When you go out to eat, it’s best to stick with what you know. However, we all have those days where we just want something exciting and new, so we take a bit of a gamble and order something that we’re not sure about.
After years of eating different things at restaurants, I’ve developed my list of the worst foods you can order in a restaurant. My advice, stay away from these items when you’re ordering your next meal.
Liver
The liver is a firm organ meat that has no place on a restaurant menu. It’s not something that people enjoy eating, and usually, they have to be bribed to finish it. If someone says that they like liver, you might want to examine this cautiously because there is something wrong with them.
Quinoa Salad
This “healthy” salad item has made its way onto many restaurant menus in recent years, and for a good reason, people are eating it. However, people are not enjoying it. If you ever see someone eating a quinoa salad, they are probably trying to be healthy and should not be interrupted, so their quest for good health doesn’t end prematurely.
Sweet Potato Fries
Thanks to the Paleo Diet trend, sweet potatoes have made a resurgence on many restaurant menus in recent years. However, the result is a plate of sweet potato fries all too often. These, as you well know, are not good for you and should be avoided at all costs.
Exotic Seafood
Some rarer seafood items can be pretty delicious if prepared correctly. However, you don’t want to take that chance when eating out. If you see something exotic on the menu, chances are it will taste like crap and ruin your dinner experience.
Some examples are sea cucumbers, sea urchins, whale meat, and the like. These are all things that you should avoid while eating out because they won’t taste good more often than not.
Artichoke
The artichoke is a great vegetable that you can grill up at home or eat raw like an apple. However, inside a restaurant, the artichoke takes on an entirely different personality and becomes unbearably bitter with a horrible aftertaste. Unless you find yourself in Italy, where many people seem to enjoy artichokes, you should avoid this vegetable at all costs.
Reindeer
Reindeer is a type of red meat that tastes like beef and is very commonly used in restaurants. However, there are plenty of other red meats out there that taste better than reindeer, and you should never feel the need to order it. If someone suggests ordering reindeer at a restaurant, tell them that they are awful and should feel bad for dropping that suggestion on you.
Spaghetti Squash
Thanks to the Paleo Diet, this vegetable is all the rage these days, making it incredibly easy to find on a restaurant menu. However, spaghetti squash isn’t perfect and has no place in any situation where you want to have an enjoyable meal. Order a side salad instead of spaghetti squash if you’re going to be healthy.
Chicken Nuggets
While we’re on the topic of things you shouldn’t eat at a restaurant, let’s talk about chicken nuggets. For whatever reason, many restaurants now feature them on their menu, and they are usually pretty bad. If you want to enjoy some tasty fried chicken, order an actual piece of fried chicken instead.
Poi
Poi is a Hawaiian dish made from taro root cooked down into a paste. It doesn’t make for excellent eating and should never be ordered at a restaurant. If you ever see poi on the menu, skip it even if you are having an adventurous night because there are many other good options.
Corn on the Cob
Corn on the cob is incredibly delicious food that you can only really enjoy in its natural state during certain times of the year. Yet, somehow, it has become a menu item at many restaurants and should be avoided like the plague. If someone suggests eating corn on the cob at a restaurant, don’t.
You might end up with an emergency appointment with your dentist for a tooth replacement or repair after an overeager bite from this challenging food.
Bitter Gourd
Bitter gourds, also known as bitter melons, are vegetables that can be pretty tasty when prepared with the right ingredients. However, they often end up on menus around this time of year and aren’t very good at all.
Restaurant owners love to put anything exotic on their menu in hopes of attracting more customers, but bitter gourd should not be one of those things.
There are many foods that you should never order at a restaurant. These range from sweet potato fries to sea cucumbers and everything in between. If you ever find yourself staring down the menu at a restaurant, avoid all of these food items and keep it simple with something like spaghetti or meatloaf.
And remember, anyone who tries to suggest eating any unusual food at a restaurant is not your friend. It’s best to just ignore them entirely unless they are offering to pay for your meal.
