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September 17, 2008

New York's Dirtiest Restaurants

The Epoch Times released a list of the city's cleanest and dirtiest restaurants, and Brooklyn fared...okay. None of the top six cleanest are in our borough (the Bronx seems to be the best place to get a clean plate of food), but only two of the dirtiest are in Brooklyn: a Golden Krust on Nostrand Avenue, which seems to share the space with mice, cockroaches and insects along with customers, and a Jamaican restaurant on Saratoga Avenue; rats and insects were found there. The list came courtesy of State Senator Jeff Klein, based on data from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Senator, and his colleague, Brooklyn's Senator Eric Adams, are hoping the ratings will lead to more pressure on the department and thus fewer cockroaches with your side of fries. Seen anything particularly stomach-turning recently?
Senators Release List of NYC's Dirtiest Restaurants [Epoch Times]
I (Heart) New York. Photo by Vorago Joe.

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OH GOD, PLEASE GET THAT THING OFF THERE!

I HATE them.

Pretty please Lisa, Brownstoner, please, can't you find some other image? Please. Are we going to have to scroll past THAT all day?

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 10:22 AM

I did find a baby cockroach at the bottom of my Thai iced coffee recently at the Thai Cafe in Greenpoint.

I'd say my stomach turned at the discovery.

Posted by: deadnancy at September 17, 2008 10:23 AM

Lots of arachnophobia here today!!!!!

Every restaurant has roaches and mice, just because they weren't seen on inspection day is a good thing and probably lucky.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 10:29 AM

Isn't the Epoch Times a Chinese paper? Perhaps this picture was obtained from the street vendor restaurant guide section during the Beijing olympics.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 10:33 AM

I'm asking very nicely if you could please remove that picture. It's skeeving me out.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 10:37 AM

I've eaten similar bugs from street vendors in bangkok...crunchy, salty, great with beer. Just like gusanos de maguay in Mexico.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 10:39 AM

I second the removal of the picture. It freaked me out more than pictures of Lehmann employees carrying boxes out of the office over the weekend.

Posted by: Spunky123 at September 17, 2008 10:48 AM

Dave, arachnaphobia is a fear of spiders. What we have here is insectophobia, also called entomophobia and acarophobia, the fear and loathing of insects. In this case, however, waterbugaphobia. Bleh!

I admit, I took the time to look those up. Sad.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 17, 2008 10:51 AM

Exactly why I try to cook everyday.I like my food seasoned but not with rat or mice droppings or urine or roach legs .Eww!!!!!!!!

Posted by: iluvclintonhill at September 17, 2008 10:58 AM

Ugh, smaller, ok, it's smaller, that's something.

But let's get a little more creative here - how about a dirty plate? A dirty cup? A sloppy sink? A messy trash can? A dirty floor? A dirty stove top? A gross dumspter? A sad looking plate of string beans? Anything but a waterbug, please? Double triple pretty please with sugar on top. I'll send you a pizza? What do you need Lisa? What's it gonna take?

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 10:59 AM

Yes, MM...very sad. I wasn't even about to check whether or not I was spelling it correctly.

How does one actually loathe an insect?? Isn't that a form of phylumism or genusism, the non-human animal world equivalent of racism???

Come on now MM, lets call a cockroach a cockroach!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 11:02 AM

None of you will like this at all...

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/06/29/how_many_insect_parts_and_rodent_hairs_are_allowed_in_your_food.htm

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 11:04 AM

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/06/29/how_many_insect

_parts_and_rodent_hairs_are_allowed_in_your_food.htm

not sure why the whole link isn't printing

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 11:07 AM

cobblehiller, I would prefer a harmless picture of a bug to a messy trash can or a gross dumpster. I assume you don't frequent the American Museum of Natural History or the Bodies exhibit that was at South Street Seaport?

In any event, for some reason I keep being reminded of The What when seeing the picture above and feeling a sense of loss in his absence.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 11:09 AM

You got me there, Dave.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 17, 2008 11:11 AM

Thank you cobblehiller- I couldn't even scroll past it. Ugh! was as bad as the Madagascar bug ads for the Bronx zoo that crawled all over your screen when you opened the page.

DIBS- I confess to bugophobia, a variation of 8hairylegophobia. There is a bug protest going on outside my window. They're carrying little tiny signs proclaiming "bxgrl kill my ant" However, I think I'll pass on going to that link. I have a feeling I'll never eat or drink anything but boiled, filtered water ever again.

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 11:14 AM

Biff- not me! bug pics are totally creepy and disgusting. Sorry- it's just me but ewwwww. Well, at least you still have the spirit of What. You could print out the picture and place it on your dresser if you really miss him. I prefer the NY Mag cover portrait myself but this one may be truer to his real nature.

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 11:20 AM

Correct Biff, I didn't go to the Bodies exhibit, and I won't be visiting any bug exhibits at the AMNH anytime soon. I am SQUEAMISH. Waterbugs make me shriek, jump around like my clothes are on fire, and just plain freak me out.

You're funny Biff, but really, What was a part of our imperfect family here until Brownstoner pressed the eject button. I find it a little odd that no one seems to have seen the 'bad comments' posted over the weekend. Did you?

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 11:20 AM

I'm with you iluvclintonhill! I worked in restaurants when I was in high school.

Like Dave said almost all of them have a problem with insects and rodents. I'm more concerned with the degree. Are they doing all that they can to prevent the problem by way of keeping the place clean or is it something they've just resigned themselves to thinking is normal. So restaurants clearly do a better job of prevention than others.

I'll tell you this though, if you really hate insects (flys and the like) in your home get a cat. Anytime we get an "interloper" my cat is on those things immediately and she stays with it howling away until one of comes and does it in. Then she does her proud dance and runs over to where we keep the treats for her reward. She definitely earns her keep! She's a N.I.M.B.Y. kinda cat.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 11:24 AM

Please, no more "ewwwwww" comments. Eat a bug, save a chicken or a cow!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 11:25 AM

cobblehiller, I actually agree with you regarding The What being part of our dysfunctional family and, although I do perversely enjoy poking fun at him (I just couldn't help myself in comparing him to the cockroach), I've never advocated him being banned for his comments. And the truth is (if only he were here to scream at me for this) I would love to see him at a bar, shake his hand and buy him a drink. Although I would ask him to try to refrain from the homophobic epithets.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 12:05 PM

I agree Biff...would love to see him back...and in person. Always a surprise when you meet someone from brownstoner in person!!!!

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 12:09 PM

Dave, true. I bet The What would surprise us. For instance, he might have two straight antennae, rather than one straight and one curled one like the one in the pic above. Ok, ok, I'll stop!

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 12:11 PM

The problem with cats is Toxoplasmosis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

Personally, I find being very diligent about taking out the trash and replacing the roach traps stops all bug activity. And you have no risk of becoming schizophrenic!

Posted by: Polemicist at September 17, 2008 12:25 PM

Can you delete the bug?
We get the idea.
Pretend he's the what and hit the delete key.
yechh.

Posted by: sam at September 17, 2008 12:29 PM

sam, the DOE just graded the bug "A" for its attractiveness (it was much uglier last year). :-)

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 12:40 PM

From what Jon said, What wasn't banned for being obnoxious, he was banned for making threats. And since Jon's real name is known and we all pretty much know where he lives, he had every right to take that seriously. No one can accuse Jon of censorship- not after all the months he let the What rant, rave, grossly insult him (and many others) personally and use language most of us would wash out our mouths with soap for.

I don't always agree with Jon, but he put up with months of bs from What and didn't block him until now. And since we all know What's propensity for gross comments, I have no doubt Jon not only deleted them immediately, but whatever it was What deserved to be banned. This is still Jon's blog- he put it up, he pays for it and we all play on it.

Hey sam- something we can agree on :-) Ban the bug!

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 12:49 PM

Absolutely, Mr. B can ban anyone he likes. Yes, he said he removed the bad comments.

Did anyone see these "bad comments/threats"? None of the regulars seem to have seen them. I'm just curious.

Oh lord, I'm keeping you and DIBS at least arms length apart from What! That would be amazing if What came to the party. I mean it's free drinks for him, right? Of course Mr. B might feel a little awkward, but I'm sure we can smooth that out, no? [overly optimistic?]

Now that we have reached a majority, can we please pretty please please get rid of the icky gross bug, please?

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 1:11 PM

cobblehiller, I didn't see the "bad comments/threats", but I have no reason to doubt Mr. B's assertion that they were there. We've seen plenty of bad comments/threats being allowed in the past, so it's certainly believable. (I also don't log in typically on weekends, so I wouldn't have seen them before they were removed).

I'm pretty sure The What wouldn't show up to a Brownstoner event. Or perhaps he would, but I think he would be too scared to identify himself and subject himself to references about his physical appearance here going forward.

I tried stomping on the bug on my computer screen, but I can't seem to get rid of the darn thing.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 1:19 PM

They happened on the weekend when not many of us spend hours here, so it's not surprising the comments would have come and gone without us seeing them. I'm just wondering why you're questioning?

Well, it's really funny how What has come full circle from virtual pariah to invisible celebrity. I don't think Mr. b will feel as awkward as What might- I've met Jon. He's got a good sense of humor so you never know.

I second the getting rid of the icky gross bug pic! There are still fingernail marks in the ceiling from where I clutched the plaster the last time I saw one. Thank goodness for the mighty hunters in the house.

Polemicist- toxiplasmosis is much less of a problem that the filth and disease vermin carry. My little hunters do a great job and are wonderful companion animals. Good cleaning habits are all important but bugs and other vermin also come in from the outside and you can't control all the places they can enter. I haven't seen a roach in over 6 years but I have no doubt they party hardy in the walls and behind the cabinets- this is NYC after all.

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 1:42 PM

"when not many of us spend hours here" Who in god's name would spend hours here bxgrl???

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 1:50 PM

Oh I hadn't though about taking out the garbage! Here I was thinking I'd need to buy a bigger house since we are running out of room! Thanks for the great idea Polemicist!

I haven't seen roaches in this house ever, but that doesn't mean an occasional house fly doesn't get in when we open the back door or a water bug that makes it's way up through the basement.

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 1:54 PM

Biff- I hope you can read still read this after stomping your screen. Why didn't you do what I did? Bug spray. I'd be especially sure to spray it into the little holes around the cable openings :-)

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 1:57 PM

bxgrl, not to worry, I just paid an exterminator $300 to get rid of it (he turned off my monitor).

TownhouseLady and Dave, you two should take your act on the road. You're the Burns and Allen of Brownstoner today!

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 2:01 PM

"They happened on the weekend when not many of us spend hours here, so it's not surprising the comments would have come and gone without us seeing them. I'm just wondering why you're questioning? "

Just curious. I didn't see them. I'm not questioning their exisitance. I'm just asking if any one saw them.

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 2:06 PM

Hmmm, it's the ages old philosophical question. If a threatening message was posted on Brownstoner on the weekend, would anybody see it...

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 2:11 PM

Did he just call us old?

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 2:12 PM

THL...my age is on my profile but I'm not sure about you? And since 50 is the new 30, then...

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 2:17 PM

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 2:23 PM

TownhouseLady, of course not. But just so I'm not exclusionary, for the benefit of Pole, perhaps I should have compared you two to Hillary Duff and Seth Rogan.

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 2:24 PM

Waterbugs are the bane of the brooklyn real estate community. There, I have let the secret out.

Posted by: sam at September 17, 2008 2:30 PM

My cats don't kill bugs, as I learned when we lived in Washington Heights. Mice and rats, sure. But not bugs.

Posted by: Heather at September 17, 2008 2:40 PM

heather...I haven't seen you here in a long time. How are you? Sorry to hear that you have rodents and bugs!! :)

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 2:42 PM

Send them to mine for training Heather. We'll send them back with all the proper accouterments to properly fight the war on bugs- chain mail, explosives, chemicals, hammers and a pamphlet for you regarding the rights of working cats. Environmentally sensitive chemicals of course- I don't want to upset Poley.

Biff- I could have saved you the 300 and sent my cat over to attack the monitor. Then it would have cost you only 680$ to replace it. But it would be bug free (or as bug free as anything is on a pc).

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 2:49 PM

If I were looking at this n my Mac it would be bug free.

Posted by: daveinbedstuy at September 17, 2008 2:51 PM

Oh- you sprayed it already. Good forward thinking, dave!

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 2:53 PM

Heather, isn't there a big hill in Washington Heights? By the way, I did a shout out to you at the end of this thread this morning.
http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/09/house_of_the_da_564.php#comments

Posted by: Biff Champion at September 17, 2008 2:53 PM

Oh that's too funny Bxgrl (but don't let the word out about working cat's rights since mine's a primadonna as is)!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 17, 2008 3:00 PM

"Thank you cobblehiller- I couldn't even scroll past it. Ugh! was as bad as the Madagascar bug ads for the Bronx zoo that crawled all over your screen when you opened the page. "

Ooh, a friend of mine actually art directed that site. I'll have to talk to her. I only saw the little lemur hanging on the screen, which I thought was pretty cute.

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 17, 2008 3:39 PM

That's unfortunate. I like a good chicken patty from Golden Krust. I guess when you live an urban life, you put these things to the back of your mind. Until they're magnified and posted on one of your daily blogs...

On a related note, a friend saw a mouse scurrying through Target a few weeks ago...

Posted by: bklynbred at September 17, 2008 4:30 PM

THL- Had to take a break- at 4 my cats simply must have their milk break.

Cobblehiller- if you hated this one bug pic, think of a dozen of them crawling all over your screen. I loved the animation, hated the bugs (I hope its over now- I love lemurs though!)

Posted by: bxgrl at September 17, 2008 5:25 PM

"The problem with cats is Toxoplasmosis"

Well maybe you eat poop but we don't!

For a human to catch toxoplasmosis, all these things have to happen:

The cat has to injest raw meat infected with toxoplasmosis. By catching infected prey and fully eating it, not just clawing it or briefly biting it.

Then the cat has to defecate in the litter, and the feces go days without being cleaned up (fresh feces is not a carrier, only old feces).

THEN, the feces has to be INJESTED. Not just breathed in. Toxoplasmosis is not airborne and it is not carrried on fur.

Toxoplasmosis is very rare. So please stop spreading ignorance about cats. There are far more benefits to owning a cat than not owning one.

Posted by: traditionalmod at September 21, 2008 1:14 PM

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September 17, 2008

New York's Dirtiest Restaurants

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