I was eating at a place called Johnny Rockets one time and took a bite of my burger and when I put it back on the plate, there was something sticking out of the side. Any of you living down south know how "cute" Palmetto Bugs are so you know how I felt with a mouthful of burger and a huge P-Bug leg sticking out of where I had just bitten off. I gagged a bit, called the waitress over who looked at it like it was supposed to be there, asked me if I wanted her to take it back, I said yes and she asked me if I wanted another!!!. I passed and have never gone back. Too bad, it's a fun place to eat. I was also sitting at a table at Applebee's near the kitchen, where I could see in. I saw a cook SNEEZE (really big juicy sneeze, sorry) into his hands, look at them, give them a quick swipe on his apron and go back to cooking. Continued to eat there, but refused to sit near the kitchen.
You have no idea what really goes on in many restaurants. I worked in one that would scrape the food off the returned plates if it "looked" untouched back into the pots. As long as it didn't have cigarette butts in, it was ok to serve again.