Starting July 1, restaurants in Albany County, New York, will be required to post a prominent sign (right) near the front entrance to announce a simple, clear verdict of county health inspections: excellent, good, fair or unsatisfactory.

Only the first three will remain on display; restaurants that receive an “unsatisfactory” rating will be required to close immediately to remedy health violations and will be reinspected within days.

Although inspection criteria, guided by state law, will not change, Albany County Department of Health restaurant inspectors will use a new rating matrix to decide which rating to award. The matrix takes into account the number of “blue” (minor) and “red” (serious) violations a restaurant receives.

According to the language of the final resolution, adopted by the county board of health last month, restaurants receiving a “fair” rating will be reinspected within two to three weeks, while those that receive a “good” may request a reinspection, to be carried out “as staffing and resources permit.” Inspections are done at county expense, and there is no provision in the new law for restaurants to be able to pay for a reinspection to be done more quickly.

Scores of city restaurants with expansive menus and sit-down service are, according to New York Daily News, escaping scrutiny by registering with the state as supermarkets or wholesalers.

The list of full-blown eateries too cool for school includes popular pizzerias in Brooklyn, a bagel store in Manhattan and a Dunkin’ Donuts in Queens.

Officially, the city Health Department is responsible for local restaurants, cafes and delis. The state Department of Agriculture and Markets oversees establishments that operate supermarkets, bodegas or wholesale markets as 50% or more of their business.

The line has blurred since the city changed its inspection system in July 2010.

Many restaurants that sell a few products to local groceries, or are attached to big supermarkets, often use this as a way to be placed under state control, records show. That has enabled them to avoid tough city reviews that could lead to a dreaded C grade — even though many operate full-scale restaurants.

Sardi’s, serve all the communal cheese you like in your bars to fatten up New York City’s Theater District.

Just don’t leave it out longer than four hours.

The N.Y. Times reported last week that Sardi’s had stopped serving communal snacks because of the health department and interviewed outraged theater-goers, arm-chair epidemiologists, and V. Max Klimavicius, the president of Sardi’s, who said,

“It has to do with the health department. It’s gotten to the point that the way they’re applying the health code is so rigid, we can no longer have what we always had. … It’s just mind-boggling. Nobody’s happy.”

Amanda Kludt of Eater decided to check the accuracy of the Times story and found it lacking.

Representatives at the Dept. of Health would like the bar-going public to know that the cheese played no role in their inspection nor did they order the bar to make any changes to their snack program. In fact, they write that "Cheese, including communal servings, is allowed to be served at room temperature as long as it is not kept out beyond four hours, per the Health Code."

Let the record show these are the actual Sardi's violations:

1. Spaghetti and cheese ravioli not held to temperature (at or below 41 degrees F)
2. Bare hand assembly of ready-to-eat food (salad).
3. Contaminated ice.
4. Dry food stored improperly (pasta not stored in proper container)
5. Improper storage of food tongs (touching floor when oven door opens)
7. Improper ice handling.

DNAinfo reports that celebrity-heavy Nino's on the Upper East Side of New York City was hit with a whopping 56 points during an inspection on Monday, according to the health department's website.

A grade higher than 27 points would merit hanging a C in the window, but the restaurant's grade is pending as the department gives it some time to clean up their act. Restaurants with violations under 13 points get As.

The health department found a range of violations, including evidence of rats and mice, roaches present in the food or non food areas, flies, cold food not stored properly and food surfaces improperly washed. Also, the inspector found the supervisor of food operations did not hold a Food Protection Certificate, which is required by the health department.

At Nino's Positano in Midtown, Selimaj named a chicken special after regular customer Derek Jeter, after the Yankees shortstop reached his 3,000th hit. That restaurant, at 890 Second Ave., was briefly closed by the health department after a June 22 inspection tallied 72 violation points. The restaurant currently has a letter B grade.

Nino Selimaj didn’t return calls.