14 Diner Foods You Should Consider Avoiding

Diners are an American invention. They started out in Providence, Rhode Island in the late 1800s as a night lunch wagon, a place to grab inexpensive food after dark. They were popular with people who worked the late shift. They eventually became known as rolling restaurants, when a few seats were installed on the wagon. These mobile kitchens soon became known as dining cars, a term that eventually was shortened to simply, "diner" (via Smithsonian).

Maybe it's the counters and stools, the leather booths, or the round-the-clock service, but going to a diner is definitely an experience. Whether you're popping in after a night out, sitting down for brunch, or just stopping in for a snack, you'll have a lot of delicious options to choose from.

Eating at a diner is typically a delicious experience. Still, not every item on the menu is a good choice. Read on as we help you navigate the menu because there are at least 14 diner foods you should consider avoiding.

Salads from a diner are notoriously large and loaded with meats like ham, bacon, and chicken, as well as toppings including hard-boiled eggs, bacon, croutons, and veggies. Then add on popular dressings like ranch, blue cheese, Caesar, thousand island, or a vinaigrette. Sounds good, right?

Maybe, but maybe not. It's the main ingredient — lettuce — that's potentially troublesome and something to worry about. Often, diner salads are sitting around for a while and may not be fresh. "One thing I would stay away from is a diner salad," Nick Liberato, chef and host of the Netflix show "Restaurants on the Edge," told Insider. "They're usually precut with some mass-produced dressing that's not made in-house." If you want something light that's still filling, consider ordering oatmeal, Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese, with a side of fresh fruit. A wrap or a quinoa bowl are two other options that are fresh, tasty, and satisfying.

Whenever we went out to eat at a restaurant when I was a kid, my mother would always tell me to not get something I could eat at home, like spaghetti. That advice still holds true which is why it's not worth it to order pasta at the diner.

A diner on Reddit agrees, saying he could easily make pasta at home: "Some restaurants make their own, I just don't find that compelling enough to dine out. If I'm going out, I'm getting something better than pasta."

If you do order pasta at a diner, don't expect homemade pasta or sauce. "If you order a plate of spaghetti or a bowl of ziti, be prepared for it to come dressed in store-bought sauce," chef Heloise Blaure told Insider. "There's not necessarily anything wrong with that, but you can get a better meal for your money by ordering something else."

Often, a diner run is an indulgence, filled with lots of treats, like milkshakes. We're drooling thinking of all the milkshake options like Oreo cookie, chocolate, classic strawberry, banana peanut butter, and more. Those milkshakes may be tasty but are they safe to drink? The ice cream used to make the milkshakes could be contaminated with listeria, a bacterium that can cause upset stomach, fever, and muscle aches. It's particularly dangerous for pregnant people, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system.

While the chances of contracting listeria from ice cream are pretty rare, it happens. In 2022, 28 people across 11 states got sick from ice cream contaminated with listeria (via CDC). There were two cases of listeria in 2014 and another person got sick in 2015 in Seattle — after all three, who had weakened immune systems, consumed milkshakes made with a commercial ice cream product — while they were hospitalized at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC).

Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle and King County told KIRO 7 News, "... the Listeria bacteria were present in the milkshake machine where they contaminated the milkshake that was consumed by the recent case. Listeria can survive for long periods despite efforts to clean and sanitize food-processing equipment. UWMC cleaned and sanitized their machines twice weekly, which is not as frequently as is recommended."

Whether it's a cola, orange, ginger ale or another soda, fountain drinks at the diner can be very refreshing. But like milkshakes, (see previous), fountain drinks may be loaded with bacteria. Not very appetizing, huh? A biology professor who sampled 30 fountain drink machines in Virginia found almost half of the samples were contaminated with bacteria including E. coli, candida, klebsiella, and others. Through her research, she concluded the drink machines were the source of the bacteria, not the individual drinks. However, all of the restaurants reported cleaning the drink nozzles every day.

The researcher encourages restaurants to clean out soda fountains regularly, but she cautions that most restaurant employees probably don't know how to do that. Still, health experts aren't surprised about the bacteria. "Wherever man is, there will be representation of feces," Philip Tierno, director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at New York University Langone Medical Center, told ABC News. "We're basically bathed in feces as a society," he said. The next time you're considering a diner soda, ask how often they clean the dispenser. You might consider ordering drinks without ice too since ice dispensers can also be problematic. Hygiene Food Safety says germs like norovirus, E. coli, and salmonella can live on ice cubes.

Alfalfa sprouts can be healthy. WebMD says they're rich in vitamin K, high in fiber, and can help lower blood sugar, and lower cholesterol. But while diner salads and sandwiches may be topped with alfalfa sprouts, it might be a good idea to stay away from them.

According to Food Poisoning News, sprouts are one of the most dangerous raw vegetables to consume because the risk factor for bacteria is so high. That's because sprouts are native to warm conditions where bacteria can multiply. And even if the sprouts are washed thoroughly before they're eaten, germs like E. coli and salmonella can still thrive. For example, in December 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigated an outbreak of salmonella infections that were linked to alfalfa sprouts sold in stores and served at restaurants. The sprouts were recalled and the outbreak was responsible for 15 illnesses and two hospitalizations.

Looking forward to ordering a freshly squeezed juice at the diner? Whether are you are ordering a mimosa or just want juice with your breakfast, make sure the juice is pasteurized — heat treated — to kill bacteria. Be sure to ask your server if the juice is pasteurized, and make sure it's stored and served cold, which helps slow the rate at which bacteria grows.

While most healthy people have a strong enough immune system to not get sick from freshly squeezed juice, some people can get sick, including children, older adults, people who are pregnant, and anyone with a compromised immune system. The FDA says unpasteurized juices need to have a warning label explaining the juice is not pasteurized and could have harmful bacteria. But, that FDA warning doesn't apply to single-serve juices, like a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice or grapefruit juice served at a restaurant.

One of the best parts of your diner experience can be getting dessert. But you might want to pass on any items that have cream, like a cream pastry. That's because cream can be contaminated with S. aureus, commonly known as staph food poisoning.

According to the CDC, foods that aren't cooked after being handled, including pastries and puddings, are at risk for staph poisoning. The best way to prevent staph is to make sure that food is handled by employees who have washed their hands, are wearing gloves, and have stored the food at safe temperatures.

One significant outbreak of S. aureus happened a decade ago at an Illinois bakery when 100 people got sick after eating desserts at a restaurant and at catered parties (via Food Safety News). The FDA inspected the bakery and found the baker failed to clean and sanitize the equipment used in making the baked goods. They also found the cream-filled pastries were being kept at unsafe temperatures for too long which increased the risk of bacteria growth.