Know BEFORE You Go

If you're a visitor to NYC -or even if you're a local - you really need to be "in the know" about something that is so simple, yet so many people seem to ignore:
the NYC Restaurant Inspections.

That letter in the door or window of a business is not just a pretty decoration, it's their grade -for cleanliness!

Seriously, if I don't see an 'A' on the door, I don't even entertain the thought of eating there. And I don't understand HOW or WHY anyone seeing the letter 'C' doesn't run screaming the other way. Why would anyone willingly accept a menu, much less put anything in their mouth at that establishment??! Call me picky, but you won't see me scrambling to eat at a place that serves a regular helping of rat feces with my meal. EVER.

There is even an iPhone app to help you discern what might give you better, more sanitary options (in terms of Inspection grades) ... I recently tried it out. It's called ABCEats.

In fact, while checking out the app and looking at restaurants around my workplace, I noticed something really awful. Guess where I won't be going any time again soon? (And I used to love their sandwiches when they first opened!) Num Pang - their 41st St. location near me. They got the whopper: C. They have violations about food workers not washing their hands properly after using the toilet, smoking, coughing sneezing.... basically a 23 point inspection violation in October. A month later (November 2012), they had 30 points racked up for violations. OMFG! No!

So PLEASE, dear diners of NYC - make SURE you pay attention to those little letters in the doors or windows of a restaurant. They should be displayed PROMINENTLY so that diners KNOW what they walk into before being offered a menu. And if you order online or make a restaurant reservation, check out the actual link for the inspections HERE. Or use the helpful app that I described above. It's free and worth a moment of time. With over 24,000 places in the city, this is a great service that is offered to the dining public of NYC and all of its visitors.

Remember this:
When you get gastro-intestinal distress from eating at a B or C rated place, there is NO APP FOR THAT.