I recently had a conversation with some friends about French fries…yes, the healthy treat I indulge in once or twice a month. 
We were in the midst of ordering food and I noticed that they ordered fries without salt. I asked them if they were just being health conscious (which I knew was not possible since they ordered fries). This was not the case. They actually like salt on their fries.
They said that they order fries without salt because restaurants/fast food joints usually have to make a fresh batch to accommodate the less frequent salt-free fries consumers. This insures that the fries will be hot when ordered. Afterwards, they simply add salt later. Nice!
Do you have any fast food restaurant tricks or secrets to share?
This post is tagged Fast Food, Fast Food Secrets, Fast Food Tricks, French Fries, Restaurant Tricks, Starbucks, Tricks
15 Comments
All my tricks can only be used in starbucks.
For a cheap caffeine jolt thats half the price is a venti iced no water americano and then you just put in your own half and half and sugar all for the price of 2.50.
And also if you order a venti and you don’t want to pay for an extra shot you can walk to the place where your drinks are and say do you mind adding the extra shot instead of throwing it away. The starbucks by my place usually asks me if I want the free shot but just in case they don’t you can always ask or else they will just throw it away.
Yes I know, I’m an addict!
N
@Metro Branch: Great tip about the free extra shot! I like how it also involves extra human interaction. Concerning the no-water americano and the milk at the “free bar”, try to do it quick! The longer the espresso sits without merging with the milk or water molecules, the more bitter it becomes.
Another Starbucks tip: I like to order “Thirty pumps of chai, please”. This gives me about 6-8 drinks worth of chai (to mix with milk when I get home) for $1.80 (that’s about $15 in savings!). When you get a normal chai, it’s 30 cents for 5 extra pumps. So you’re basically just ordering six sets of extra pumps.
If you’ve ever noticed, the boxes of chai concentrate that are purchasable are supposed to be mixed 1:1 with milk. The concentrate that they add to chais at the bar are about a 1:6 ratio to milk. The bar version is a richer, fuller-flavored chai!
Also, Starbucks discontinued providing organic milk. Lucerne (I think they use Lucerne. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong) isn’t the most responsible dairy company in regards to responsible business practices, and has additional hormones in their milk. This chai secret lets one use his favorite socially/environmentally responsible milk.
If the barista asks:
Q. “What size cup does that fit best in?”
A. “Venti.” Hot cups are more stable, but cold (clear) cups let you receive wide-eyed looks from others who are thinking “what is he drinking!?”
Q. “How do we usually ring you up for this?”
A. “You usually press the add chai button six times. It’s under the syrup menu.”
Q. “Should I just charge you for a venti chai?”
A. “No, because I’m not having any milk. I’m ordering pumps of chai, and you guys charge thirty cents per five pumps of chai.”
Q. “Are you going to drink this straight?”
A1. “Yes! I have a long day of work ahead of me.”
A2. “No, I’m going to mix it with a special kind of milk that conforms with my moral principles.”
A3. “No, I’m going to add it to my Red Bull.”
Enjoy.
You guys are way too funny! Man…it sounds like another Starbucks entry is forming.
LOL!
I don’t know if I can embed youtube videos in your comments..
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6Bq4lQRZ4&hl=en&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1]
If that doesn’t work here’s the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO6Bq4lQRZ4
The jist of it.. you go to McD’s and order a double cheese burger from the dollar menu and ask for it on a quarter pounder bun with sliced onion and not diced onions .. Then ask for Big Mac Sauce… You can ask for some lettuce.. and you got your big mac..
very helpful! i’ll have to remember that.
Nice youtube link Jonathan! Very funny…people are so creative or cunning
Thanks Daily Commuter for the note.
Go to restaurant. Order your meal with a glass of water.
Oh, and ask for a side of lemon wedges (you’ll usually get a whole lemon’s worth; you can even ask for extra slices). Squeeze lemon juice in your glass of water and add sugar to taste.
Viola!!!
You got yourself a free glass of lemonade.
hey derrick…you know we’ve all done that…haha
OK fine.
Here’s another Starbucks trick.
Buy a tea bag of choice…I think they go for $.25 or something. Come back later and ask for a tall cup of hot water.
Instead of paying a dollar something for a cup of tea, you just got it for chump change.
nice derrick…
Here’s one I’ve seen people use.
I think we were at TGI Fridays or somewhere similar. You order your meal and they ask what side you want say fries or salad. You can ask for 1/2 fries and 1/2 salad. Then when your food arrives you’ll notice you’ve received nearly full orders of each.
Personally, I like the sweet potato fries better than regular french fries. They have more taste and more nutrients. And they taste swell salted (don’t you just love that word – swell?). One of my favorite places to get sweet potato fries is Mo’s Barbeque in San Luis Obispo, California, and Huntington Beach, California. Mmmmmm, yummy! Not to mention, their barbecued ribs are pretty tasty, too. I make sure I have my greens drink during the day as penance any time I eat (greasy) ribs and (fried) sweet potato fries to protect my cells on the inside (happy, happy).
“Mac”
http://antioxexpress.wordpress.com/
http://www.greensfirst.com/5039
If you are having a burger as well ask that it be well done, it cooks off a little more of the grease and ensures again that they have to cook it fresh because not many people order it this way.
Thanks Jason for your note…I’ve definitely experienced what you are describing.
Mac, thanks for the health note…also, I like your blog.
Good word about the “well-done” option. I just always fear them taking unused previously cooked meet and just grilling it more.
I love that you’ve received more comments with this post than most others of more philosophical nature…
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