Cooking can be tough, especially if you're trying to make a seafood dish. That's why most people get their seafood from restaurants to eliminate the stress from trying to make their favorite dishes themselves. But, chefs say that not every restaurant should be featuring seafood on its menu, as it could lead to some scary consequences.
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Mark Nichols, who is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef, says that patrons should only order seafood if the restaurant they've chosen is within 100 miles from where their fish is harvested, especially if they're ordering oysters. "If handled and stored incorrectly, raw oysters can kill you," he told Reader's Digest. Yikes!
If you're still keen on ordering your oysters and favorite seafood dish, make sure that the restaurant you're eating at is known for their seafood -- and that their prices are dirt cheap. Chefs Josh Ochoa and Andy Alexandre told PureWow that restaurants that serve "Dollar Oysters" should be avoided at all costs. "If the restaurant is letting them go for this cheap, you aren’t getting a deal—they’re just really, really low-quality oysters. And don’t even think about eating them if they have a fishy smell," they advised.
You also need to be mindful of the day of the week you're ordering your seafood. Daily Mail U.K. points out that most restaurants get their fish shipments on Thursdays, which means that you'll be getting four or five-day old fish if you order it on a Monday.
Chefs like Anthony Bourdain take the "No Fish on Monday" rule very seriously. "I never order fish on Monday, unless I'm eating at a four-star restaurant where I know they are buying their fish directly from the source," he wrote in his book "Kitchen Confidential."
Wow, good to know! We'll definitely keep these tips in mind the next time we're thinking about ordering seafood at a restaurant -- and we hope you will, too!
What are some tips that you have for ordering seafood at a restaurant? Let us know in the comments below!