Eric Konigsberg, unofficial Department of Health beat reporter for the Times, files on the Waverly Inn today, which, as he has it, almost found itself shut down by the rat patrol. The venue failed inspection on 3/28 with a score of 38 (on re-inspection it passed) and was cited for a variety of problems, including everyone's favorite violation and ours: "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas."
For whatever reason, Graydon Carter went on record for the B3, Metro section story. Granted he was his usually cagey, flippant self, but:
Mr. Carter said by telephone yesterday...that dealing with the city’s health code was not something he gave much thought to when he first decided to open his own restaurant. “I think this is probably part of the game, the kind of thing that all restaurants have to go through. They don’t have health inspections at magazine offices. They probably should.”Waverly is situated below grade, of course, in a structure that was built a century-and-a-half ago. Certainly the DOH could have shut the place down if they wanted to. So, what we does not come out in Konigsberg's story is how Carter feels about his restaurant not being important enough to be made an example of.Mr. Carter said the restaurant had worked to address its mouse problem. “Maybe you’ll see the Waverly cat there at some point,” he said. “Then we get a children’s book out of it down the road.”
“You appreciate health inspectors when you’re eating in restaurants,” he said. “I mean, I eat there,” he said of the Waverly Inn. “I like clean food and that sort of thing.”
· Upscale Snacks, Famous Clients and a Health Dept. Warning [NYT]
· Waverly Inn [NYC DOH]
