It's called Eater's Roulette, the unspoken understanding, and proposition, among NY diners that bugs and assorted other creatures happen. It's only a matter of time before you see a rodent or uncover a grasshopper. It's never pleasant, but it does help to talk about it.
Here now, two stories of restaurant bug horror, from fine people who just need to vent:
1) "It is an unofficial requirement for every NYU student to experience the $7 prix fix at "Cafetasia" due to its prime location in the Washington Square Park area. As my two friends and I were eati- ok i'll cut the bullshit. THERE WAS A BEETLE IN OUR FOOD! it was dead and cut in half. here's the picture. sorry its not a great one. Dialogue between us and the manager: us: excuse me, can you tell us what this is? manager: oh, that's a beetle. it came in the vegetables because we don't use chemicals. us: so you don't wash your vegetables? manager: no we do its just. I'm sorry would you like a free meal? us: no we would not like a free meal. ruin this establishment."
2) "I have a bit of a horror story for you. I live in Long Island City, in a normal building surrounded by abandoned warehouses and half-finished high-rises. There are about four places in the whole neighborhood that are worth going to at night, and two of them are run by the same people: Tournesol and their wine, cheese and oyster spinoff, Domaine. Last night, my boyfriend and I went to Tournesol. In the middle of our second course, a cockroach crawled across my plate. We immediately stood up and notified the waiter, and he just sort of looked at us and shrugged. We stared at him for a while, waiting for him to, like, apologize, or SOMETHING, but he just sort of gestured that I should sit down and finish my dinner. So we just walked out on what was surely going to be a $100+ bill, vowing never to enter either Tournesol or Domaine again. Now we're down to two restaurants, and are thus almost certainly planning to move when our lease is up."
