A professional foodie has shared a list of six dishes that he would personally avoid while dining at restaurants, as well as compiling an abundance of suggestions as to what to order instead. While it can be incredibly tempting to indulge in some old favourites when ordering from the menu, you should certainly think carefully before picking and choosing at leisure.
This means having an eagle eye for fresh ingredients and house specialties - avoiding overly processed and lacklustre foods alike. This is the opinion of food researcher Marcus Arcabasico, who is the founder of Menu-Price - a website which collates menus around the world.
Speaking with Mail Online, Marcus urged diners to steer clear of six popular dishes including a number of thought to be extravagant dishes, and solid comfort snacks.
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Macaroni and cheese
The Mirror reports that restaurants often serve up pre-made mac and cheese, which contains less flavourful processed cheese according to Marcus. Thus, it's one probably better prepared at home.
Furthermore, diners may be greeted with toppings they can do without on their mac and cheese, like veggies and breadcrumbs - whereas they could choose to avoid these altogether by simply cooking the quick and easy fix at home.
Chicken
While chicken is a highly-popular dish, it can also go skew whiff when not prepared in the correct manner. Frequent typical complaints of lacking due care and attention include dry meat, overcooked and lacking in flavour.
In more extreme cases, there's also a risk of salmonella when chicken is undercooked.
Scrambled eggs
Marcus wrote: "Scrambled eggs might seem like a safe bet, but they can be kept on hotplates for too long, compromising their quality," which could mean that you end up with a stale and tasteless brunch as opposed to the fluffy blankets you can whip up yourself.
Brownies
According to Marcus, restaurant brownies are often bought pre-made. This means it's probably better to opt for a far fresher and more unique dessert made in-house.
Steak
While steak is thought to be the extravagant cream of the crop - especially with finer cuts - Marcus says it's better to go with something else unless you're scranning at a high-end eatery. This is due to the variety between cuts of steak - which may leave you disappointed if you end up with a lower end product.
Sushi
Finally, Marcus says that you should avoid ordering sushi in establishments which don't specialise in the practice. He explained: "In establishments not specialised in sushi, raw fish might not be handled or stored correctly, leading to potential health risks like parasitic infections.
"Plus, the taste and texture could be affected."
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