How Long is it Safe to Eat Leftovers from a Restaurant?
Opinions please! |
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I just go with my gut....   Sorry, it was just screaming for a reply like that....Ok, it depends on the food, but even more it depends on the amount of time before it's back home and in the fridge for me. |
| Well, some months it's colder (and where you are, MUCH colder) in the trunk than in the fridge.... Anyway, what's your time range? |
| Ron We ran some experiments in the Physics Lab with left overs from a luncheon we had at a local restaurant (anything to get out of marking exam papers). Food which remains wet whilst in the fridge grows lots of yummy, yummy extras. Rice is the worst. However, most people appear to have a goodish immume system which can tolerate a certain amount of left overs but not some of the elderly. After reviewing the results of these experiments, I keep nothing left over in my fridge except for wine, left over baked lamb, beef, etc. Having said that, if I had left overs they possibly would just languish in the back of the fridge until I had a clean out. In Australia, it is now against the law in my State for restaurants to allow you to take a doggie bag home. Lorraine |
Lorraine CossartWalsh wrote: In Australia, it is now against the law in my State for restaurants to allow you to take a doggie bag home. Lorraine  |
| I love this forum. You can ask the most obscure question and someone will know the answer!! |
| I thought I heard somewhere that it is best to put restaurant leftovers in a better container to help them stay good for longer...rather than the flimsy and not airtight containers from the restaurant. I would guess it would be best to eat them as soon possible...next day really. |
| Mine are normally used as lunch the next day, so they don't hang around that long! |
 I carry my leftover home (cause I feel quilty paying for something I didn't need) then I store it in the garbage can  |
And are they legally leftovers if they are purchased as take-out???  Todd stopped at KFC last night and got the Big Meal deal - bucket of chicken, 2 mashed potatoes and gravy, a coleslaw and biscuits.... I don't like biscuits, but a sampling of everything else is packed for my lunch today at work.  |
It's been a few years since I've had KFC, and this whole stupid heart attack business might mean I never have it again  |
| If it's not eaten the next day, it's thrown out. Restaurant leftovers are usually dry or overcooked so keeping them around just turn into trash if not used right away. With that said, I treat leftovers at home differently. meats 2 days after cooked and all other gets 3 days before getting tossed. This was the recommendation I saw on this, so that's pretty much what I do. My husband keeps leftovers FOREVER ...always with the intention he says to eat it, but he NEVER has eaten a leftover (even if it's a dessert like cake). Not eaten the first day... then it won't get eaten. Also won't eat any bag that's been opened after it's half way gone (like chips). edit- I count the first day being the day I cooked it, so I edited to make sense  |
| depends what it is, mexican usually only makes it 1 day more and it's eaten in this house. Chinese.............wellllllllll ?? My rule of thumb is every Sunday the fridge getss cleaned out as Mon am is trash day |
| Left overs here are usually lunch and if it's something the boys can have they get a little for their supper. Hate to throw out food so try to use as fast as possible. |
| I'll keep leftovers (any leftovers) for a week. If I haven't eaten it by then, it goes into the trash. That's what my mother always did and continues to do. |
I am pretty high maintenance. (Now we know where Oscar gets it from. His Mama!!) I simply don't eat leftovers.  Hubby's family (100% Greek) owned restaurants, so they are really in tune to how long food sits out after cooking, and how quickly food is cooled before refrigeration (pot of chili, soups). If we sit chatting in a restaurant for a long time after eating our entree, we won't take the leftovers home. We only take leftovers home that hubby will eat. Laurie and Oscar |
Mady wrote: I love this forum. You can ask the most obscure question and someone will know the answer!! No kidding! Kristine  |
| I'm fairly certain I've never had a problem with leftovers from a restaurant after a day or two; I don't generally enjoy fried foods leftovers, so those don't usually come home. Certainly anything that hadn't been cooked (sushi/sashimi) isn't coming home. The reason I asked is someone I know had just enjoyed leftover corned beef and cabbage to my horror, after St. Patrick's day dinner and 5 days in the fridge. She and the dog who got her leftover leftovers are both fine after St. Patrick's Day, 5 days in the fridge and a day behind the vest... |
well, I made mine on the 18th (done for late supper) and I'm still nibbling  I may now throw the cabbage, and just use up the corned beef. That is pretty pickled. And add in the fact that I'm also consuming the coleslaw from KFC...enough cabbage, if you get the idea....  |
| We usually take home a doogie bag and then it sits in the refrig because no one wants to eat it...So, I no longer take hom any leftovers... My own cooking, I will keep in the refrig for up to three days. Then, garbage it goes..If you've ever had food poisoning, you will agree, its just not worth risking! |
| ChefDaddy (as the dogs call him) is an Executive Chef so I asked him. I'll spare you the look I got, but here is what he said: "It depends." Apparently the variables start with the restaurant and how swiftly they handle the food before they serve it to you. Since corned beef comes cryovaced, it should be safer. But how they cook it, cool it, reheat it to serve to you, makes a difference. After you get it home - and how you transport it affects the "shelf life." Then, he says the variables continue.... What's the temp in your fridge? How often do you open the door to the fridge? Bottom line is he says he wouldn't advise it over three days. That said, he has an iron stomach and nothing seems to bother him. I have had a lifetime of adventure eating and some prime aged meats bother me. I pay the price for too many street tacos in Guadalajara, poorly handled salad dressings and BBQ joints that don't know healthy food handling techniques. My question is how could you forget corned beef in your fridge?  It is one of my favorite things on the planet and never lasts very long here! |
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