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Eric's Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
1500 Church St(between 27th St & Comerford St)
San Francisco, CA 94131
Neighborhood: Noe Valley
(415) 282-0919
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am - 9:30 pm
Fri 11 am - 10 pm
Sat 12 pm - 10 pm
Sun 12:30 pm - 9:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
461 reviews for Eric's Restaurant
Review Highlights
"The Shanghai Chicken is FANTASTIC."
(in 32 reviews)
"Absolutely LOVE their hot & sour soup."
(in 27 reviews)
"I love the Mango Chicken and the Sesame Beef."
(in 37 reviews)
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461 reviews in English
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Review from Alexander R.
San Francisco, CA
2/8/2012
Never have you let me down but that's partials to the fact that I've never sat my self down here. I gets the Chinese food to go and bring it to my lovely casa.
The chow mein is spot on and my favorite despite it's commonness. The price isn't bad and they get the food cooked quick for the pick (up).
Eric's don't ever change a thing! -
Review from s k.
San Francisco, CA
2/4/2012
I have lived in Noe Valley since 2002 and Eric's has always been a popular fixture in the neighborhood. Generally, i felt that while I never cared for Eric's, it served a purpose as a place for cheap Chinese Food that is aimed at an American palate. Nothing wrong with that as Dragonwell in the Marina does the same thing, but much better.
However, we recently ordered takeout from Eric's and it was absolutely terrible. The food was greasy,salty, stringy, and the ingredients tasted cheap. We ordered the food mostly for my nieces and nephews as they love Dragonwell, but Eric's was a poor substitute. Our dishes are below:
* Beef with Broccolli - salty and greasy. The broccoili was overcooked and stringy.
* Chicken and Aspagarus - the chicken looked like cat food and was almost unrecognizable as meat of any kind. Again the sauce was a greasy mess of soy sauce, cornstarch, and juices.
* Garlic Shrimp - The worst dish. The shrimp was mealy and a low grade of seafood reserved for the worst buffets. Too much garlic and combined with mushrooms, which was an awful pairing. Again, they used the same disgusting sauce for the Beef, chicken, and Shrimp dishes.
* Potstickers - decent potstickers and by far the best dish.
I have eaten at Eric 3x-4x in my 10 years in Noe and over time the food has gotten worse and worse, while its popularity seems to increase. I still feel sick from greasy salty sauce on every dish,even several hours after the meal.
Eric's is like a bad Reality TV show - It's terrible and getting worse over time, yet still popular for reasons beyond conventional logic and taste. -
Review from Dee B.
San Rafael, CA
12/28/2011
Yes theY have cheap lunch and their soup and Genetal's chicken is good but
is it worth the stomach problems after ???
More than once me and my guests have gotten stomach
problems and lost all we ate - if you catch my drift - right after.
They do seem to cut corners and don't know what they put in the sauce
As always if it's too good to be true .... It's cheap for a reason
The staff specially the ladies are very sweet
Too bad
A good Chinese place in SF is R & G lounge on Kearny
Staff is typical clueless about service and human interaction Chinese
but if you're craving Chinese food then it's very good. -
Review from Audrey W.
Thousand Oaks, CA
2/5/2012
This is the best Chinese food I've ever had!! The service, food, and prices were excellent!! Most importantly it wasn't greasy at all.
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Review from Elizabeth P.
Burlingame, CA
1/27/2012 9 Check-ins Here
I love this place. The food is great, prices are reasonable, service is A+, but parking can be a little tricky. I would suggest you give yourself plenty of time to look for parking. I usually have the Mongolian beef, pot stickers, and hot n spicy soup. All great tasting. I would highly recommend you check it out for yourself.
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Review from chad H.
San Francisco, CA
1/25/2012
Some people who review Eric's make a stink about their Chinese food being Americanized. I like Americanized Chinese food. I grew up with it, and it reminds me of special times with my family.
I just completed a meal at Eric's. It was fabulous. I had mu Shu Chicken. It was just like the way it was when I was a kid, yummy and probably very American.
If you're looking for a Americanized Chinese food, this is your place. It rocks. Thank you Eric's! -
Review from Elaine B.
Fremont, CA
11/18/2011
"Meh. I've experienced better." has never been so true.
I was house hunting in the city with Mark and we ended up hanging out with my old roommate Sunshine/Moonshine the clown. She recommended that we have dinner at Eric's because it is Michelin rated. Yes, it's clean and beautiful. However, those are not the requirements for good Asian food that my mama/family taught: "Follow the Asian people." There wasn't a single one dining there that night.
We should have went somewhere else, but we were ravenous. Hunger is supposed to make food taste better, but I don't think it flavored our food much. In fact, we had Mango Prawns, Kung Pao Chicken, and Buddha's Delight and Sunshine complained that they all tasted the same, because they were cooked in the same brown sauce. -
Review from L B.
Berkeley, CA
1/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Shanghai chicken is amazing. Mango chicken is delicious too. String beans with bean curd is also very tasty.
Prawns in spicy garlic sauce is mediocre and mostly celery. -
Review from francisco a.
Daly City, CA
1/16/2012
good food!, good service!, clean! what more can you ask for....
Usually this place is packed with people waiting outside to get in, we drove by and saw that it was half full!. we lucked out on some parking nearby(if there is a minus to Eric's restaurant, its the parking !) we ordered a veggie soup that hit the spot in this cold weather we are having.the hunan fish was flaky and spicy ,but i liked the basil eggplant the best...tender and creamy. As we were eating we noticed that the house was full of people...I guess it was are lucky day. -
Review from Erin H.
11/5/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I live in the area and have driven by Eric's neon sign, not realizing it was a chinese restaurant.
My roommates and I finally paid them a visit. One roomie has a tree nut allergy, so we had to avoid the Shanghai chicken (has nuts) and the walnut prawns - the waiter was nice about verifying that our other items didn't have nuts (and he made it through the meal safely).
We ordered...
- Hot and Sour Soup - Delicious. Both hot and sour. Really hit the spot on a cool night.
- Mu Shu Pork - The waiter wrapped these for us, which was kind of nice. But, they put way too much oyster sauce in there, which made the whole wrap overly salty. I had to drip a bunch of sauce out, which made it taste better. One roommate ended up unwrapping it and just eating the filling.
- Garlic Shrimp - Pretty good, it was in some kind of dark brown sauce that was quite salty. Lots of whole garlic cloves were included that were really tasty.
- Some Eggplant Stir Fry - Probably my least favorite dish, because it was the saltiest. It was also almost exactly the same as the garlic shrimp dish (same sauce), and also included shrimp, so we felt like we were eating pretty much the same thing again.
- String Bean w/ Fried Tofu - Liked this dish. Not overly salted, green beans were crispy.
Overall, no MSG, which is good. However, I got a stomachache later that night, which happens to me when I've eaten something too oily. Saltiness was also through the roof on most dishes.
Would consider going back the next time I crave hot and sour soup, but I'll try some different entrees next time and perhaps ask if they can reduce the amount of salt in the dishes. -
Review from Matt B.
San Francisco, CA
1/28/2012
I used to love Eric's and go there all the time. I just went back after a couple of years, and found that it's gone totally downhill. The food was terrible; the sauces seemed to be slight variants of one another and tasted like soy sauce with sugar. I was disappointed and probably won't go back.
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Review from Art A.
San Francisco, CA
10/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
I haven't had Chinese food in quite a while and was really looking forward to stopping by at Eric's. We walked in and grabbed a quick seat.
We decided to order soup, rice, and a couple of dishes between the two of us, which was definitely just right.
While everything was pretty good, nothing was stellar. Well, except for the soup.
I'll have to be back to try a few more things out! -
Review from Gordon E.
Bayview/Hunters Point, San Francisco, CA
12/19/2011
5 spice chicken, garlic chicken and sesame beef were all great. Not awesome...great
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Review from SHAO QING Q.
San Francisco, CA
8/8/2011
They rise the price but the potion become smaller.
And I found roe tini meat on my beef dish...........
The walnut shrimp was not crispy, the walnut is not as good as before. -
Review from Dom G.
San Francisco, CA
9/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Two words for Eric's " cheap and good"!!
My friend and I wandered around the town to find an interesting restaurant to try and we tumble on Eric's and My friend recalled that every time that he drove by this restaurant, it always packed for both day time and in the evening. So we went in and tried this place.
When i walked in, I surprise how this restaurant didn't look like Chines restaurant at all. The whole decoration is quite neat. But the biggest surprise for me was to see the price on the lunch menu so low.
"This is not real" I told myself when I saw the lunch menu. Considering all the decorations, the dress code for the waiters and the look of the food on other tables. I was really to pay at least $15.00 per plate.
Well... we ordered. "Hunan Fish" and " Egg plants" for lunch special which also comes with a very testy soup. and Once we tried the food. It became clear to me.... why this place is so popular. The food is quite good.
O.K.... May be this is not the best Chines food that i ever had but considering the price, the service and the food itself. It's quite a great deal.
I ended up buying more lunch special - TO GO, to bring home with me and yes, I will come back to Eric's again and again. Even it's pretty far from my place. -
Review from Kul W.
San Francisco, CA
12/9/2011
On the plus side, the food here is not expensive and they seem to use relatively good ingredients. However, the food has no flavor. It's totally Americanized Chinese-like food. If that's what your looking for then it ain't so bad.
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Review from Jimmy G.
8/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
3.5.
Had the szechwan pork for lunch while killing time in the area. It was good and filling, with just enough heat, though the meat was somewhat dry.
Very clean, calm atmosphere with pleasant service. Good deal at around 10 (with tip) for the plate, a soup and tea. -
Review from Inigo M.
San Francisco, CA
7/6/2011
Drums of Heaven (chicken wings) were a charred mess.
General Chicken tasted good but not presented well. -
Review from Jeff M.
San Francisco, CA
11/26/2011
Absolutely LOVE their hot & sour soup. They also make a mean meatless chicken. It's a bit more expensive than other Chinese places in the area, but not by much. Not authentic, but as a midwesterner, I love it.
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Review from Ryan B.
6/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is a local staple of mine. I like the big old windows and how it is located on Church st. It makes me feel like the city is not so big and scary. Every time I have been to Eric's the food is prepared well and the services is great.
The menu is lean but never find myself really wanting more options. One of my favorites is the the sizzling soup. I must get take out from here once a month or so and have found it to be just as tasty. The place has an "almost too nice to be real" grouping of orchid plants/flowers. I have never had to wait for a table (this is a good thing) and the with this combination of things it stays on my monthly restaurants list! -
Review from Sean G.
Updated - 6/12/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Vegetarians rejoice! They now offer four meatless (mock) chicken dishes, located under the "Vegetable" section of the menu. From what I've been told by the staff, this was something they just put on the menu as of recent - it was a pleasant surprise to see.
So if you're over the plain tofu and vegetable thing, now there are more options.
I eagerly ordered the General Tsao Meatless Chicken and wasn't disappointed. Fresh, delicious broccoli surrounded a mound of mock chicken in a spicy sauce. The verdict? Mmmm mmmm good. Even my carnivore dining companion found it tasty.
Big Lantern and Emmy's has a larger selection of mock meat dishes, but I don't think either restaurant can match the service and settings of Eric's (which hasn't changed much over the years - a good thing).1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/8/2008
I've been coming here for a few years now - I'm not a big fan of Chinese food, but I do like it at… Read more »
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Review from Jodi V.
10/20/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I enjoyed Eric's and I'll definitely be back. The portions were good and the food was quality and tasty. They don't overcook their veggies which is a huge plus for me.
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Review from Roni L.
South San Francisco, CA
7/31/2011
Great place for lunch... How can you beat under $7 for an entree + rice + soup? Tasty, well presented, nicely cooked, clean.
Remarkable resemblance to Alice's, although I'd rate my meal here a little better. -
Review from Lynn F.
San Francisco, CA
5/8/2011
I've been going to this Chinese restaurant long enough to finally review it.
This has been my go-to Chinese place for many years, for good reason. It has great quality food, it's really inexpensive, it's clean and it's fast.
This is not a hole in the wall. It's the kind of place where you can take out-of-town guests and they'll think you have exposed them to a special piece of San Francisco.
Parking can be tough in this neighborhood, so allow extra time if you're meeting up with friends at a specific time. -
Review from Ashley C.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 10/28/2011
Got takeout last weekend from Eric's on a Saturday night and I was happy to find that it was delicious. We ordered the mu shu shrimp again, shrimp fried rice, potstickers, and chicken with broccoli and cashews. They were all winners! Even the fortune cookie was yummy - and I think it might have been handmade because it wasn't in a special wrapper. Looking forward to either visiting in person or ordering out again soon!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/15/2011
I went to dinner on Saturday night at Eric's. I was really looking forward to it because I hadn't… Read more »
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Review from Mag F.
San Francisco, CA
11/11/2011
I live right next to Eric's and I have to say, I love them. They're quick, cheap, and super tasty. It's not a restaurant to travel across town for, but if you're in the neighborhood and looking for fast and easy options, it's a great bet. I've had both takeout and eat-in from them. Both types of experiences are great.
Recommended dishes: Hot and Sour Soup; Hunan Fish; Spicy Smoked Pork; and Eric's Spicy Eggplant. -
Review from Daniela B.
Redwood City, CA
11/1/2011
Try the General Chicken, it's by far the best chicken I have had in a long time. AWESOME.
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Review from Thomas D.
San Francisco, CA
3/31/2011
I ordered the 5 Taste Chicken but I swear I only tasted 2--sugar and grease.
Service is always effecient.
Their dishes could use more flavor. -
Review from Juliette F.
San Francisco, CA
2/3/2011
The lunch special is big pot of tea, soup of the day, your choice of entree with rice, orange slices, and a fortune cookie: All for $6! In Noe Valley!!
Good lawdy, that is cheaper than fast food, and nearly as fast.
I really like Eric's chow mein, which looks nothing like traditional chow mein. There are so many vegetables in it, I thought that I got the wrong order when I opened my takeout boxes. But I really liked their spin on what is usually a dish of low nutritional value.
When I tip the server for togo food, she acts surprised, which makes me sad for her. This leads me to believe that no one else tips her on the reg. Tip her, dammit! -
Review from Robyn A.
Portland, OR
6/3/2011
This place has the most amazing food.
We took a train and a bus to get to this place while
on vacation, more than once. We will be going
back on our next trip, and every trip after that. -
Review from Matsuo U.
San Francisco, CA
1/12/2011
Eric's is modern, fast, tasty, & convenient when in the esteemed Noe Valley. (part of tha statementt is a joke... you get to decide what part).
I kinda like Eric's. Is it the most "authentic" ?, and properly "prepared" ? and "traditional Chinese food" ? ahhhh no. But, hey its in THIS 'hood. So, dumbed down dishes, fast service, English speaking employees rate the 5 star ratings, especially who use the moniker or greeting "dude!".
Had a couple lunches with a variety of food at the table ( ok, I admit I can not help but snag a bite from any plate on the table) and think it is not bad. Its kinda good *(for what it is).
Bad ? NO. A-OK yes ! -
Review from Ashley S.
San Bruno, CA
8/9/2011
I love Eric's Chinese food. My favorite by far...I love the Walnut prawns (Except if feels like we don't get as many prawns as we use too). My boyfriends favorite is Generals Chicken- He asks for extra spicy...and occasionally I'm in the mood for some of it too. Last night we had the mu shoo pork and I have to admit, its one of my new favorites...They never let me down!...oh and btw, I prefer the brown rice...
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Review from Geordie E.
San Francisco, CA
11/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
Crab Rangoon, ok, a bit heavy on the cream cheese, not so much "crab"
Buddha Delight's, Tasty and had a bit of a kick.
Mu Shu Vegetable. This was actually good... except their pancakes reminded me of flour tortillas. The pancakes are supposed to be thin, similar to that served with Peking Duck.
With so many other options in San Francisco, you can find something better. -
Review from Laura P.
San Francisco, CA
This is my go-to lunch spot when I'm craving Chinese food. it's not greasy and at $6 for the lunch special it's a no-brainer.
Try the fresh tofu and veggies. -
Review from Jason G.
11/20/2010
DUDE!
Did I get lucky! I was heading to a business appt around the corner at the hospital and I was starving. I was saw this place on the corner and came in with my business partner for a quick lunch hoping for the best.
Food and service were awesome. Cheap too, in SF no less. Best Chinese food i have had in a long time.
We sat at the front window watching all some weirdo's walking by. Even got some of them walked in and started talking to us.
I am doing a bunch of business at the hospital so I will be coming here all the time.
lunch for 2 with tip, 21 dollars. Awesome. If you are around, come here. -
Review from Tom R.
San Francisco, CA
I had a really strange time here.
I met some friends here that knew the restaurant for lunch and while I waited for them I perused the menu. They had several interesting choices on the lunch side so I decided to stick with that. It's not your typical Chinese place, kind of upscale, so a $6 lunch seemed like a great deal.
Everything started fine. We sat down and were given soup and hot tea. One of my friends asked for hot oil, they don't have the condiments on the tables. The soup was a very bland egg drop type thing with lots of tofu and carrots; I didn't like it. After about ten minutes, that is hours in soup time, my friend had to ask for the hot oil again. I tried a bit of oil in the soup but it really didn't improve it much. I tried to eat around the tofu as best I could but left most of it in the bowl.
When they took our order I asked what the waiter recommended and he suggested the Hunan fish. One of my friends ordered a chicken broccoli and cashew dish and the other ordered an eggplant and shrimp thing that wasn't on the lunch menu.
First they brought out the eggplant dish and then the chicken lunch. My friends were sharing so one took some rice off of the plate and the other one started to eat the chicken when the waiter came and took the plate away. He came back with a brand new one and put it down in front of my friend with the only explanation being "you order spicy". I was left sitting there with no food and no plate to put any of the already served food on. I told my friends to please start with out me.
My friend's chicken was way too salty; we all tried it and agreed. We called the waiter over and tried to explain but he didn't understand so the owner came over and I believe he thought we were complaining that there was too much sauce. We decided to switch to pot stickers instead. Still no Hunan fish!
Finally about 20 minutes after the first dish came out I got my lunch. It was very good but I thought a little soy sauce might make it even better so had to ask for it, they don't have the condiments on the tables.
Finally the pot stickers came out and they were the best I've ever had. We wanted to put vinegar on them so we had to ask for it because they don't have the condiments on the tables!
The food was good but the service was a catastrophe. My friends that go there a lot say it isn't usually like that so I'll give them another try and they could very well get another star out of me.
One bit of advice though; ask for all of the condiments as soon as you sit down so you don't have to wait for them later. -
Review from Ed U.
Well, if Eric's was good enough to be my very first Yelp review over four years ago, then it's certainly good enough to be my 1,475th. Scary, huh? Not Eric's. The fact that I've been to 1,475 places since my first visit there. Oy! I need to cook at home more often. If Julia is about eat, pray, and love, my spiritual journey must be eat, Yelp, and eat again. In the meantime, Eric's is like the Secretariat of Chinese restaurants, a thoroughbred that delivers nearly every time at the finish line... as long as Jamie W. and I stick with the items we always order.
I still feel the $5.50 bowl of Wonton Soup is the best in the city because it doesn't have that oily broth you usually experience at other restaurants. The broth is clear and fresh-tasting, and the wontons are well packed with flavor. This time, we went for the $9.50 Hunan Lamb, which is leg of lamb sliced in bite-size pieces with red pepper, garlic and chopped spring onions on top (see photo). Tasty and not too spicy-hot. The other dish is unavoidable for us, the $10.25 Walnut Prawns (see photo), because who can deny mayo and honey slathering deep-fried jumbo prawns and candied walnuts?
I still think they need to drop the taco shell for the original crispy noodle basket. The service is still machine-like, and I really wish they would separate the take-out side of their business from the restaurant because I get tired of people staring at me while I gorge. Stop judging me. And parking seems to be getting more painful in this part of Noe Valley. We just don't have the patience to wait for the J-Muni since the city continues to cut back on service. But Eric's is still worth an occasional tap on your bumper... after all these years.
FOOD - 4 stars...signature dishes like the Walnut Prawns deliver...and the best wonton soup in town
AMBIANCE - 4 stars...nice converted Victorian but cordon off the take-out customers, will ya?
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...machine-like waiters who don't have time for chitchat...or order adjustments
TOTAL - 4 stars...nice to know some places won't ever change
SERVICE - 3 stars
OVERALL - 4 starsListed in: The Almost Bodacious,…, A Trail of Fortune Cookie…, Don't Say No to Noe Valley
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/21/2006
UPDATE - 4/5/2008:
Gosh, here I am 800 Yelp reviews later, and I think I've been back to Eric's only… Read more »
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Review from Julia D.
6/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came here tonight with my dad and I don't think I'd been here since the late 90s. We got moo shu pork and broccoli with chicken and cashews. The pork was too peppery and the chicken was too salty. I was not impressed. The service was fabulous and very quick, but I think I will stick to Eliza's or venture to a different food genre the next time I'm in the area.
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Review from Suzanne D.
San Jose, CA
6/23/2011
I came in wanting to LOVE Eric's because I have been such a fan of Eliza's for so many years. Sadly I was disappointed. Eric's has many of the same dishes (same family) and a great mid town location. The room is pretty spare, but elegant at the same time- no large glass sculptures here. Service was efficient and friendly. The take out came very quickly. Maybe a little too quickly as it turns out...
Unfortunately I ordered the pork pot stickers and they were clearly re-heated. Worse than that, they might have been a old cause I felt ill 5 minutes after eating them & got a bit sick. Such a bummer! I also got the sesame seed chicken (not the deep friend kind) with diced carrots & yams. This version was very heavily sauced with almost no orange veggies, just an abundance of celery at the bottom. The chicken was fresh enough (no sickness after eating left overs the next day).
I wish I could say I would come here again, but probably won't. Sad. -
Review from Amy C.
Quick Quiz:
1) The sauce on Eric's Spicy Eggplant was:
a) goopy
b) salty
c) awful
d) all of the above
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
2) The sauce on Eric's Broccoli & Cashew Chicken was:
a) goopy
b) salty
c) awful
d) all of the above
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
3) The sauce on Eric's soggy Chow Mein Noodles was:
a) goopy
b) salty
c) awful
d) all of the above
(http://www.yelp.com/bi...)
4) Why would Eric's put the same sauce on 3 totally different dishes?
5) If Eric's was going to use the same sauce on its dishes, why couldn't it have been a tastier one?
Answer Key:
Questions 1-3: d
Questions 4-5: I have NO idea!
