Bringing your own china and silverware to a restaurant - Page 3

Oh my. Considering one of my favorite places to eat is a dive in rural Japan where you are practically guaranteeed to see a roach running across the dining room in midsummer, I find the OP highly amusing, Clearly I'm a total food philistine (though I'm never sick). Thanks for the giggle.  

Very Andy Kaufman-esque! Cotton-lined toilet seat covers on the plane?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by snausages 

 

 

I keep a set of dinnerware in the trunk of my car - plates, silverware, glassware, and disposable napkins - for use at every restaurant I visit.  I just don't feel comfortable using the pieces they provide, which have been used by hundreds of patrons before me.

At my restaurant we got a 95/100 on our last health inspection.  How did your car's trunk score?

Julia Butterfly Hill brought a canning jar (glass), chop sticks and a cloth napkin to lunch.....it was  more environmental than germ based....thought it was kinda cool 6 years ago. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by shroomgirl 

Julia Butterfly Hill brought a canning jar (glass), chop sticks and a cloth napkin to lunch.....it was  more environmental than germ based....thought it was kinda cool 6 years ago. 

 

But then again, she's a vegan who lives in a tree.

Seriously, is the canning jar for taking home leftovers? I've always been appalled at the insane amount of foam/plastic/cardboard containers etc.. restaurants use for take away, deliveries, doggy bags etc...

OK. Just in case anyone needs to know, or is the least bit interested in who Julia Butterfly Hill is, here's her story: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Butterfly_Hill

Julia came through STL for Venus Envy Event several years ago....since I was catering the opener (fun sexy menu) the board asked me to join them for (raw) lunch at Cardwells @ the Plaza...the chef d' cuisine at the time was Dave Owens (veg head) and on the board of MO's chef collaborative with me.  Julia did not make a big deal about it, she just preferred using her jar to drink from and the chopsticks instead of silverware.   Not showy at all. Just what she chose to do. 

Since then I use a wide mouth pint jar as my default coffee cup, works well...

 I can't tell if this is a punking, a cry for help, or what.

But I can relate in one way.  I get totally disgusted when I find someone elses lipstick on a water glass but trust in an establishment's cleaniliness by requesting a replacement.

What is quite disgusting is to find baked on egg/cheese on a fork, or unidentifiable "whatever" on a spoon.  I get really annoyed when I find bent tines on a fork, but I can (and do) correct that prior to use.  Another pet peave is the really cheap and flimsy fork/knife that many "budget" eateries use.  Oh, I also hate the three-tine forks that some places seem to think are chic.  For that reason I've thought about discreetly bringing my own flatware to a restaurant... but I haven't done so yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shroomgirl 

Julia came through STL for Venus Envy Event several years ago....since I was catering the opener (fun sexy menu) the board asked me to join them for (raw) lunch at Cardwells @ the Plaza...the chef d' cuisine at the time was Dave Owens (veg head) and on the board of MO's chef collaborative with me.  Julia did not make a big deal about it, she just preferred using her jar to drink from and the chopsticks instead of silverware.   Not showy at all. Just what she chose to do. 

Since then I use a wide mouth pint jar as my default coffee cup, works well...

 

I don't understand - why is a jar better than a cup or a glass? am i missing something?  in what way is it better? 

It think "it's better" because it's "her choice". If you are making a choice of your own, you make your own best choice. Whatever her reasons are, maybe she just  likes drinking out of a jar. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianShaw 

 I can't tell if this is a punking, a cry for help, or what.

 

But I can relate in one way.  I get totally disgusted when I find someone elses lipstick on a water glass but trust in an establishment's cleaniliness by requesting a replacement.

 

What is quite disgusting is to find baked on egg/cheese on a fork, or unidentifiable "whatever" on a spoon.  I get really annoyed when I find bent tines on a fork, but I can (and do) correct that prior to use.  Another pet peave is the really cheap and flimsy fork/knife that many "budget" eateries use.  Oh, I also hate the three-tine forks that some places seem to think are chic.  For that reason I've thought about discreetly bringing my own flatware to a restaurant... but I haven't done so yet.

I agree but all of those things happen without intent of bad sanitary practices I'm afraid.  There's some compound in lipstick that makes it nearly impossible for a dishwasher to remove in most cases.

And how many times have we opened our dishwashers to find stuck on food on utensils simply because they were placed improperly in the dishwasher?  Of course in my house I check each and every dish when it comes out of the dishwasher for that reason.  It would be nice if restaurants did the same but there might be some lazy guy back there not checking the dishes.  But still, you'd think that someone would have caught it at some point - the person unloading the dishes, the person setting the place settings, or the server all have chosen to overlook it.  It's laziness.

Oooooh I hate those three tined forks too!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koukouvagia 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianShaw 

 I can't tell if this is a punking, a cry for help, or what.

 

But I can relate in one way.  I get totally disgusted when I find someone elses lipstick on a water glass but trust in an establishment's cleaniliness by requesting a replacement.

 

What is quite disgusting is to find baked on egg/cheese on a fork, or unidentifiable "whatever" on a spoon.  I get really annoyed when I find bent tines on a fork, but I can (and do) correct that prior to use.  Another pet peave is the really cheap and flimsy fork/knife that many "budget" eateries use.  Oh, I also hate the three-tine forks that some places seem to think are chic.  For that reason I've thought about discreetly bringing my own flatware to a restaurant... but I haven't done so yet.

 

I agree but all of those things happen without intent of bad sanitary practices I'm afraid.  There's some compound in lipstick that makes it nearly impossible for a dishwasher to remove in most cases.

 

And how many times have we opened our dishwashers to find stuck on food on utensils simply because they were placed improperly in the dishwasher?  Of course in my house I check each and every dish when it comes out of the dishwasher for that reason.  It would be nice if restaurants did the same but there might be some lazy guy back there not checking the dishes.  But still, you'd think that someone would have caught it at some point - the person unloading the dishes, the person setting the place settings, or the server all have chosen to overlook it.  It's laziness.

 

Oooooh I hate those three tined forks too! 

I've sent entire plate and glass racks back to dish because of crap like this. Nothing more frustrating than being in the weeds, pulling a plate - and seeing filth on it... then another, then another...

"DISH! Take every Effing Plate off my station NOW and RE-WASH IT, NOW!"

Only takes one of those meltdowns to get everyone focused. If it was my kitchen, I'd throw the damn plates at the wall above the 3-sink. There is no excuse for half-assing a job.

The only thing worse than that is when servers don't check their place settings. If a server hands me a dirty plate or glass It really P*sses me off.

Your friend is right. It's really, really odd. Surely any half decent restaurant will be washing the plates and cutlery in a fashion that would eliminate any germs.