Cockroach on the wall - do you never return?

[Bicycle Lee]

hey....every restaurant I have ever worked in had some sort of insect problem...It doesn't mean the bugs are in the food or that the food is dirty. Any decent kitchen staff can ensure that the food is always top notch. The roaches are drawn to the food, but that doesn't mean that they are snacking on the supplies in the walk-in or dry storage...they very well could be munching on the rotten crumbs sitting on the ground. Sure, when you see roaches you should act quick and gas the fuckers, but as a patron, you should realize that roaches are resilient as hell and will be around long after we have nuked ourselves into the untold history of the universe....so them chilling at our eating establishments is damn near a given.

when i worked short order we used to catch the roaches in coffee mugs and then ladle fryer oil over them....twisted, I know.

[Susan G]

Let's run through the hypotheticals:

Roach on the wall: No problem

Roach on the table: Unhappy, but if the food's great, I'm coming back.

Cooked roach in food: If food's great, I'm removing it and continuing.........I figure, "That's what an immune system is for".

Unccoked beastie in/under/encased in my food: Now we have a problem!

[alacarte]

Pan, it sounds like you need to upgrade the restaurants you frequent.

If I see a roach, I am OUTTA THERE, and I'm not coming back. I don't care if it's on the wall, the seat, the plate, I am leaving NOW. And I'm not even stopping to pay my bill, although as a courtesy I will tell the manager why I am leaving in such a hurry. But I'm walking as I'm talking.

I agree also that I don't want to "accidentally" take one home in my purse, pants cuff, etc. I don't want them near me, period, and I sure don't want them in my food. And the presence of "small" roaches vs. big ones doesn't reassure me -- that just means that the roaches have hatched more recently, and ergo there are certain to be more nearby. EEEUUWWWWWW.

A word to restaurants: Exterminators. Use them.

[Pickles]

I am just gobsmacked that anyone could find a cooked roach (much less a raw one, moving or not) in her/his food..and keep eating that food. It just staggers me! Maybe the reaction would be different if they actually had to pick the perp out of their pizza instead of just saying "if it happened..I'd keep eating my food." I dunno, people!

[Pan]

Kara, there have been very few times that I've seen roaches in restaurants. However, I've often seen flies buzzing around in eateries in all weather, and though I stand to be corrected if I'm under a misimpression, I believe that flies are much dirtier and more dangerous for human health than roaches - and also a hell of a lot harder to keep out, especially if the restaurant is open to the outside in warm weather. Also, I have to wonder whether you've ever seen a roach on your wall and whether, having once seen a roach on your wall, you've sworn off eating at home.

[egator]

I’m not sure about a roach on the wall. But when I was looking at reception sites for my wedding, I checked out an old bed-n-breakfast. When the lady opened the door to show me the reception room, four rats larger than my cat (an 18+ lb. maine coon), were scurrying along the crown-molding, cursing us loudly for breaking up their play session. I wouldn’t go back there.

[Pan]

Good God, that's awful!!

[egator]

Yeah. It was pretty bad.

[Pickles]

My friends Mick and Alan had an apartment together in Boston's North End and it was infested with roaches. It seems their particular critters enjoyed snacking on a painting they had in their dining room. They'd be sitting eating dinner and watching the scenery in the picture vanishing before their eyes!

"Wasn't there a tree in that lower left corner last night?"

" *yawn* Yes...I think there was...and now look..the barn is gone!"

Much funnier when they tell it!

[estufarian]

A chef friend of mine explained that there's far more attractive food for roaches in the kitchen than in the dining room. If you see them in the dining room it means they've fumigated the kitchen and the roaches are trying to flee. Which means they've already addressed the problem.

That made sense to me - until I didn't see any roaches in the dining room - were they still in the kitchen, or was it roach-free?????????

[sequim]

A word to restaurants: Exterminators. Use them.

I have to wonder whether having tons of poison around the food is better than having the bugs around.

I know which I'd choose....

[Pan]

I choose Combat. No way will I have some poison sprayed in my apartment!