There’s nothing like getting a little inside scoop on your favorite restaurant: What’s fire? What’s forgettable? And what should never leave the kitchen? One New York City-based chef is breaking ranks and telling back-of-the-house secrets.
Solomon Ince (@chefsolomonince) of Tableaux Eats recently posted a TikTok answering the question, “What are dishes you would never order at a restaurant because of how suspect the ingredients could [be]?”
Don’t Order This
He answers, and there’s no holding back.
“Don’t order these dishes: Generally, I stay away from fish specials. That’s a common one. A special is something you’re trying to get rid of. If you don’t know that, it’s the truth. Usually a chef has too much stock of something and tries to come up with a dish quickly that he can sell.”
Ince is something of an expert on the matter. Ince let BroBible know he’s a veteran, having worked in some of America’s best kitchens. That includes a stint at Restaurant Daniel, chef Daniel Boulud’s two-Michelin-starred flagship restaurant (a prix fixe meal there runs about $188 per person).
Incidentally, he also thinks the show “The Bear” is “far too dramatized to be any sort of real life,” but we digress.
‘Anthony Bourdain Taught Me’
Many viewers referenced Anthony Bourdain’s tell-all book “Kitchen Confidential,” which shares much of the same advice.
“Anthony Bourdain taught me about seafood specials,” one viewer said.
“I think I learned most of this years ago from Anthony Bourdain,” another wrote.
Of that book, Ince says, “Anyone who enjoys the grittiness of the industry will love this book. It was the first book I read that made me want to become a chef.”
Bourdain salute aside, many users defended restaurants where they’ve worked. “I worked in high end restaurants for most of my life and the specials are always fresh and I always order whatever they have on special so that is not true,” one said.
Another wrote, “Not high end restaurants for fish specials. We used to order fresh fish in every Friday for weekend fish specials.”
Though that viewer did offer a calendar-based caveat, adding, “Now on a Monday or Tuesday I may agree.”
What Else?
Fish aren’t the only potential offenders, though.
In his video, now at 1.4 million views, he says that unless he’s going to a really special place, where the cooks “really care,” he refuses to order salads. “I don’t care how pre-washed the lettuce is. I have rarely met people who wash salad,” he says.
He says even at some of the nice places he’s worked, people “throw a fit over washing some damn Romaine.”
The problem with unwashed salads is more than the potential for a little dirt or grit on the plate. “If it’s not washed and prepared correctly you’re eating a bunch of bacteria like E. coli. Salad is the number one thing you’re going to get a food-borne illness from,” Ince explains in a follow-up video.
How Spot A Not So Special, Special
Viewers shared their own suggestions on how to avoid mediocre specials.
One way to spot ingredients that are being used up is to look for mixed dishes, said one commenter, Leah (@leah332). “If the special is a seafood stew, or medley of some sort, it’s usually leftover seafood they couldn’t sell, but need to sell- eg, leftover fish, clams, shrimp,” she shared.
For his part, Ince says, “Specials aren’t all going to be bad, you just have to know what type of restaurant you’re at. If the menu has 40+ items and serves both Italian and Latin American cuisine, I’d steer clear of the special board.”
But, he says, “If you visit a well thought out restaurant with 8 or so items on the menu, and it’s obvious a lot of care went into the customer experience, I’d say you’re probably in for a treat with any special menu item.”
As for really fine dining, Ince suggests Vermont-based chef Micah Tavelli’s food is more than worth the trip.