Pigeons scratching at our feet, delicious Chinese greens and the best dumplings in town - the first week of the Dirty Dining Diaries has had its highs and lows.
The concept came about following the naming of Auckland's grubbiest restaurants last month. In the Auckland Central region more than 3600 establishments were inspected, 29 were dealt a D grade. We asked you guys, the readers, if you were influenced by these ratings. More than 13,500 have responded to the online poll and over half said the D grade played a big part in their decision to dine. A further 15 per cent said they would be looking out for them from now on.
This came as a bit of a surprise to some of us who had never really noticed the grading. So we decided to see how it affected our dining experience. We printed out the list of 29 places in the city area and eat at one every day for lunch during September. We observe things like vibe, decor and the food, obviously. But we also consider how prominent the D grading is and why it appears it could have received the poor mark.
According to Auckland Council each of the D graded places is inspected twice a year. They consider the standard of the premises, the conduct and maintenance of the premises, process control, cleaning and sanitising and staff training. During out series they are subject to change. However, when the review is posted we do a Food grading search online to make sure the eatery is still below par, and if it has changed we will make that clear.
So far this hasn't been the case. So, with all the formalities in place, here's a taste of the good bits and bad bits of week one of the Dirty Dining Diary.
