Just read an article on Yahoo! in the last few days "10 things your waiter/waitress won't tell you.." Or something like that.
One was that items on special are ofter made with ingredients nearing the end of their shelf life. SO, I agree with the OP-likely the same article.

I will be a bit more careful.
One steakhouse we frequent seems to rotate specials. I think that's probably a bit safer.