[dropcap1]Q. [/dropcap1]At a certain restaurant you recommend, the quality of the steak was great but I couldn't get past the fact that the guy at the grill put his fingers in his mouth no less than five times, all while continually touching the steaks as he cooked. I'll bet you're going to tell me that this goes on in most restaurants, but the kitchen is closed and you can't see it. Out of sight, out of mind? Is this really what we have to accept? If this place is going to seat people in front of the grill they need to speak with its chef about this problem. You couldn't get me back there. [dropcap1]A. [/dropcap1]You're correct: I am going to tell you that this is common. The way most cooks tell the doneness of steaks is not with a meat thermometer but by touch. The firmer the steak, the more cooked it is. I watched a chef lick his thumb every time he was about to press it down on a bunch of steaks. The lick was to avoid burning his thumb on the hot beef. But what about us customers? Although the heat of the cooking kills all the germs that this introduces, there is no question that this is gross and disturbing. I have seen much worse, however. I've seen a certain chef of high repute lick his fingers constantly while assembling a cold dish. Now that's inexcusable. But he owns the place, so nobody will tell him off. I have a proposal for restaurant managers: videotape your cooks in service and make them watch the video. They may not even realize much of what they're doing.
