The Ginger Gourmet — Restaurant in North Reading

I just left the restaurant after a disappointing experience. Our server, a woman wearing black glasses, was noticeably rude. When we asked questions, she responded with one-word answers and snapped at us, making the interaction uncomfortable.

I've been a regular customer for years and have always requested to substitute the pork fried rice with chicken fried rice—typically for a small additional charge—with no issues. However, when I made the same request this time, the server simply said “no.” When I mentioned that I’ve paid extra for it in the past, she became visibly irritated, and the situation became tense and awkward.

To make matters worse, at one point a television in the dining area began displaying explicit adult content. Both our table and another nearby immediately brought it to her attention, but she merely said “okay” and walked away without taking any action.

This experience was very disappointing, especially given the consistently good service I’ve received...

The fried wontons/duck sauce were a nice touch; very much akin to chips/salsa in a tex-mex restaurant. They were also necessary due to the incredibly long wait due to it being a Friday night before a weekend blizzard.

The food arrived after a bit of a wait, but it was well worth it. Although standard American-Chinese food, it was cooked delicately and with care. Not your usual grease-laden slop that fills the plate.

The three-appetizer combo was awesome: we went for the boneless ribs, beef teriyaki, and boneless chicken fingers. I went for a chef's special (crispy chicken in a szechauan sauce with onions, peppers, pineapple) and the wife chose a soft crab sushi roll. Each dish was delicious and prepared with care.

The wait staff was superb, continually filling our water glasses and apologizing for the delay. They were nothing if not attentive...

This a New York Cantonese style place, although it does have some Thai and a fair number of Japanese dishes. We ordered Chinese takeout. It brought back memories of eating takeout food as a child in NYC. The only thing different was the carrots and peas in the fried rice. It was good, better though with bean sprouts (we didn't ask for it to be made that way). Salt and pepper calamari was milder than most, no jalapeños, but was excellent. Spicy chicken wings tasty,but too many broken bones. Portions generous to huge (the boneless ribs appetizer). Beef chow fun very good, it had lots of beef and did have bean sprouts. Shrimp and lobster sauce was more like a soup and didn't come with rice which it really needed. Good flavor. Not perfect but I...