The Ruby Restaurant fiasco: come for the Peking duck, stay for the salmonella

In what appears to be a colossal case of bad timing, the Globe and Mail’s Joanne Kates offered a glowing review of Ruby Chinese Restaurant a full three days after health inspectors had closed it down. Apparently the Scarborough restaurant flunked its inspection due to dirty floors, an infestation of cockroaches, inadequately cleaned cooking surfaces, raw meat maintained at the wrong temperature and, last but not least, salmonella. The investigation was prompted last week after an outbreak of salmonella poisoning that left at least 18 people sick was linked to food served at Ruby. Authorities are also investigating the death of an elderly man who ate there, as well as 15 other potential cases.

The publishing of Kates’ review was, we assume, a regrettable accident—it has been taken down from the Globe’s Web site and paper has yet to return our e-mails—but some loyal fans of Ruby don’t care one way or the other. “Many customers are crying that it’s closed down,” one loyalist told the Star. “Jean Chrétien ate there.”

Diehards might be waiting a little bit longer: Ruby failed a second inspection on Friday.