Garden City Eateries Get Good Grades

Nearly every eatery in Garden City is in line with critical New York State health codes, reported the State Health Department in 2013.

Of all the health inspections performed in the village of Garden City in 2013, just four reported “critical violations,” according to documents reviewed by Patch this week.

The Garden City Hotel was cited for not having enough refrigerated storage equipment; at Garden City Middle School, inspectors said accurate thermometers were not available or used to evaluate food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding; Adelphi University's Post Hall was cited for canned foods found in poor conditions and at the Underground Café, also at Adelphi, inspectors said accurate thermometers were not available or used to evaluate food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding, according to the data.

Routine violations were noted in a wide range of local establishments. For example, many were cited for non-critical violations like food not being protected during storage, display and service. That's the equivalent of not tightly wrapping leftovers in your household refrigerator.

Outside the incorporated village, Nassau Community College's Treat Street was cited for two critical violations: foods not kept at or above the required temperature during hot holding and enough hot holding equipment was not present, properly designed, maintained and operated to keep hot foods above 140 degrees F.

At La Quinta on Stewart Avenue, accurate thermometers were not available or used to evaluate food temperatures during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.

The findings come from routine inspections by various county health departments, which follow up with restaurants that reported critical violations.

Across more than 90,000 food service establishments statewide, the the State Department of Health's Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection guides county and city health officials who permit and inspect food service establishments, the agency says.

The bureau maintains Part 14 of the New York State Sanitary Code, including subpart 14-1 which regulates food service establishments. See this subsection for specifics on inspections.

You can access the entire list, and past reports, here.