My family and I recently returned from our Hawaiian trip. I'll post a trip report later.

But first, I want to remark that I've found what must be one of the worst restaurants I've ever come across in 30 years of traveling around the country. This is the Lava Rock Cafe in the town of Volcano on the Big Island. Insects, dirty dishes/utensils and poor food (even by fast food standards.) And when we were ready to leave, my daughter wanted a take out box to bring the uneated portion of a burrito like wrap. Naturally, it was dirty, it looked like it was possible it was used before.

Just a warning - stay away.

Let me get this straight. AFTER you ate there and had witnessed insects, dirty dishes and utensils and knew the food was bad -- you still wanted to take food with you? What's wrong with this picture?

"I" didn't want to take anything.

After receiving the dirty take out box, I went over to the counter where I saw they kept them, and pulled a clean out of the middle of the stack I saw the waitress get them from. The decision to take the wrap was one of my kids decisions, not mine.

PS, that leftover wasn't consumed in any case since it sat in the car (out of refridgeration) while we went to the chain of craters road to view the lava at night. Just as well.

I would report this place to the local health department. It's not too late, I'm sure you can find this info on the web.

Oh, I get it. YOU weren't going to eat the "bad food" sandwich that was possibly contaminated with insects and filth. You were going to allow your child to eat it. OK, that's different then. My apology.

This thread is making me laugh. Years ago we decided to try out a new restaurant in our area. The food was terrible. There were 5 of us and each ordered a different thing and each of us stoped eating after a few bites because the food just tasted so bad.

I was about to complain to the manager about how the food was so bad that we couldn't eat it when my husband asked for TO GO BOXES so he could take all of that terrible food home! There went THAT argument!

Patrick, they obviously ate there, and I must say that I have eaten in places where flies were landing on the table and I've had to wipe the fork off before I ate with it, and I've lived to tell the tale.

Don't call poor jpiwaron out on her mothering skills. It isn't gentlemanly, and I know you are a gentleman!

I usually keep quiet on things like this, but in this case, I do have to chime in with Patrick.

Why in the world would you allow your "kids" to even make such a decision? Just say NO!

This reminds me of my other favorite complaint about a restaurant: "The food is inedible, and the portions are really small."

I usually keep quiet too, but it's obvious that these folks had ALREADY eaten the food - if the first half of the burrito didn't make the child sick, I don't think the leftovers would either. Anyway, if those kids are anything like mine, jpiwaron probably knew that burrito would never get eaten.

I would have summoned someone long before the end of the meal. Being that my husband is in the restaurant business, I know that if you don't tell management something is wrong, they don't know. At least give them the chance to make something right.

They may have a new cook that needs adjustments, a waiter that needs to be fired, a food vendor that is delivering sub par goods, machinery that needs to be replaced etc.

I always take leftovers, good or bad to feed the birds, seagulls, and assorted cats/rodents/possums in my neighborhood.

Someone with a bad experience will tell 50 people, someone with a good experience may tell ten people.

Restaurants are going to intentionally sell you a bad experience. They would like to stay in business.

That should read:

Restaurants are NOT going to intentionally sell you a bad experience. They would like to stay in business.

I'm sorry for being "ungentlemanly", but I guess I really don't understand this. You are warning people to stay away from a place because it isn't fit to eat at. Yet you allow a daughter to take food with her from that same place to eat later. Either the food is good and safe or it isn't. If you'd opt to take food with you to eat later, why wouldn't you also go back to eat there? Sorry, I really don't get the difference. Once I'd see such filth, I certainly wouldn't and COULDN'T eat another bite from that place either at the table or even out of a CLEAN to-go box.

Not everybody acts perfectly rationally all the time. Maybe she was trying to teach her daughter not to be wasteful. Who knows? Either way, she's telling us not to eat there. So do, or don't, but if you don't have anything nice to say then..........

LOL Patrick, this reminds me of a movie (Monty Python?) when the parents gave the child the first taste, to see if it was tainted.
My habit is when I walk into a place and sit down, if there is dirt or an insect, I leave. (Usually taking the kids with me lol)
But this is a good warning, thanks jpiwaron

Patrick-

How do you know it was not an adult child? Even a teenager is perfectly capable of making the take-out decision without having to get the go ahead from Mom or Dad. And God knows they eat anything!

Shaz60, Didn't the mother say SHE got the to-go box?

"I went over to the counter where I saw they kept them, and pulled a clean out of the middle of the stack I saw the waitress get them from."

Maybe she got it because the kid wouldn;t shut up. WHO KNOWS? Who got the box or not is beside the point, and unrelated to TRAVEL. It's a crappy, fly infested restaurant, and we shouldn't go there. Let's all thank the OP for the info, rather than chastising her mothering skills, and move on.

I love these forums for the info, but the judgmental opinions given (and not asked for) just astound me.

Lay off "Ungentlemanly Patrick" will you? Why if you are on vacation, would you even take the rest of the burrito, knowing that it would never make it to refrigeration.

And, if the child is still hungry..just drive thru a "clean" fast food joint and feed her.