Fancy Food

  • When bad things happen to good restaurants – New York City inspection disclosure edition of fancy food doesn’t mean safe food

    Posted: August 10th, 2010 - 8:48pm by Doug Powell

    restaurant_food_crap_garbage_10.jpg

    NBC reports that the Health Department's new restaurant grading program has already dinged some famous New York City establishments resulting in low grades.

    Famed brasserie Les Halles has received 20 'violation points,' which translates to a B. Inspectors found roaches and unprotected food in Les Halles' kitchen, both critical violations. Poor plumbing and a lack of vermin-proofing were also listed on the Health Department's Restaurant Inspection Information website.

    Di Fara Pizzeria, considered to be one of the city's top pizza restaurants, is just two violation points shy of a C. Three critical violations -- mice, flies, and poor refrigeration or heating equipment -- as well as three other violations brought its grade to 26 violation points.

    McSorley's Old Ale House and the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue have both received over 30 violation points. McSorley's, the city's oldest bar, received 38 points, including four critical violations for flies and "tobacco use, eating or drinking...in food preparation , storage, or dishwashing area." And the Regency Hotel, with 44 points, had six critical violations, including improperly sanitized utensils and food preparation surfaces, cross-contamination.

    Of the 631 restaurants inspected since July 27, ninety-nine, or 16 percent have received As. Three hundred and five, or 48 percent, received Bs, and 227, or 36 percent, have received Cs. These initial grades can be appealed.

    DNA Info reports a Barnes & Noble cafe received an "A" grade under the city's new restaurant rating system, despite evidence of mice.

    Health Department spokeswoman Celina De Leon said inspectors found a "small number of mice droppings" on the floor of the café adding,

    "While this presents evidence of a problem, there was no evidence that the problem was widespread or had contaminated food.

    Barney Greengrass, the legendary purveyor of smoked fish and bagels, racked up so many violations — 42 points — during a July 29 inspection that the restaurant could wind up with a C grade if it doesn't correct problems.

    Shake Shack's Columbus Avenue location received 19 points during an April inspection, a score that would rate a B grade under the new system.

    The burger joint was docked for having food that was "spoiled, adulterated, contaminated or cross-contaminated" and for "evidence of roaches."
     

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    Fancy Food, inspecisclosure, New York City
  • Even fancy restaurants need to refrigerate sauces -- cause toxins can kill

    Posted: March 26th, 2008 - 4:41pm by Doug Powell

    The Sydney Morning Herald reports that 81-year-old retiree William Hodgins died just 12 hours after dining with his wife, Audrey, at the upmarket Tables restaurant in Pymble on Friday, January 12 last year (right, pic from Sydney Morning Herald).

    Inspector Dean Lindley of Hornsby police told Westmead Coroners Court yesterday that an investigation by the NSW Food Authority discovered Bacillus cereus in an asparagus cream sauce served to Hodgins and 14 other customers that night who had ordered the fish of the day, snapper.

    It is alleged the sauce was up to 48 hours old when it was served to him.

    Inspector Lindley said he was contacted by food inspector, Bryan Biffin, who said he had taken a sample of cream asparagus sauce he had found in the restaurant after police left. It had been served with the fish of the day.

    "The sauce had subsequently been analysed by the Division of Analytical Laboratories and had been found to contain the pathogen Bacillus cereus at a level of 9.8 million parts … Mr Biffin informed me that the toxic level of this pathogen is 1 million parts … Biffin further stated that in his experience this pathogen thrives in an environment where the food is heated and cooled over a period of time. During the course of the investigation I came to the opinion that the deceased William Hodgins had eaten the asparagus sauce. The sauce at the time of consumption was contaminated by the pathogen Bacillus cereus after having been repeatedly subjected to temperature abuse in that it was heated and cooled a number of times over 48 hours by restaurant staff."

    The restaurant co-owner and principal chef Kim de Laive told the court he had been holidaying on the South Coast that day and that his fellow chef, Douglas Gunn, had prepared the sauce dishes, including the cream asparagus, the night before for use that Friday.

    He said it was the restaurant's practice to dispose of asparagus sauce if it was exposed to room temperature for more than four hours, and was unaware that the Australian food standards required it to be disposed after two hours. Mr de Laive said he could only assume that one of the apprentices had put the sauce back into the fridge after its use earlier in the day and it had been taken out again that night but he had not asked any of the apprentices about it.

    Way to blame the underlings, chef, especially since you apparently didn't know the basics.

    When the restaurant's co-owner, Daniel Brukark, entered the witness box counsel for the Food Authority counsel, Patrick Saidi, revealed the authority was prosecuting Mr Brukark's company, Dan Brook Investments, for failing to place labels with dates on its sauce containers, an offence which carries a two-year prison term if a director or chef is convicted.
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    Asparagus, Australia, Bacillus Cereus, Fancy Food
  • Fancy food does not mean safe food: Whole Foods and golf club edition

    Posted: February 17th, 2008 - 9:48pm by Doug Powell

    Napa’s new Whole Foods received an F grade in its first county food facility inspection.

    Store manager David Cosper said the market’s sheer size and diversity of offerings may have contributed towards the failing grade, which Whole Foods took steps to fix “immediately."

    The major violations included improper handwashing and use of gloves at a hot counter area, improper hot and cold holding temperatures in several food areas and lack of availability of hot or cold water at two sinks. Other violations included improper handling of food and food storage, uncovered containers and missing sneeze guards.

    In Virginia, the Daily Press reports that Ford's Colony, a popular gated community in James City County complete with a 200-acre wildlife preserve, a wine cellar with 1,600 labels and three 18-hole golf courses, has also, on occasion, been home to poorly dated food, meat kept at improper temperatures and employees who were caught not washing their hands.

    Ford's Colony is hardly the only private club with health violations in Hampton Roads. Country clubs, yacht clubs and golf clubs with exclusive memberships from James City to Suffolk have all recently received critical marks that belie the air of posh living these communities pride themselves on.

    It's like Ben and I discovered during the halfway point of a food safety golf tournament in Baltimore in 2005, when a burley, 50-ish goateed he-man requested his hamburger be cooked, "Bloody … with cheese."

    His sidekick piped up, "Me too."

    I asked the kid flipping burgers if he had a meat thermometer.

    He replied, snickering, "Yeah, this is a pretty high-tech operation."

    The young woman taking orders glanced about, and then confided that she didn't think there was a meat thermometer anywhere in the kitchen; this, at a fancy golf course catering to weddings and other swanky functions along with grunts on the golf course.
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    Fancy Food, Whole Foods