When an “A” Grade Is Still a Fail
The other day, the owner of a Brooklyn pizza place in my neighborhood was happily taping up the “A” grade he was given by NYC’s health department in his window after passing a restaurant inspection, but I still have no intentions of eating there. Although it’s good to know that the kitchen is relatively clean and the food is kept at the right temperatures, does any of that matter if he collects money with the same unwashed hands he uses to make pizza with? That’s an “F” no matter how fresh the dough is and to me, casts doubt on the whole grading system, since the final product remains entirely untested.
by Bucky Turco on July 15, 2011 at 11:00 am
Editor-in-Chief:
Pizza is cooked at anywhere from 800 – 1000 degrees. I wouldn't worry about any little germies on his hands surviving that.
Besides, you don't know what's going on in the kitchens of nearly ANY restaurant. For all you know, the expediter at Le Bernardin scratched his ass before press-testing your salmon to see if it was done medium rare.
It only helps build your immune system, man. If you're a germophobe, eat at home.
I agree. A place near where I worked got an A. I can't eat from there. Once the guy was making pizza. He coughed all over the dough. Another time, the same guy was slicing meat. The hand with the glove was holding the hunk of turkey. The other hand, bare, placed the meat on the bread. What really grossed me out was when he gave the finished sandwich to the sanitation worker, who picks up garbage all day, he shook the man's hand and went right back to handling the meat. I used to get tea there until one day, I found something green in my black tea. I don't want any foreign objects in my food.
My favorite dim sum place on Mott St. has an A rating. I watched as a server dropped a pair of scissors on the floor, picked them up and cut an order of sesame balls without so much as wiping them on her smock. You never know what goes on in a restaurant no matter how much you like it.