Are there any foods that people just assume are bad for you because they come from a restaurant?

Pizza is junk food. Lots of gluten, salt and grease.
Most of what is sold in restaurants appeals to the taste of the American consumer. Grease, salt and sugar.
Not that I care what other people eat.
But if I go to a restaurant, I know full well what I am getting, and I make a calculated value judgement.
That is why I usually cook for myself.

Anything that comes out of urgher king and mcdumb, for example.
Actual restaurants, not so much, no, except those featured on Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

What grease @josie? It’s dough, tomato sauce, cheese and whatever you decide to put on it. Pineapple in my case.

Pizza is an excess of carbohydrates and salt. The tomato and cheese part is okay, but at most places they load them with salt and possibly preservatives. I don’t think that McDonald’s is that bad for most of their food since they got rid of trans fart, but I am unaware of the level of preservatives in the food. The food at least looks real.

The grease is in the cheese. Animal fat. I know it does not seem to be the same as the stuff in the skillet after you fry sausage. But it is.

I’d imagine Outback’s bloomin’ onion is pretty bad for you
2,710 calories, 203 grams (1,827 calories) of fat, 194 grams of carbohydrates, and 6,360 milligrams of sodium

It can be healthy from anywhere. It can be unhealthy from anywhere.

So…you don’t eat cheese @josie ?

“Here’s”: a list I found, @Dutchess_III.

Here’s a few:
Arby’s super roast beef
New England Clam Chowder at Atlanta Bread Company
Half Baked Frozen Yogurt (½ cup) from Ben and Jerry’s
Bojangle’s mac and cheese

@Dutchess_III
Certainly I do
But my choice to do so is calculated
Because it is still full of fat and salt.
The question was about the assumption that restaurant food is generally not good for you.
The assumption is generally correct, whether or not either of us eat cheese

I agree cheese overall is better to avoid. The animal fat and cholesterol is bad news. But, everything in moderation I say can be ok. Some pizza has added oil; depends who is making it. Many pizza parlors you can take a napkin and soak up some of the excess grease. I do love pizza though. I didn’t eat cheese or any dairy for a few years many years ago. I do think it was a better choice. I cheated maybe once every few months during that time, usually for a slice.

Someone above said bloomin’ onion as an answer, I would have to agree. Actually, when you order the steamed green beans at Ouback there is a big hunk of butter that is melted it on it. Probaby a lot of people don’t know or notice. Especially people who tend to eat fatty foods, I would say they would be less likely to be aware. J. Alexanders brushes their grilled salmon with seasoned butter before they serve it to. In fact, most restaurant food has all sorts of added fats that you don’t realize. Chinese food has tons of fat, forget about even the sodium level (I don’t watch my sodium) and a lot of people think a stir fry with tons of veggies is healthy or lower calorie.

I kind of assume most restaurant food has more fat than I really want to eat. Sometimes I “special order” hoping to reduce the fat and cholesterol content.

I guess my point is that pizza made at home would be just as “unhealthy” for you as pizza from a pizza place.

In fact…everything we make at home could be just as unhealthy as food we buy at a fast food place…hamburgers, fries, milkshakes, whatever.

Or just as low in calories, fats, sodium etc and as high in fibers, vitamins, antioxidants etc.

@Dutchess_III I see. Well, as I said, in restaurants they often add fat that you don’t realize. When I make mashed potatoes I can assure you they are not as fatty, cholesterol ridden or caloric as in a restaurant. I never brush butter on my salmon nor my steak at home. I went to a cooking class a couple years back and the chef put butter on the pasta before he added the tomato sauce.

Everything, eaten in moderation, is fine, food is meant to be enjoyed.

It is not necessarily that the food itself is worse for you from a restaurant, but the fact that you don’t know how they make it. As @JLeslie said, they often add fats to things that may seem healthy and you wouldn’t even know it.

@Dutchess_III You say that pizza made at home would be just as unhealthy as pizza from a restaurant, but that is not necessarily true. This goes for any food, really. When you make it at home, you control what ingredients are put into the food, how it is cooked, and so on and so forth. You know how it is made and what it contains, and you are in control of that. You can use organic ingredients, lower calorie or substitute ingredients, any multitude of things that would be different from restaurant-made food. Restaurants cater to taste, so they can and will add anything to make the food taste better. At home, if you are more health-conscious, you can make dishes differently to make them healthier. Food made at home could be just as unhealthy, but the difference is that the choice is up to you, not some chef at a restaurant.

They actually do more than cater to taste. They cater to making sure a customer feels satiated. That is part of the reason for adding fats. It also is part of the reason portions are large. People in the food business also believe (and I assume it is true for most people; I figure they study these things) that most Americans like the feeling of fats in their mouth. It does seem to me that a lot of Americans like creamy, saucy, cheesy dishes. I tend to be the opposite.

I feel the biggest problem with food in restaurants, particularly in the US, is the size of the portions. They are huge.

Depending on the restaurant the food can be just as (un)healthy, as at home.

However, as @josie writes, many restaurants cater to a taste preference of greasy, salty, sugar rich food.

@whitenoise yes they are HUGE. That’s why I custom order, usually. And often off of the children’s menu.

Case in point. I ordered some pancakes for the first time in years and years. I ordered 3 of them. I didn’t realize that each pancake was as big around as a plate! No way could I eat all of them. Next time I’ll order one. Who could eat that much???

I would set no limits on people’s misconceptions regarding nutrition.

Pizza isn’t good for you. Cheese is good and I love to eat it, but there’s more cheese per slice than you actually think, especially when you order it from a pizza place. They load that shit with cheese because it tastes good, and customers know that they are paying for the cheesiest pizza possible. People would much rather say “Damn, that’s a lot of cheese” than “Hm..not enough cheese” when eating pizza.

So it is bad for you.

@JHUstudent I disagree. You CAN control the amount of cheese they put on your pizza. I always order extra cheese because I like it that way. You can order with less cheese, or NO cheese if it concerns you. We’re not helpless puppets here, people. If you think pizza is bad for you just because it has “too much cheese,” tell them to put less cheese on.

@Dutchess_III You’re definitely right about that. But no one does that. I was taking the fact that people just usually order a pizza into consideration. No one wants to be out with a bunch of people for some deep dish pizza and request less cheese.

I’ve worked in Pizza places…they don’t really put that much cheese on. Not as much as I would if I was making it! Plus, they’ll get clocked by management for putting too much cheese on.

@Dutchess_III It depends on the place. For the most part I think the chains put a lot. Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Three Guys, Johnny Bruscos, none of them are light on cheese.

And I’m glad! I love, love cheese. I don’t care who puts it on. :)