A Game of Chance: Eat at Your Own Risk around Northeastern Essay

For freshmen, it's about getting away from the cafeteria. For upperclassmen, it's either not knowing how to cook or not having enough time to cook. When it comes to food at Northeastern University -- eating out is king. However, many students never consider what goes on behind the scenes at one of the local eateries on or near campus. Most probably don't want to know, caring more about the cheap menu than how the food is prepared. The feeling remains that as long as the food is good, then the restaurant too is good. Yet, when someone gets sick from the meal, it then becomes an issue. In and around campus, some restaurants are giving some of their customers more than they bargained for. According to the Boston Inspections Department's health inspections reports, some of the restaurants around campus such as University House of Pizza and Chicken Lou's have serious health infractions and often times, those restaurants are guilty on numerous occasions. At mayorsfoodcourt.com, the Inspections Department has reports on thousands of restaurants in metropolitan Boston. They categorize health infractions into three categories: Foodborne Illness Risk Factor Critical Violation, Critical Violation and Non-Critical Violation. A Foodborne Illness Risk Factor Critical Violation is an infraction that occurs when improper practices or procedures are identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the prevalent contributing factors of foodborne illness or injury. This is the most serious infraction that a restaurant can have. An example of one such violation is the restaurant not advising customers against ordering uncooked, or rare, meat. A Critica Pizzeria Uno - 280 Huntington Ave. - Inspected September 24, 2003 7 Risk Factor Critical Violations 3 Critical Violations 14 Minor Violations A Taste of Asia - 267 Huntington Ave. - Inspected July 15, 2003 1 Risk Factor Critical Violation 1 Critical Violation 5 Minor Violations Vinny T's of Boston - 867 Boylston St. - Inspected January 29, 2003 4 Risk Factor Critical Violations 2 Critical Violations 15 Minor Violations University House of Pizza - 452 Huntington Ave. - Inspected October 9, 2003 10 Risk Factor Critical Violations 2 Critical Violations 11 Minor Violations To view the entire inspection reports, visit mayorsfoodcourt.com. To make a complaint about a restaurant, visit the website, call the Division of Health Inspections at 617-635-5326 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or call the mayor's 24-hour hotline at 617-635-4500.