Posted: September 2nd, 2010 - 5:26am by Doug Powell

Grub Street New York reports the city’s No. 1 restaurant, Le Bernardin, featuring celebrity Top Cheferer Eric Ripert (right, not exactly as shown), received 32 demerits (4 points above the C mark) on an inspection last Friday.

General Manager David Mancini says he’s expecting a follow-up on the initial “courtesy inspection” in the next week or two and tells us, “As aggressive as the inspection was, I don’t want to make any comment until they come back and reinspect us, and then I’ll probably have a great deal of comment.”

Failures in the current inspection included:

• cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation;

• raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan;

• sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored; and,

• plumbing not properly installed or maintained, anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained, and ssewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.

Bon appetite.