On its most recent inspection, the overhyped Shake Shack scored 109 violation points. That's a lot of violations.
But when you really look at these ten different violations, they don't add up to much--not for a place located in a park without a big sanitary kitchen, that is. For example:
Accurate thermometer not provided in refrigerated or hot holding equipment. Uh, this is a burger shack, right?
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. Wait, this place even has plumbing?
Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist. Does this mean anti-pigeon, anti-squirrel, and anti-rodent devices are missing?
Toilet facility not provided for employees or for patrons when required. Wait, this is a park!
Evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility's food and/or non-food areas. In other words, the park's flies fly into the shack.
Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. Remember the scandal of that burger chain with its undercooked burgers? Danny Meyer probably hasn't got this kind of bad meat or temperature issue.
Cooked or prepared food is cross-contaminated. Meyer says: "To adhere to the code, we now store meat and cheese in separate coolers." Hmmm, just like we do at home, I would point out.
Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations. OK, but every restaurant in NYC eventually gets this violation.
Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation. Who knew they had smoked fish?
Tags:
danny meyer, restaurant violations, shake shack
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Posted on 8/17/2006
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I'd like to thank the many New Yorkers who have emailed additional suggestions on how to stay cool during this heat emergency:
Open all the hydrants in your 'hood. Don't bother to close them at night; that's the Fire Department's job. Besides, every car that hydroplanes is one less car emitting greenhouse gases.
Try on everything in multiple sizes at Macy's. Then wander through The Cellar examining appliances for a few hours. Don't worry about surveillance; no associate will even notice you regardless of how long you stay.
Visit your participating Carvel ice cream store for a soft-serve vanilla cone. Then demand to speak to Cookie Puss and say you won't leave until he arrives. Alternately, order a Fudgie the Whale cake and have it lavishly decorated while you wait.
Hang around Rice to Riches, slowly eating your rice pudding over a 3-hour period while watching the bored employees scooping out all those flavors of rice pudding.
Head to the Bronx to visit the Diamond Ice plant and demand a tour. Refuse to leave without any free samples. Alternately, steal one of their trucks from Diamond's West 16th Street garage.
Tags:
carvel, cookie puss, diamond ice, macys, rice to riches, the cellar
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Posted on 8/1/2006
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1. Hang out all day at Western Beef in the meat locker.
2. Get a large iced tea at a Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble and spend all day nursing it while reading 20 or 30 magazines.
3. Take the A train to Rockaway Beach, but don't get out of the train. Instead, continue back up to the Bronx. Repeat.
4. Eat a pint of Ciao Bella ice cream before going to bed.
5. Keep your air conditioning on low, praying that you will prevent a blackout.
6. Go to the multiplex at 11 a.m. and switch theaters every 90 minutes. The bored ushers will never figure it out.
7. Buy a bag of ice at Associated Supermarket and ration out the cubes to family members.
8. Fly to Ushuaia and enjoy chilly Tierra del Fuego.
9. Eat huge amounts of spicy food to promote sweat. Then drink water to stay hydrated.
10. Accost at least one guy in a huge SUV each day who's parked with the engine running and windows open. Ask helpfully: "Have you heard of global warming?" I had a great conversation on Saturday afternoon about this with a fat guy who was sitting in his Cadillac Escalade. He just sat there for more than 15 minutes talking to me, motor running and windows open. Then I got bored with him and left.
Tags:
associated supermarket, barnes and noble, ciao bella, rockaway beach, starbucks, western beef
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Posted on 7/31/2006
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It's so hot in England that Mark Vance, an entertainer at Warwick Castle who wears a full suit of armor and was named the man with the hottest job in Britain by The Daily Express, was photographed frying an egg on the breastplate of his outfit.
Meanwhile, back on the island of Manhattan, the radio announcer had said at 7 that it was already 75 degrees. Ten minutes later, I saw one of my favorite hot summer things: 12 cases of milk sitting on the sidewalk in front of Met Food. Of course, it was much cooler inside the market, so that's why the milk stays outside on the sidewalk. I joked about it with the bored cashier, apologizing that I'd taken her away from reading Cindy Adams' column in the New York Post just so I could buy a dozen organic eggs. She just laughed. Now you know why I don't buy milk this time of year; it's pre-curdled. Fortunately, eggs don't sour the way milk does in late July.
Then a few minutes ago, walking away with a take-out sandwich from one of my favorite Tribeca places, I walked past a huge flattened rat in the middle of Hudson Street near the city water tunnel #3 big dig. That's my other favorite hot summer sight, flat rats. There haven't been as many chicken bones and used Q-Tips on the corners as of late, but I've noticed the number of used Crest whitening strips thrown on sidewalks has increased. Apparently oral hygiene and fitness now trump nutrition and clogged ears.
Guess I should be thankful that at least I have electricity, right? One of the other odd things about hot summer days I can never understand is why does the cold water tap run hot for up to a minute? How can that be? Don't tell me the lead pipes in my building are feeling the heat as well....
Tags:
cindy adams, met food, milk, new york post, rats
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Posted on 7/27/2006
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WNYC radio is reporting that the lights are still out at two terminals at LaGuardia, and NY1 reports that some flights had to be cancelled and others delayed due to this power outage in Terminal A and parts of Central Terminal B. Although it appears to be a continuation of Monday's troubles, the outage is limited to passengers traveling on Delta and American Airlines. Con Edison claims to be working on the problem. I won't even mention the subway problems of yesterday or today.
Baby it's hot outside. Suggested listening: The Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City. Suggested beverage: lemonade, of course.
Tags:
american airlines, con edison, delta airlines, laguardia, lovin spoonful, summer in the city
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Posted on 7/18/2006
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