Detective Work

Well, it looks like there will be no more chow fun with shiitake mushrooms or really good Singapore chow mei fun.

 

It's not that it doesn't exist anymore. It's just that my go-to choice for Chinese food on Seamless Web is gone.  I've tried many different places, but when I don't want to go poking around new menus or when I'm just lazy and want something good, it made the choice easy. And now it's gone.

 

On Monday night, I went to go order and had a craving for moo shu chicken. I saw some new Chinese restaurant on the list, but then thought I would comparison price against my old standby.  But it was grayed-out!  I was surprised, because they were always there, even during the transit strike. I wondered what was wrong.  But I figured it was a one-time thing.

 

On Tuesday night, I was shocked. The restaurant wasn't grayed-out. It was GONE.  It was no longer on Seamless Web. The possibilities ran through my mind - did they close down? Did they just decide to stop participating in Seamless Web? Did something happen?

 

So last night, I thought about walking by the restaurant today to see what happened to it, since it was just down the block from work (one reason why they always got here so FAST) and I had eaten there in person one day. But today I was scheduled to have free lunch at CLE, so I didn't know when I would go.

 

I ended up working through the lunch hour today and there was my opportunity to investigate. Where was my provider of good chicken fried rice, sushi appetizers and noodles?

 

Closed down, apparently.

 

I saw the metal gating down over the storefront from down the block and my heart sank. I ordered from them so often that I recognized the delivery people. I knew exactly what to order.  I must have ordered from them at least one-third of the time I ordered dinner.

 

Another million possibilities. Did they get closed down by the health department? Did something happen to the owners? Did they move? Were they not making any money?

 

I don't know the answer to any of the questions, but I'm pretty sure that when you're temporarily closed down by the health department (or even for tax reasons, like an Italian restaurant I posted about long ago which I think is now open again), the chairs and tables by the window remain, as do the posters on your door.  Which wasn't the case here as far as I could tell by peeking through the metal gating.

 

Maybe they had been planning to close for awhile. I wouldn't know since my only contact is through the internet. They're not exactly going to post a goodbye message on Seamless Web (I doubt they even could).  I wish I knew what happened.  Because all I know is that they didn't open today and Seamless Web is calling them "inactive."

 

And now, it's like that Grey's Anatomy episode where the guy didn't know that the cigarette would be his last, and Cristina takes him to have his last, so that he knows it's the last one and can savor the moment.  No, Chinese food is not like cigarettes, but you see what I mean.  If I knew the last time was the last time I was going to order from this place, I would have made sure I got exactly what I wanted. Although I think I did get our favorite noodles (chow fun and Singapore chow mei fun).  Just would have thrown in a sushi roll or seaweed salad.

 

I wish I knew what happened!