Dirty Dancing Dining In A City Near You.
August 8, 2008 by Liz Lewis
Filed under Exposed!, Food and Drink, Misc., Morning News, Nutrition, Prevention
Okay, here’s a report that you might want to read (or not). It’s an analysis of 539 restaurant inspection reports from 20 cities around the USA. And trust me, it’s not for the faint of heart…unless you like reading about live roaches, mouse droppings, and inadequate hand washing in a restaurant near you.
The cities involved in this report, listed from worst to best, are…
Austin, Texas
Boston
Milwaukee
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Kansas City, Missouri
Pittsburgh
Denver
Las Vegas
Washington, D.C
New York
Atlanta
Portland
Baltimore
Minneapolis, Minn
Chicago
St. Louis
Seattle
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Tucson, Ariz
Many will argue that the results are only a snapshot of what’s going at a restaurant at a specific point of time, and that with each city have different inspectors, it’s possible that some are simply tougher than others. Even the report’s author acknowledges this.
But either way you look at it, the report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a nonprofit nutrition and food-safety watchdog group, is food for thought.
(source)
For the record, Kansas City MO is Missouri, NOT Montana.
Keeping a restaurant clean is a simple preventive issue. If a kitchen is kept clean every day to avoid build up and the proper measures are taken to avoid potential rodents and pests, it is very easy to maintain a high score, granted you’re also following proper food preparation procedures (I used to work food service). Once a pest issue arises, it needs to be addressed and taken care of before it gets bigger. If an inspetor found living roaches and mice droppings, it’s obvious that the kitchen is not being kept clean on an everyday basis as it should. During working hours hwoever, it is tough to keep a kitchen clean, but clean as you go always helps. An inspector may come in during a time when all is busy and spilled flower on a table or a dirty cuting board on the counter are something to be expected. There is no excuse for Bug and rodent issues. If it needs to be shut down to prevent someone from getting sick or even dying then that’s what needs to be done.
austin tx resident here.
throwing up a little in my mouth,
Miz.
Caroline, thanks for picking that up. No excuse! Guess I wouldn’t do well on the ‘Are you smarter than a 5th Grader’ quiz show…anyway, now fixed.
Absolutely right Scott…prevention and cleanliness is the key…
MizFit,
sorrry!!!!
Great, Boston is second-worst. Well, I should eat out less anyway, right? Saving money and all.
If you want to go out for good clean eating, I got two words for ya…WAFFLE HOUSE! Just kidding. I like the food at waffle house. It’s simple and cheap, but the last two times I have gone to one for breakfast I have come down with a cold right after. That I don;t like some old lady’s lip stick on my coffee cup when I get it. And I don;t think I have been to a Waffle House yet that has had a sanitation score above 91. (I always look at those thing.)
typos = friday night Henekens
Hey A’Llyn, I’m all for saving money but not eating out — that goes against everything I believe in…
Waffle House ??? I also end up in at least one or two Dennys whenever I’m traveling around the States…must admit, never looked for sanitation score…truth is, not sure I want to know.
I do have one theory though, if the restrooms are clean, then the kitchen probably is too…least I like to think so!!!