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News & ArtsTuesday, February 9, 2010
Chow Shut Down! Bamboo Garden in Bellevue
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 10:55 AM
The health department has shut down Bamboo Garden in Bellevue (note: not vegetarian favorite Bamboo Garden in lower Queen Anne, which has different ownership) for this slew of violations:
Potentially hazardous foods at unsafe temperatures
Improper cooling of potentially hazardous foods
Foods not protected from cross contamination
Poor personal hygiene
Handwashing facility unavailable
Toxic items not properly stored
Equipment/utensils not properly sanitized
Updates on reopening (and future closures, shudder) may be found over here.
1
I wish they would shut down the one on Roy St. That place is the worst vegetarian restaurant in the world.
3
Matt: You crazy. While it may suck for vegetarians who hate fake meat, it is awesome for those of us who like it. That sweet and sour "chicken" is practically indistinguishable from the real thing. Nom.
5
Every one of the cited violations makes my gorge rise, but "Handwashing facility unavailable"—wtf?!? Did they tear out the bathroom to make more room for unsafe storage? Did they not pay the water bill and now have to fill the stock pot from the garden hose next door? So employees pee in the alley and then go back to work?
6
Hah, coworkers and I used to go there every once in a while. It was terrible; I'm not sure why we ever went back.
9
@1,
You're a very lucky man if you think Bamboo Garden is terrible. Try almost any vegetarian restaurant in New York. *shudder*
And I love their fried taro root.
You're a very lucky man if you think Bamboo Garden is terrible. Try almost any vegetarian restaurant in New York. *shudder*
And I love their fried taro root.
10
@ 5, my guess is that they don't have a designated, hand-wash-ONLY sink in the kitchen. They were probably washing their hands at the prep sink or something, or using the restroom.
11
@3 - I'm not sure I'd trust a vegetarian to tell me what is indistinguishable from real meat. Unless it's a vegetarian who regularly samples real meat, to compare.
A ten-year-old memory of what meat is like doesn't count.
A ten-year-old memory of what meat is like doesn't count.
12
Indeed, I do partake in meat at least several times a year. Also, I eat fish. I'm basically the world's worst vegetarian (I usually say "pescatarian," although even that is a bit of a stretch).
Any more reasons to dismiss my opinions?
Any more reasons to dismiss my opinions?
13
3 & 9 are right on, the Bamboo Garden on Roy has excellent sweet and sour chicken and their Taro Root pattys rock! I haven't been vegetarian in years and I still go there occasionally just for those two things.
14
Thanks for the link to King County. They have an RSS feed for closures, which is sort of interesting.
Why did Skillet get closed *twice* for no proper permits? I knew about the one time, but they got cited again in September?
Why did Skillet get closed *twice* for no proper permits? I knew about the one time, but they got cited again in September?
16
@12 - Nope. Sounds like you know your stuff - and that you are the same as many of my vegetarian friends. (E.g., one eats meat on Thanksgiving - one eats it when the vegetarian items cost just as much.)
17
@9: Really, "any vegetarian restaurant in New York" makes you shudder? What pretentious crap. Just how many of the hundreds of vegetarian options in one of the greatest restaurant cities in the world have you tried?
More parochial hipster Seattle bullshit.
More parochial hipster Seattle bullshit.
18
roy street BG RULES!!!! in the fifteen years that i've been a regular customer there, there's only been one meal that was less than awesome, and it was still pretty good.
19
@17,
You think I'm a hipster? Isn't that precious. I lived in New York for five years while I was a vegetarian, and the city really doesn't have that many vegetarian options. The only decent vegetarian place, which was very similar to Bamboo Garden, didn't survive long.
And New York's food is highly overrated. I've had more unbelievably shitty meals in that city/state than in any other place I've ever lived. There's a very good reason why almost all of Kitchen Nightmares' episodes are set in New York.
You think I'm a hipster? Isn't that precious. I lived in New York for five years while I was a vegetarian, and the city really doesn't have that many vegetarian options. The only decent vegetarian place, which was very similar to Bamboo Garden, didn't survive long.
And New York's food is highly overrated. I've had more unbelievably shitty meals in that city/state than in any other place I've ever lived. There's a very good reason why almost all of Kitchen Nightmares' episodes are set in New York.
20
@11, are suffering from the delusion that non-vegetarians never eat vegetarian food? A lot of people who eat meat also eat at QA's Bamboo Garden.
21
Fnarf: I think the comment was because I portrayed myself as a vegetarian who liked fake meat. It was clumsy usage as I am really no such thing.
23
I must say that I am very disappointed. I loved Bamboo, the price always great, the food always good. I would still go even with these wild accusations!!
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