Dining dirty? What do you do when your favorite restaurant gets a bad rating

In the past month, one Columbia restaurant received two consecutive C ratings, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).

Best China Buffet on Bush River Road was cited for not holding food at the proper temperature (hot or cold), not using a thermometer to accurately check the temperature of food, pests near the wait station and not providing a Food Protection Manager Certification. After a third inspection on Oct. 30, Best China Buffet reclaimed an A rating with an overall score of 98 points out of 100.

Each week, DHEC posts the latest S.C. Food Grades where you can find inspection scores for all of the state’s restaurants, delis, school cafeterias, grocery stores, retail meat markets, bakeries, seafood markets and convenience stores permitted under DHEC’s Retail Food Establishment Regulation (R 61-25). Individual detailed reports with scores and inspector’s comments can be accessed by clicking on the link next to the restaurant’s name.

The question is, if this happened to be one of your favorite restaurants, what would keep you from patronizing the place?

Would you go back if the food was really, really good but you happen to see a bug on the wall (not in the food)?

What if you knew there were bugs in the kitchen?

Would you dine there if you saw a messy kitchen? Or a messy chef?

Would you even enter a restaurant with a C rating on the door? What is your limit?

You can check out the ratings and see the complete reports at www.scdhec.gov/Apps/Environment/FoodGrades/.

This story was originally published November 9, 2017 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Dining dirty? What do you do when your favorite restaurant gets a bad rating."