If You Spot This On Your Dish At A Restaurant, Go Ahead And Send It Back

Restaurant customers run the gamut from folks who think the establishment opened up solely to service all of their outlandish desires to people so timid they would never consider sending a meal back, even if it looks unsavory. The owner and executive chef at R HOUSE in Miami, Rocco Carulli, wants those in the latter category to know that, if your cuisine is presented on a dirty dish, saying something about it is perfectly acceptable behavior. There are some annoying requests chefs never want to hear, but asking for food to be served on a clean plate isn't one of them.

"If it looks like the plate went to prom before your food did, speak up," Carulli told The Takeout. Now, he did emphasize that you don't need to embody the attitude of customers who seem impossible to please on any occasion. "Politely, of course — no need for Yelp-level theatrics."

Still, what exactly are you asking for, a sparkling clean plate or an entirely new dish? "A fresh plate might do the trick," Carulli said. "But if the food's been hanging out on a dish that's questionable? Fresh meal, please." Generally speaking, a dirty appearance in a restaurant is a red flag indicating you're better off walking out. But in the spirit of being diplomatic, sometimes mistakes happen. It doesn't always reflect on the business as a whole.

The old proverb "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" is a rather suitable way of describing how to feel about a restaurant if you have to request a new meal because it was initially served on a soiled dish. Kitchens can be chaotic, and just like any other profession, people occasionally make mistakes. 

Carulli indicated that a grimy plate could simply represent a minor mishap. "Sometimes it's just a dishwasher hiccup." Frequent snafus, on the other hand, may be a reflection of the overall disarray plaguing an establishment. "If the dirty dish parade becomes a pattern, it's fair to question the broader cleanliness."

A dish isn't just a vessel for the meal -– it's a canvas showcasing a chef's work of art. Or as Carulli puts it, "A plate is the stage your food performs on — and nobody wants to see their risotto debut on a smudged surface." Even if you're ordering a humble burger from a restaurant, you deserve to have that burger presented on a clean dish. You shouldn't feel bad about speaking up if that's not the case.