Salad Garnish?

Question

When you get a salad garnish with food in a pub or restaurant do you ever wonder how many other plates it has been on before it got to yours?

I ask this because I ate out several times this weekend and every one that I got looked like it was a couple of days old!

Answer 1

You have a good point now that I think of it I never eat it anyway but makes me wonder now☺

Answer 2

Having worked in several restaurants, I can personally tell you that servers/bus staff are way too busy to pluck your used garnish off of the plate, and reuse it.  Restaurants would not allow it anyway.  Same thing with that left over setting on the table?  It's set for four people, only three are seated?  We're supposed to immediately remove the extra setting as you're seated.  IF we forget, it has to get washed.  Whether you touched it or not.  You customers are dirty folks.  LOL.  ;-}

The fact is, some "chefs" are really just "cooks".  If it's a low to mid range restaurant, they may not have someone actually thinking about the type of garnish to add to your plate.  If the plates are kept hot- green garnishes wilt quickly.  If someone plates the dish (prepares it for the food to go on it) too early, the garnish will wilt.  If the garnish isn't the freshest to begin with, perhaps from a bag opened up the day before, it will be wilted already.  A really nice restaurant will have garnishes that are fresh, crisp, and edible.  But even if it's not the nicest place- it would be highly unlikely to be reused.  I have frankly never heard of that in all my years working in restaurants.  

Chips at a Mexican restaurant?  Tossed.  Everyone gets fresh ones.  

That being said, some restaurants (particularly Tapas- style) have stacks of dishes on your table. Watch the bussing of some of the tables.  If the stack of unused dishes is allowed to remain on the table, insist on fresh ones when you are seated.

Answer 3

I know exactly what you mean. I now tell them to leave the garnish off so that all I get is what I asked for no extras!

Answer 4

i never eat it

Answer 5

None of the places i've worked at have re-used garnish, everyhting left on plates just goes straight into bin, but....if the kitchen is busy then the salad stuff doesn't go in and out of the fridge so after a few hours in kitchen heat it probably would start to look a bit tired.

Answer 6

SOUNDS like you go to some dodgy eating paces?

Answer 7

They probably have the salad delivered in bags, ready prepared.Once the leaves have been cut, they start to deteriorate.It's not often that you'll get a nice fresh side salad when dining out.We should complain more and send food back if it's not up to a good standard.

Answer 8

Yikes!!  I usually ask for dressing on the side, but I've never thought to ask for garnish that way.  Croutons frequently seem old, come to think of it, unless you visit a place that makes their own...

Answer 9

Well, it probably WAS a couple of days old.  You can't trust kitchens these days - if only we had x-ray eyes and could see thru the walls....... then again maybe not!

There's no harm in complaining about the state of the garnish - after all we'd complain if the main body of the meal - say the meat for example - was undercooked or not cooked to our liking, or whatever.  I regard the salad garnish as part of the meal cos I always eat it.  Luckily pubs I've been into serve relatively fresh salad garnish - either that or I've been drunk and don't know quite what I am eating.  Anyway going back to my previous point - if the garnish looks grotty then complain and say that, because it's part of the meal, for which you have paid (probably a relatively hefty sum), you'd like a fresh looking garnish!!!