The Usual Closed by Health Inspector

Was walking by The Usual today (Wed) and saw the Usual was closed with a sign on door saying it was closed by health inspector. I ate breakfast there Tuesday (was thinking about it for wed. but was too lazy). Does anyone know wassup?

weird -- i wrote a piece for grad school on that place and spent a ton of time there in order to do so. i saw all the food storage, etc., and nothing ever looked amiss.

hope they reopen quickly.

Normally you can find all the gory details of a restaurant's health inspection violations here:

http://167.153.150.32/RI/web/index.do?method=goldenAppleList

But for some reason, there's no listing for The Usual (or just plain Usual, either). I also looked by browsing the Prospect Heights restaurants list...no dice. Weird.

For all its haters, I did notice that Plan B is one of the few places around to score a zero (no violations). I chalked it up to being a brand new establishment, but then I noticed Brooklyn Pizza Factory already has a 14! Anything under 28 is a considered passing score.

Edit: Oh...this is probably it. Same address but d/b/a Mike & John's Food Co.
http://167.153.150.32/RI/web/detail.do?method=detail&restaurantId=40892777&inspectionDate=20080513

The list sounds kinda gross, but the same fate has come to many fancier restaurants.

Ugh...just ate there this past Saturday.

Hm. Perhaps it's somehow not registered under the name "The Usual;" perhaps that's just a dba name.

Lemme snoop...

Ah yes!

Name of the company is actually "MIKE & JOHNS FOOD COMPANY."

Here's the inspection report...44 violations

Highlights of May 13 inspection:

Non-food contact surface improperly constructed
Toilets not maintained
Improper use of pesticide
Not vermin-proof
Improper use of utensil
Food not protected from contamination
Personal cleanliness inadequate
Flying insects
Mice
Rats

Well, that will do it.

jeffrey wrote:


Personal cleanliness inadequate

Um, eeewwww.

My theory is that that stretch of vanderbilt from soda to the usual is built over an old "customer service" burial ground.

I can only hope it stretches up as far as Bbaarreettttee. Because ghosts, unlike drunk people, can't reach the third floor... can they?!?

lf you check your favorite restaurants you would never eat out again.Eww.....rats and mice , double trouble.Disgusting.Once there is food, you cannot stop vermin from being on the premises therefore you have to make sure you store it properly in metal and glass containers,not on the floor, etc.

"personal cleanliness inadequate" means they aren't wearing hairnets and gloves -- which you already know if you've ever eaten there. to tell you the truth, i prefer NOT to see gloves on cooks -- i've seen cooks wearing gloves do some pretty gross things that i don't think they'd do if they could feel the raw chicken slime on their hands. i talked to mike about this a long time ago, and he said then that he'd rather pay the fine than wear gloves, since he can't tell when his hands are dirty when he wears them.

and, fwiw, the vermin part said they were in food OR non-food areas. um, doesn't that kind of make a big difference?

maybe i'm a blind loyalist, but i'll happily eat there when they reopen.

The only restaurants free of mice and rats are in Edmonton, Canukia. Having been to Edmonton I'd rather deal with the rats and mice. For the most part unless you're Gordon Ramsey and own the London, owning a restaurant is probably a losing proposition.

I stand by my eewwwww.
And personal cleanliness can't be about just hats and gloves. I've worked in plenty of restaurants, thank you Sweet Tea, some high end, and they would have all gotten fined for this if that were the case.

city website listed above wrote: Personal cleanliness inadequate. Clean outer garments, effective hair restraint not worn.

as near as i can tell, what most restaurants seem to get fined for in this town is not paying...elective taxes.

BUT
while i have no financial stake in the usual, i am not unbiased. mike was one of the first people in the neighborhood to really welcome me here, and johnny has been a consistent source of kindness. during the 3 months i spent learning everything i could about that place -- sitting at the counter for hours, interviewing regulars, poking around the storage room and the basement and the back hall -- i never saw anything that gave me pause. for whatever that is worth. my observations were pre-renovation (though i toured the whole "backstage" again after the changes), but i trust those boys.

Subject: what i want is for you to give mike a break

...yes, but you haven't owned any -nor dealt with NYC inspectors. The deal is that inspections are much like traffic stops...if an inspector wants to fine a place, they will find a way to do it, period. these violations are fairly typical of both low end and high end restaurants in the city

The Usual is clean and the food is tatsy...i'll be the first one in the door when it's open again

Whatchuwant wrote: I stand by my eewwwww.
And personal cleanliness can't be about just hats and gloves. I've worked in plenty of restaurants, thank you Sweet Tea, some high end, and they would have all gotten fined for this if that were the case.

Subject: Re: what i want is for you to give mike a break

elitt wrote: ...yes, but you haven't owned any -nor dealt with NYC inspectors. The deal is that inspections are much like traffic stops...if an inspector wants to fine a place, they will find a way to do it, period. these violations are fairly typical of both low end and high end restaurants in the city

I haven't dealt with NYC inspectors, but I have craploads of experience with it in AZ. My experience is that it is completely up to the fart and fancy of the inspector. The places would be exactly the same and one guy would give it 100, and another guy would give it a 68 and threaten to shut it down. *shrug*

And what you said is absolutely correct. If they walked in looking to find a way to fine you, then they would do it. Period. If they walked in there with a good state of mind, you would get flying colors. And there really wasn't much you could do about it other than hope for the best.

Any obvious blatant fuck ups aside.

Subject: Re: what i want is for you to give mike a break

elitt wrote: The Usual is clean and the food is tatsy...i'll be the first one in the door when it's open again

By my logic - and if you place any value in the NYC health inspections - reopening day is probably the _best_ time to eat at a restaurant, since they've just been forced to comply on all sorts of issues.

BTW, the food service areas at the Metropolitan Opera just got cited for health code violations including mice (for some reason, this was considered worthy of television news coverage last night).

If you want to be surprised....check out White Castle's rating(s).

BrookFetish wrote: If you want to be surprised....check out White Castle's rating(s).

After growing up with WC, I'm shocked when my order exceeds $10... but damn, their jalapeño cheeseburgers are good.


What were we talking about again?

You know, I think you guys sold me on the place! Can't wait till they open up to try them!

Subject: the usual

I sure hope they open up again, always enjoyed the cheap breakfast on the weekends.

I hope that when they re-open they decide to fully cook their food. I loved the usual before they closed for renovations. When they re-opened after that, the quality of food seriously deteriorated. I went for breakfast a few times, the home fries were completely undercooked and the waffle was like a microwaved Eggo.

I doubt I'll ever go back. The combination of undercooked food and the owner's tank tops are enough to make me walk the extra few blocks to Country House on Fulton. A smaller menu, but always delicious.

jeffrey wrote: Here's the inspection report...44 violations:(

Nope: 44 points, which is quite a different figure.

Point values, typically 5-9 points per minor violation, are listed at the worksheet here.

Yeah, noticed that. Whoops. Read the "Violation points: 44" a little too quickly.

Heh, 44 actual violations would seem to qualify for legendary status.

jeffrey wrote: would seem to qualify for legendary status.

Like the legend of a certain patty shop, in its old space before it moved, where I watched a dozen roaches crawling among the baked goods in the display case at mid-afternoon! Before I left speedily.

diarrhea cha cha cha!