It's not quite the bold As, Bs, and Cs that grace restaurant windows in Los Angeles, but New York City has beefed up its Restaurant Inspection Database for your pre-dining gross-out pleasure. Searches are now possible by borough, zip code, violations, and the like, which set the local tabloids off on a stampede to scare you away from restaurants you thought you loved:
From the Daily News: "Peter Luger Steak House... scored a failing 58 violation points during a Dec. 19 probe. Inspectors found evidence of mice, and staffers who were strangers to soap... Blue Water Grill at Union Square, failed its Dec. 1 inspection with 35 violation points. Inspectors found evidence of flying bugs and unwashed preparation surfaces."Both newspapers cite Time Out, the Upper West Side sports bar that leads the pack with 137 violations. Says the Time Out manager, "I think my customers will stay loyal."From the Post: "Saul Bolton, who owns the Michelin one-star eatery in Brooklyn that bears his first name, said he 'failed' with 41 points because he renewed his Health Department permit a few weeks late... Ryan Tarpey, general manager of celebrity chef Mario Batali's Fifth Avenue pizza emporium Otto, said he was not surprised when a health inspector hit the joint with a below-average score of 21 after spending four hours nosing around last October."
· Restaurant Inspection Database [NYC.gov]
· Readers, uh, Digest [NYDailyNews]
· Get the Dirt on Restaurants [NYPost]
