never know how long it’s been sitting out for. The reason
behind this is that baked potatoes are a pain to prepare. It takes anywhere from thirty
minutes to an hour bake them, and their shelf life is only about sixty minutes. Because
they’re so annoying to prepare, and aren’t the most popular item on the menu, it happens
that a single batch is made around lunchtime and then used for the rest of the day. So,
if you go at the right time, you could get a piping hot, delicious baked potato. But
if you go at the wrong time... well, few foods are as disgusting as a dried-out potato. One
employee was kind enough to offer up a life hack to help better the odds that you’ll
end up with a fresh potato. Apparently, the less ingredients there are on the potato,
the fresher it’s likely to be. According to this employee, it's because when a potato
is ordered with a-lot of toppings they are more likely to use an older potato that's
been sitting around for a while, as all the toppings will mask the "stale potato" taste.
That's a bummer for those of us who like our baked potatoes fully loaded.
KFC’s BBQ sandwich
Prepare your stomachs for this one. Hopefully you’re not a fan of KFC’s BBQ sandwich,
because it’s about to be ruined for you. After approximately four years of working
at KFC, They claimed that the chicken used in these sandwiches is the same chicken that
was deemed too old and stale to donate to nearby homeless shelters. Instead, it was
soaked in BBQ sauce for hours on end, to get it to the point where it was soft enough to
eat. Afterwards, they claimed the meat is kept in a heater for an ungodly amount of
time, waiting for people to order the BBQ sandwich. This former KFC employee ended their
tell-all comment with a confession, which read: “I still order it, though”. Turns
out, even knowing a restaurant’s dirty little secrets isn’t always enough to stop the
cravings. Sometimes the food just tastes way too good. The other thing to note about this
sandwich is that it is not available at all KFC locations. It's an item that the owners
of each individual franchise can choose to put on the menu and also take off the menu
whenever they want. That's good news for those who wanted to steer clear of this one, but
bad news for those who still wanted to try it, like the employee.
Lemons...From Any Restaurant
If there’s one thing fast food workers can agree on, it’s that lemons are bad, regardless
of where they come from. This seems like a weird entry for this list, as lemons aren’t
exactly a staple fast food item, but, when you think about it, it’s surprising how
often they pop up. Unfortunately, it’s a rarity for a lemon to be washed in a fast
food restaurant. As one commenter pointed out, this is a big deal, because the lemons
go through a lot, with all the transport and storage it takes for them to finally end up
in the restaurant’s kitchen. For them to simply be sliced and dropped into your drink...
It’s pretty gross. On top of that, they’re often left to sit around all day after being
sliced, which isn’t so great either. And, since these things all go hand-in-hand, maybe
it’s time to stop ordering drinks from fast food establishments.
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