Want to eat as well as a chef when dining out? CTVNews.ca spoke with a number of professional chefs to find out what they avoid when they get out of the kitchen and become the restaurant patron. Here鈥檚 a list of things to avoid when dining out, according to the pros:
1. Bread basket
Toronto-based chef Massimo Bruno avoids one item that is considered a staple at many fine-dining restaurants: the bread basket.
Bruno, who emigrated to Canada from the southern Italian region of Puglia, said he was raised not to 鈥渇ill up鈥� on bread before a meal. So when dining out, he doesn鈥檛 bother with it.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to fill myself with bread because that鈥檚 what I eat at home,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a filler, easily available.鈥�
Armenian-Canadian chef Sebouh Yacoubian, who is opening an eastern Mediterranean restaurant in Toronto called Mayrig, says while it is in his culture to eat bread with dinner, he too, will think twice about ordering it in a restaurant. However, he is more concerned that uneaten bread baskets untouched at one table are 鈥渞ecycled鈥� and sent to other tables.
2. 鈥楥ookie-cutter鈥� desserts
Craig Wong, a French-trained chef who owns Asian-Caribbean restaurants in Toronto and Dubai, says he鈥檒l never order desserts that have been 鈥渂rought in鈥� to the restaurant, rather than made fresh on site.
鈥淭hey taste so mass-produced,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e getting attacked on both sides because both companies are trying to make a markup on this dessert and the factories are using the cheapest ingredients.鈥�
Wong advises diners with a sweet tooth to ask the server before ordering dessert: 鈥淵ou guys make this in-house?鈥�
Wong acknowledges that hiring a dessert or pastry chef can be expensive for a restaurateur, but he says even small-kitchen restaurants should strive for at least one single fresh dessert option rather than a full dessert selection provided by a third party.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 just one of those frozen cheesecakes that you just cut and put onto the plate, that鈥檚 when it just lacks soul,鈥� he said.
3. Mussels
After a number of 鈥渂ad experiences鈥� with mussel dishes in restaurants, Toronto chef Scott Vivian said he鈥檒l stay away from a 鈥渂ig pot鈥� of the mollusks. He said restaurants would likely have a hard time tracking down the 鈥渂ad鈥� mussel in a batch, so one can easily make it into the dish. 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e shucking oysters 鈥� you鈥檙e doing it individually so you can check each one,鈥� he said.
It鈥檚 harder to check every single mussel in a batch, added Vivian, who owns and operates Beast, a Toronto favourite of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Sometimes the restaurants have no control over it, Vivian added, so 鈥測ou don鈥檛 know that it鈥檚 a bad mussel until you actually put it in your mouth.鈥�
4. Complicated dishes
Both Wong and Bruno said that they鈥檙e turned off by large menus and restaurants that feature complicated dishes laden with ingredients. 鈥淚t gives me the idea that someone is trying too hard,鈥� Wong said. Bruno, who owns and operates his own supper club and Italian kitchen studio, said he finds big menus "overwhelming."
If the patron must even 鈥渢urn a page鈥� in a menu, it鈥檚 probably already too lengthy, Bruno said. Similarly, Bruno said he generally won鈥檛 order a dish that features a long list of ingredients.
鈥淚 wonder how they鈥檙e going to have all those (dishes) fresh鈥� if each one requires significant preparation time, he said.
Christie Peters, chef at contemporary restaurant The Hollows in Saskatoon, said patrons should be looking for the restaurant鈥檚 signature or 鈥渃lassic鈥� dish, and stick with that. That鈥檚 why you鈥檒l never find her ordering a seafood dish at a steakhouse. 鈥淚 just know that a steakhouse isn鈥檛 going to do it well,鈥� she said.
When in doubt, she said, order the chicken fingers. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 really mess up chicken fingers, they鈥檙e always delicious,鈥� she said with a laugh.
5. Sweetened drink mixes
Jacob Wharton-Shukster, a barman at French bistro Chantecler in Toronto, says even your drinks should be made with fresh ingredients. Wharton-Shukster said he鈥檒l never order a drink from a bar if they鈥檙e using bar lime, which is a syrup made of lime or lemon juice and sugar. 鈥淎ny time you see that, some gross glucose-filled disgusting mess, you don鈥檛 want to drink that,鈥� he said. Anything coming from a soda gun is worth avoiding, he added. 鈥淚f the place looks like they can鈥檛 make you a proper Negroni, don鈥檛 order one,鈥� Wharton-Shukster said.
A good bartender will use fresh ingredients, including fruit, he added. "Fresh is best."
Chefs will also check out the vibe of a restaurant and its cleanliness before committing to a table. Though most people don鈥檛 like to wait for a table, Bruno said he鈥檒l avoid restaurants that appear to be empty. If the eatery is dreary, empty and 鈥渘ot fun,鈥� Bruno said, 鈥測our food is most likely not going to be very fun, either.鈥� Rather, he seeks out the restaurants that are typically full and bustling. Not only does it indicate to him that the restaurant has a good 鈥渧ibe,鈥� but it most likely it will have fresher food due to a quick turnaround: the meals aren鈥檛 sitting in the kitchen uneaten and going stale, he said. 鈥淚 have a simple palate, but it needs to be fresh,鈥� Bruno said.
Yacoubian said whenever he eats at a restaurant, he鈥檒l come in and order an appetizer and then go scope out the washroom conditions. If it isn鈥檛 clean or up to his standards, Yacoubian said he鈥檒l eat the appetizer and then leave. 鈥淭he bathroom reflects the restaurant,鈥� Yacoubian said. If it鈥檚 dirty and unhygienic, he added, 鈥渋magine what the kitchen looks like.鈥�
