Cheesecake Factory? More like Germ Factory...

Last night I had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the Spectrum. Today I had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at the Grove in L.A. The food was delicious, but the germ-aphobe in me couldn't help but notice all of the things that were "gross"**.

*The silverware is sitting on the table when you sit down. No napkin underneath. Nothing guarding the metal that will soon be in your food and in your mouth from touching the table that has been touched by hundreds of other people AND a rag that, let's be honest, probably wiped a dozen or so other tables without being rinsed or dis-infected. (I know this to be true from working at Starbucks...we used the same rags for hours--totally against the rules)

*They bring you a drink with the COMPLETELY UNWRAPPED straw already inside. This is gross because of the simple fact that they touched this straw before putting it in your drink. They probably touched the "in-your-mouth" part too because they wouldn't grab a straw from the straw jar by grabbing the middle. Oh, and the straw jar itself is disgusting because that means that not only are your server's dirty hands touching the straws, but EVERY server's hands from the last week or two (since the straw jar was refilled) have grazed the top of those straws whilest grabbing for one for their customer.

*The water cups have a yellowy tint. This is not the original shade of this cup. Oh no, they aquire this over months or years of re-use. This is, in no way, meant to sound as though their water glasses should be single-use, but I do think that they should toss the cups that could lead someone to believe that they are drinking lemonade...or pee.

*My water had a small piece of lettuce in it. The waitress didn't seem too apologetic when she traded it after I informed her of the gross-ness.

*She also greeted us with a dirty plate in one hand and a glass of water in the other. She left the water at our table and I kindly gave to my mom.

*I saw a waitress put on chapstick, in the dining room. Then she wiped the creases of her lips, rubbed her fingers together (apparently in effort to make that crease-grease evaporate) and continued on as though her hands were not filthy now.

**Note: Gross is in quotations because it is a very subjective word. What is gross to me might be totally reasonable to somebody else. Actually, all of these things are totally reasonable to everyone else.