RESTAURANTS: Want to know which ones to avoid? Two websites give the inside scoop
Peter Clough
Province
Nervous diners in this city can go to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority’s restaurant inspection website before booking a table (ww.foodinspectionweb.vcha.ca)
And they should. There have been 39 closures so far this year.
Then again it’s much more fun to check out the personal dining horror stories on Discover Vancouver’s message board.
Some appetizers:
– “I saw someone at a restaurant putting an uncovered bucket of soup in the hallway near the washrooms.”
– “My boyfriend saw a waiter go to the washroom and not wash his hands after. He came out and picked up the food to serve the table next to us.”
– “One afternoon a customer ordered a tuna salad sandwich and I saw the cook mixing it with her bare hands and then she licked her fingers and picked up the bread to put it in the toaster.”
– “We sat down and, no joke, there were rat droppings on the table. We got up and got the hell out of there.”
– “A guy came out with a plate of bruschetta for the people who were waiting for a table, sneezed on it, and offered it around to everyone.”
– “I literally saw a bug crawling out of a salad roll.”
– “As I was finishing off my meal the waitress came by and took away my plate of bean sprouts. I watched as she put it behind the counter next to the coffee machine. Five minutes later she picked it back up and gave it to the couple sitting two tables down from us.”
© The Vancouver Province 2005
