Kind of adorable, but not near my lunch

Foodie and sporadic health nut Anna Hotter guides you through the tumultuous world of hygienic eating around Columbia, or you could go back to your dorm and use that microwave you haven’t cleaned all year to heat up those 3 day old leftovers from HamDel.

As a college student, I feel that my standards regarding food and nutrition have reached an alarming, but inevitable low point. I have come to terms with the John Jay salad bar as a necessary reality of my existence. I have accepted that, while dinner used to mean a warm, home-cooked meal, it now describes the remainder of a Clif Bar that I shamefully scrape from a wrapper found on the bottom of my school bag.

Considering this bleak state of affairs, it seems odd that I actually care a fair amount about the health ratings of restaurants and cafés I frequent. Maybe the fact that I feel strange eating anywhere that got a “B” is merely a testament to Columbia’s toxic academic pressure, but what if it’s actually a prudent survival instinct kicking in? Is it safe to buy food at places that would not make Dean’s List? Does The New York City Department Of Health And Mental Hygiene curve? I needed to find out.

Most places around Morningside actually have “A” health grades. This does not mean that there is nothing wrong with them, just that they fall within a certain point bracket set up by the health department.

The points a restaurant receives are based on their specific health violations. “General violations” are penalised with at least 2 points, “critical violations” with a minimum of 5, and “public health hazards” with at least 7 points. All violations are added up and then turned into a letter grade through the following scheme:

A – 0 to 13 points
B – 14 to 27 points
C – 28 points or above

While those really are just numbers on a page, you can go look up a general report for every graded establishment on the department’s website. There, you can see the grade and points received at each inspection, and the kind of violations that were documented. Here is an overview of some of the more academically challenged eateries around Columbia.

Koronet – Grade Pending (formerly C) – 32

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
3. Insufficient or no refrigerated or hot holding equipment to keep potentially hazardous foods at required temperatures.
4. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.

Community Food & Juice – B – 23 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
3. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

During an “ungraded inspection” they also found “[e]vidence of mice or live mice”

Vine – Grade Pending (formerly B) – 23 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
3. Thawing procedures improper.
4. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.

Jin Ramen – B – 20 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
3. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Brad’s Cafe – B – 20 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2. Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.
3. Tobacco use, eating, or drinking from open container in food preparation, food storage or dishwashing area observed.

Havana Central – B – 14 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2. Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.

Pisticci – A – 13 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
2. Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
3. Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
4. “Wash hands” sign not posted at hand wash facility.

Joe – A – 12 points

Sanitary Violations

1. Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
2. Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
3. “Wash hands” sign not posted at hand wash facility.

With its solid “A” grade, 1020 becomes, yet again, a bastion of comfort and constancy we seek to escape the entropic darkness of our lives.

 Ratatouille via Shutterstock