Fast food employees reveal the menu items you should never order at their restaurants

Fast-food workers hold the keys to the big secrets of the industry and in a popular Reddit thread posted in the Ask Reddit subreddit on July 17, 2024, some current and ex-employees dared to share the truth with the public.

From food that comes in frozen, to food that is perfectly fine to eat as long as you don’t see it being made, all of your favorite chains are hiding some secrets.

We sifted through several additions in this thread to find the real secrets, not just one-off faux pas like forgetting to put the macaroni in an order of mac & cheese.

Fast food items to avoid

Keep in mind that many of these restaurants are franchises, and not every franchise has the same rules or standards, that being said, some people would argue that ordering fish from a fast food joint is always a no-go.

1. Steak n Shake – BLT

According to one employee, the BLTs at Steak n Shake are not worth the money that you pay for them. We’re all out here trying to get more bang for our buck, so maybe a burger is your best bet.

The Reddit user said: “I worked at Steak n Shake for a while. Pretty much the only thing I’d never order is a BLT. You’re paying like $6 for two pieces of toast and two strips of bacon.

“The problem is that the BLT is supposed to be made with 4 strips of bacon (8 pieces when broken in half) but nobody does this, usually due to managers trying to invisibly cut costs.”

2. Panera Bread – Soup

Panera Bread has just launched a new spicy line of sandwiches, but according to one of their employees, if you think you’re getting soup that’s as fresh as their sandwiches, you’re wrong.

“Any of the soups. Soups were frozen in a bag and shipped. They were thawed using a ‘re-thermalizer,’ a sink full of heating elements that boiled water,” the user claimed.

3. Jersey Mike’s – Chicken Parm

The meat from Jersey Mike’s is often praised for its freshness and the fact that none of their vegetables or loaves of bread ever come in frozen. However, there is one exception to that rule.

A former worker said: “I worked at Jersey Mike’s subs. The only thing I wouldn’t eat is the chicken parmesan. It’s a frozen pre-breaded chicken patty that we just microwaved for a few mins that just turns to mush in the sandwich. Nothing unsanitary or anything, just not as fresh as the cold cuts.”

4. Any fast food chain – Chili

“I would never, ever, ever, in a bazillion years, eat any fast food place’s chili after working there,” one former fast food worker said.

“The “chili” is just the past few days unsold, sat in the heater too long to sell as a hamburger, meat that gets chopped up and thrown in some chili seasoning and beans.”

Although this is true, there is actually nothing unsanitary about this practice and since hamburgers are made from minced meat, it’s just breaking it back down into its original parts. After all, Wendy’s chili is delicious.

5. Chick-fil-A – Grilled foods if you’re gluten free

Any people following a gluten free diet are urged to avoid grilled foods at Chick-fil-a due to possible cross contaminations.

They claimed: “Don’t order grilled foods if you’re gluten-free. While technically gluten free — a lot of cross contamination can occur. Be specific to be safe.”

“Oh, and don’t order a standard salad at night, it was probably made that morning. Request something else on it and it’ll be fresh.”

6. Taco Bell – Quesadilla

While this one doesn’t havr anything to do with the food itself, everyone knows that Taco Bell quesadillas are god tier, but if you’re in a hurry, you might want to re-think them.

If you’re trying to get in and out quickly next time you’re at Taco Bell, forget about ordering a quesadilla. “It has to be steamed and grilled. It’s the only item that I can think of that needs both besides the AM Crunchwrap,” a former employee claimed.

7. Little Caesar’s – Thin crust

Little Caesar’s prides themselves on their fresh pizza base, and if you’ve ever had one, you’ll know that you can taste the freshness in that dough. However, according to one employee, the thin base pizzas are a different story.

They said: “At Little Caesars, normal crust is made in store. Make our own dough and everything. But if you order a thin crust, you get a premade crust that may have been sitting in an open cardboard box for days to weeks.”

8. Dairy Queen – Salads

Who’s is ordering a salad over a Blizzard at Dairy Queen anyway? But according to one Reddit user, they’re a complete “rip off”.

“Salads from DQ are a rip off. They just recently down-sized them while changing the bowl to make it look like the same amount. Over $5 for 3 ounces of lettuce, cabbage, carrots and old grilled chicken.”

9. Subway – Tuna fish

A pretty solid hard and fast rule is that you should avoid fish at a fast food place altogether… And that includes Subway.

“Tuna sandwiches. 80% mayonnaise.” Reddit user karma_virus claimed.

10. Starbucks – Secret menu items

“Don’t order something from the ‘secret menu.’ We sure as sh** don’t know what a snickerdoodle Frappuccino is, as it is not a menu item. Employees would be more than happy to make you a drink if you just explain the recipe rather than the name of it,” a Starbucks employee wrote.

If you want more advice on ordering from the Starbucks secret menu, we have a whole guide according to an ex-employee.

11. Dunkin’ – Large hot drinks

There’s nothing nicer than a big hot coffee on a cold day, but it turns out you could actually be losing out on some money with hot drinks from Dunkin’.

“If you’re looking to get the most bang for your buck, don’t order off the hot drinks menu—the cold beverages usually get more liquid in them,” a Reddit user commented.

“The iced drinks do have more from what I can tell. Hot drinks have 4 sizes (small, medium, large, XL) and cold is just 3 (small medium and large). Large for iced I think is around the same size as an XL hot.”

12. Jimmy John’s – Gourmet veggie club

You might think that picking the veggie option is always the best bet if you’re trying to opt for a healthier fast food item, but at Jimmy John’s, this may not be true.

“If you’re trying to order a healthy option, don’t order the Gourmet Veggie Club. It’s the second most caloric sandwich behind something called the “Gargantuan.” 8 slices of provolone cheese will do that,” one Reddit user wrote.

13. Arby’s – Fried chicken

Arby’s is great for a cold cut sandwich, everyone knows that, but apparently their fried chicken is what is going to hold you up at the drive-thru.

“We serve roast beef so if you order fried chicken in the drive through, you’re going to be directed to pull forward into the wait slot of the parking lot and you will sit there for like eight minutes,” Reddit user bigmitts wrote.

14. Chipotle – Tacos

Chipotle has been receiving some backlash about their portion sizes, and according to this ex-employee, the tacos are the worst culprit.

A former worker said: “I used to work at Chipotle, and never ever ever order the tacos. You get less than half the regular portions. Instead, order a bowl with whatever you want in it, then ask for the taco shells, hard or soft, on the side.”

15. Papa John’s – Extra toppings

If you’re feeling really hungry, a fast food pizza is always a great meal to choose as you can always customize your ingredients and add as many toppings as you want.

Although you may be fond of your own weird and wonderful creations, bear in mind this sage advice from a Papa John’s pizza chef. “There’s a chart for how much of each topping gets used based on how many toppings are on the pizza, and it gets smaller as the number of toppings go up.

“Once you hit 3 toppings, you’re basically paying $1 more to get half of each topping just to get the extra topping. A triple pepperoni pizza has less pepperoni on it than a double, for instance.”