New York City is known for a great many things, but two of them have always stuck out in my mind: food and rats. Sometimes, you can get both in the same place.
A recent controversy has revealed that local health inspectors have been accepting bribes to ensure that a restaurant is up to snuff. This is very disappointing. I’ve always felt reassurance when eating in American restaurants that even the diviest are regulated by the health department. This is rarely the case when traveling in third world countries and, as a result, my domestic travels to New York have always included the piece of mind that basic hygiene is being respected and that rats aren’t scurrying around the kitchen. The last time I visited New York, however, I came down with food poisoning. And now I know why.
The incident which caused this uproar was a KFC restaurant in Greenwich Village. A day after a health inspector gave the restaurant a passing grade with only 10 violation points, a local news station broadcasted footage of rats running amuck within the fast food outlet. The health inspector was fired and a more thorough evaluation the next day uncovered 92 violations. The KFC was immediately closed.
So, next time you are chowing down in New York, don’t assume those little dark nuggets on the floor are spilt peppercorn. The restaurant just might have a rat problem.