By JD

June 11, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

No way would eat at any resturant with a score under 92.

By JD

June 11, 2008 2:48 PM | Link to this

No way would eat at any resturant with a score under 92.

By LR

June 11, 2008 4:25 PM | Link to this

No. It may be a long-time favorite, but that doesn’t make it immune to changes in management or ownership.

There’s a few violations that don’t really worry me and could easily be cultural differences — not stocking plastic lids/straws to give out to kitchen staff for example — but not enough to generate a failing score!

By jct

June 11, 2008 4:27 PM | Link to this

I won’t anywhere less then an 89. I gave up a favorite place because it fell to a 75.

I have had food poisoning twice. I don’t want to ever have it again.

By Shaarog

June 11, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this

Get real! Proper separation and protection of food, food contamination and improper food holding temperature - these all spell food poisoning eventually. I have never had it nor do I want to get it. Why would anyone frequent a restaurant with these known problems and such dreadfully low scores?? It makes no sense.How good could the food be with these violations? There are hundreds of restaurants in Atlanta - pick one that is clean!

By Kat

June 11, 2008 4:47 PM | Link to this

I recently saw a TV news segment about a restaurant that had health violations, and someone posited that the owners didn’t speak English well enough to understand the regulations. They called this a “cultural difference”. I’m sorry, but if you don’t speak/read English well enough to understand the regs, you shouldn’t be running a business that has the potential to make people very, very sick if you fail to comply.

By Meridith Ford

June 11, 2008 5:47 PM | Link to this

Kat: I’m afraid it’s just not that black and white. I’ve had food poisoning, and it wasn’t fun. I don’t want a repeat performance, either. But I’ve also worked in restaurants, and some regulations — workers wearing gloves, for instance — are a crock. The best way to protect others (and yourself) from illness is to WASH YOUR HANDS. ALL THE TIME. Gloves dramatically deter this process in my experience. Instead, workers get out of the habit of washing because of the glove requirement. Plus they smoke, take the garbage out, wipe their faces — WEARING THEIR GLOVES. The new code is MUCH stricter than the old … perhaps sometimes unfairly so.

By FCM

June 11, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this

Ms Ford do you look at the health score of restaurants when you recommend them? I check the score each time I enter an establishment.

While some of the rules (the handle of the scoop cannot touch the ice…are annoying. Others make sense. All are in place to keep people safe.

I worked at place and unknown to the staff someone who worked for the health department was in and sat facing the kitchen. A server went to make a salad and sneezed facing the open salad area. I know this because I was there the next day when the Managers were going nuts about a very strict ‘surprise’ inspection.

I agree with Kat. If you do not understand the rules, regulations, and laws governing what you are doing you should not be in business. I am sick of the ‘cultural difference’ excuse. I rarely eat out anymore because the service and food is going downhill…especially when the person cannot even understand my order.

By Mark P.

June 12, 2008 8:08 AM | Link to this

Ignorance or “cultural differences” have nothing to do with serving moldy or spoiled food. I recently stopped patronizing a large chain pharmacy and contacted their corporate headquarters after witnessing a pharmacy technician repeatedly dumping prescriptions into their bare hand to count it, in-between wiping their nose and running their hand through their hair. I would never intentionally patronize a place where the customers’ health is an afterthought. Granted a lot goes on behind the counter and in the kitchen that we would probably prefer not to know about but if we turn a blind eye to what can be seen or make polite excuses for it, there will be even less incentive for owners to ensure their employees comply with regulations designed to protect the public.

By Hot To Trot

June 12, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this

I ate at one of the places you mentioned a few months ago. While there, I had to use the men’s room - on open shelves in the men’s room were stored bottles of condiments, packs of napkins, and stacks of foam take-home boxes which is clearly against the food handling regulations. When I returned to the table, I told everybody about it and we all agreed never to return. Unfortunately, we had already eaten and all of us had the trots the following morning.

By MamaS

June 12, 2008 10:10 AM | Link to this

I also would not eat at a restaurant with less than a 92. Cleanliness = Health — not a cultural difference! I welcome all ethnic groups to America, and encourage them to keep their native language and customs — BUT — I want the doctors, restauranteurs, manicurists, and cab drivers to understand English so they can respect our laws and customs.

By Rodney

June 12, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this

I’ve posted on many occasions before that I do not pay attention to scores and that I really don’t care that much, as long as I’m getting something tasty.

But I’m afraid that for all of my bravado and lack of worry about it (in favor of tasty food, of course), that I must side with several of the posters who’ve stated they believe cultural differences should have no bearing on whether a restaurant should adhere to federally mandated guidelines.

Basically it’s saying “Hey, I’m insert-nationality-here so I shouldn’t have to follow the rules because I haven’t taken the time to learn them.”

It’s about following the rules that are designed (however annoying some of them may be) to protect the public health.

BUT - all of that is purely academic as I’m concerned because I rarely, if ever, consider or even notice the posted score.

By Kat

June 12, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this

Meredith, It certainly is that black and white, as most of the posters on here have agreed.

By Meridith Ford

June 12, 2008 4:33 PM | Link to this

FCM: Yes, I look at the score. KAT: It isn’t. Nothing, unfortunately, is that simple. Especially in the restaurant industry. I’m not suggesting that we slack on health code laws. I’m suggesting that some of the laws — like the glove law — are bogus in the first place.

By ovenue

July 15, 2008 8:51 AM | Link to this

Even the best of friends cannot attend each other’s funeral.—Kehlog Albran

By jituar

July 16, 2008 5:54 AM | Link to this

It’s bad manners to apply cosmetics in public. It reminds people that you need them.—P.J. O’Rourke (1947—), Modern Manners