Worst Restaurant Stories You Have (Boston, Saugus: buy, middle school, college)

[Japanfan1986]

Three of us went to Al Capone’s in Boston one time. We asked if they served chicken wings and they claimed that they did. At the time they obviously didn’t but figured they’d lose three customers if they said they didn’t. So two of us went to a nearby store to get some stuff we needed while the third waited for the food. When we got back we saw the third guy arguing in the window with the staff who were giving him a HUGE plate of food. It was just cut up chicken tenders (like the frozen kind you buy for cheap at the super market or find in a middle school cafeteria) covered in this gross looking green sauce.

The third guy was saying he didn’t order this because what we were being served were clearly not chicken wings. I don’t remember what happened whether they agreed to take it off the bill or we got stuck paying for them but we definitely tried them. So bad! There was a lot of that huge plate left. I guess they figured as long as it was big we wouldn’t complain.

[BostonMike7]

A few years back, myself and about 10 coworkers decided to go to Kowloon's in Saugus for lunch. It was a pre-thanksgiving office lunch, but we were paying our own way and not expensing it.

Waiter was new, and it was clear English was his second language as he was having a hard time understanding. We did out best to point and explain what he wanted. He did great, except for one meal he botched up. One coworker (who is about 120lbs soaking wet) ordered one particular sushi plate. Average, lunch-time portion. When the food shows up, he brings this person a 10-person sushi boat, just for him. It was HUGE and needed a serving tray setup for it. Common sense would say that nobody would ever order this for just themselves.

Anyway, they went back and forth on what the correct order should have been. As the waiter is leaving, he asks if we wanted the boat anyway. Nobody did, but he seemed to imply it was no charge. So we said fine, and picked away at it over the course of our meal thinking it was a freebie. 10 mins later, the person got the correct dish they ordered.

Bill came, the boat wasn't on there. We split it up evenly as most people had a similar item, and no alcohol. Manager comes over as we are leaving, grabs the bill and says he'll be back. Comes back and the boat is now added onto the bill. It was $90! We protested saying it wasn't what we ordered and the waiter offered it to us at no charge. Manager didn't budge, and waiter kept his mouth shut. Only about 4-5 of us actually ate off it, so we split that charge among those persons rather than everyone.

That was the last time I was there. We still talk about that one when we are trying to decide where to go for our holiday lunches.

[OutdoorLover]

Hardly a restaurant, but at the cafeteria back at Rutgers, my room-mate, in separate instances, found a bandage in his soup (should have seen the look on his face when that came up on his spoon!), and some monofilament line and a hook breaded right into his fish filet...

And, maybe less surprising but more disgusting, when I worked at Kodak R&D in Rochester, NY, we went to an Indian restaurant in the city for lunch one day and it was a buffet style meal, and while in line, I saw a cockroach crawling around in the stack of plates they had on the buffet table.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Hardly a restaurant, but at the cafeteria back at Rutgers, my room-mate, in separate instances, found a bandage in his soup (should have seen the look on his face when that came up on his spoon!), and some monofilament line and a hook breaded right into his fish filet...

And, maybe less surprising but more disgusting, when I worked at Kodak R&D in Rochester, NY, we went to an Indian restaurant in the city for lunch one day and it was a buffet style meal, and while in line, I saw a cockroach crawling around in the stack of plates they had on the buffet table.

I ate at an Indian Restaurant near Kodak in Rochester NY too. And everything was room temperature and lying out on the buffet table. Definetly would have failed Food Safety Regulations.

Could this be the same Indian Restaurant? lol

[Japanfan1986]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Hardly a restaurant, but at the cafeteria back at Rutgers, my room-mate, in separate instances, found a bandage in his soup (should have seen the look on his face when that came up on his spoon!), and some monofilament line and a hook breaded right into his fish filet...

And, maybe less surprising but more disgusting, when I worked at Kodak R&D in Rochester, NY, we went to an Indian restaurant in the city for lunch one day and it was a buffet style meal, and while in line, I saw a cockroach crawling around in the stack of plates they had on the buffet table.

I’ve never been to Rochester, but tend to enjoy buffets. Even at crappy ones as long as they are sanitary you can usually find at least one or two dishes that are decent and you can load up on.

However, when I was a sophomore in college there was a Chinese buffet in Riverside, California. It was on the road leading to the campus and had a price in big letter advertising the buffet. I think it was $10 or maybe even less. This would’ve been in 2007/2008. The place always looked empty though so I never went until one day when curiosity got the best of me. Literally every dish was bad!

I know some standards were missing but even the ones that were there just tasted incredibly bland and probably skimped in some ingredients (like meat!). College me was far less discriminating too so I don’t recall any sanitation issues, but it wouldn’t shock me if there was some.

This was a cheap Chinese buffet right down the street from literally thousands of broke college students. The place should have been packed! But throughout the year it did horrible business.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

I ate at an Indian Restaurant near Kodak in Rochester NY too. And everything was room temperature and lying out on the buffet table. Definetly would have failed Food Safety Regulations.

Could this be the same Indian Restaurant? lol

*LOL* could be! I didn't want to make a fuss as a colleague had picked the place out and 4 of us were there so I didn't want to embarrass him, but I made sure I didn't go back. I only vaguely recall where it was, but if my failing memory serves me, it was still in the city, and not far west of the R&D labs on Lake Ave.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

A few years back, myself and about 10 coworkers decided to go to Kowloon's in Saugus for lunch. It was a pre-thanksgiving office lunch, but we were paying our own way and not expensing it.

Waiter was new, and it was clear English was his second language as he was having a hard time understanding. We did out best to point and explain what he wanted. He did great, except for one meal he botched up. One coworker (who is about 120lbs soaking wet) ordered one particular sushi plate. Average, lunch-time portion. When the food shows up, he brings this person a 10-person sushi boat, just for him. It was HUGE and needed a serving tray setup for it. Common sense would say that nobody would ever order this for just themselves.

Anyway, they went back and forth on what the correct order should have been. As the waiter is leaving, he asks if we wanted the boat anyway. Nobody did, but he seemed to imply it was no charge. So we said fine, and picked away at it over the course of our meal thinking it was a freebie. 10 mins later, the person got the correct dish they ordered.

Bill came, the boat wasn't on there. We split it up evenly as most people had a similar item, and no alcohol. Manager comes over as we are leaving, grabs the bill and says he'll be back. Comes back and the boat is now added onto the bill. It was $90! We protested saying it wasn't what we ordered and the waiter offered it to us at no charge. Manager didn't budge, and waiter kept his mouth shut. Only about 4-5 of us actually ate off it, so we split that charge among those persons rather than everyone.

That was the last time I was there. We still talk about that one when we are trying to decide where to go for our holiday lunches.

Been there a few times, mostly for work parties or birthday gatherings. I've definitely experienced some hit or miss service there to the extreme.

[sawyer2]

- Cigarette butt in a slice of birthday cake

- Friend who worked at an 'all you can eat' Chinese restaurant in Florida during high school where he routinely saw them return uneaten food from plates back to the buffet. He called it 'all someone else couldn't eat'.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

- Cigarette butt in a slice of birthday cake

- Friend who worked at an 'all you can eat' Chinese restaurant in Florida during high school where he routinely saw them return uneaten food from plates back to the buffet. He called it 'all someone else couldn't eat'.

Those people ought to be dragged out back and shot in the head. No joke.

[Bridge781]

I never had anything that bad happen I guess. Some long waits that seemed ridiculous

I do recall ordering a blooming onion from an Applebee’s in VT. When it arrived the fried part was under cooked and it was all batter at the part down by the onion.

Another time I went to a melting pot in St. Louis. It was around dinner time and we were waiting at the bar to be seated. I looked into the dining room area and saw a girl vomiting I to a trash can. Apparently she was drunk. There was a woman at the bar we’d been having small talk with and she goes, that’s my future daughter in law.