NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 08 Nov 2002 23:47:28 EST Organization: Road Runner - NC Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu triangle.dining:16838 It's been a while since I had an outright bad meal... that is, until I decided to take my kids to the Great Wall Buffet Chinese Restaurant at Falls Pointe in Raleigh last night. My kids do love Chinese food, especially lo mein, so when my wife had plans for the evening, I decided to treat them. As soon as I walked in the door, I noticed the Sanitation Grade B by the counter. This presented an immediate problem: I had already promised the kids Chinese food, and since we were already inside, they were emotionally vested (and I was screwed!). It was unavoidably their dinner time, and there were no other Chinese restaurants in the immediate vicinity, so instead of causing a major blood sugar-induced incident, I decided to try and be smart with my choices from the bar. Did I mention there was almost nobody there? Always a bad sign for a buffet. So I grab the boys lo mein, fried rice, and I happened to see "salt & pepper fried shrimp" that they could easily eat. As I'm distributing and de-tailing the shrimp, I discover that they're COLD. Ick. So I tell my waitress that they're cold. At this point, I figure, "okay, they've got a B Grade. If they're smart, they know that cold food on a buffet, it constitutes a violation and they'll bust their ass to correct the problem." Their correction was comical: they removed the grease dripping tray and placed the cold shrimp back in on the bottom of the steamer pan. At first I didn't get this, but I later figured out they were REHEATING THEM. About 10 minutes later, a fresh batch came out of the kitchen, and the cold reheated shrimp were dumped back on top of the hot shrimp. Ewww. I tried to be a taster for my kids, hoping I could find something decent, but more than half the dishes I sampled were luke warm at best. Finally I stumbled across their General Tso's Chicken, and it turned out to be hot, and my kids actually liked it. I kept glancing at the wall where the sanitation grade was posted, wondering what kind of a B it was (high B or low B). I guess the guy at the counter caught me looking because a few minutes later, I was disturbed to see a sheet of paper partially coverning the previously visible certificate. I got a good look as I paid my bill: 84.5. All in all, we escaped without food poisoning, but I certainly wont be taking that chance there again. e
Raleigh-Durham, NC