Sushi Dojo, chef David Bouhadana's well-regarded restaurant at 110 First Ave., had to sit out this past weekend after a DOH-mandated closure.
Several EVG readers noted the arrival of the telltale yellow sticker last Wednesday here between East Seventh Street and East Sixth Street. A look at the DOH report notes just 21 violation points from a visit on Oct. 21. The two "critical" sanitary violations:
• Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
• Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
Given the horror show of violations (flesh flies!) that we've seen at some places, this seems like pretty ticky-tacky stuff in comparison, especially to shut down a restaurant for five-plus days over…
Updated noon
Eater has more on the story here.
Per Bouhadana:
We were closed for one thing and one thing only, not wearing gloves. Sushi chefs are not supposed to wear gloves. 17 employees lost their job because the DOH has been harassing me for four months and threatening me for this issue. I have 20+ of the best sushi chefs behind me and many more ready to bat for me. We will solve this BS rule, a rule I don't stand by. Sushi is being ruined my gloves, freezing fish and more issues...
Raw fish food safety is apparently handled by FDA:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/myth-sushi-grade/
Unfortunately, just because it’s fresh doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat raw. Some fish, such as salmon, contain parasites that will make you sick unless they’ve been destroyed. Another potential problem is cross-contamination. This happens when “sushi-grade” fish gets cut on the same cutting board or using the same knife or handled with the same gloves as non-sushi-grade fish. If your fishmonger is storing unwrapped sushi-grade fish in the same refrigerated case as non-sushi-grade fish, this should be a big red flag.
For fish that contain parasites, the FDA provides guidance under their Parasite Destruction Guarantee. This states in part that fish intended to be consumed raw must be “frozen and stored at a temperature of -20°C (-4°F) or below for a minimum of 168 hours (7 days)”.
That place is full of douchebags and run by douchebags. Tried to go once with a friend and we weren't dressed nicely enough in jeans and t-shirts. We were told we needed a reservation on a weekday at 6pm though every table was empty except for the bar which was full of suits getting wasted. Was happy to NOT be let in and happier if they close.
ReplyDeletePretty snobby considering they are near McDonalds and to dive bars.
Guy needs someone to do his PR. Not that there's anything wrong with it being a chef and all, but he has trouble putting words together in a coherent manner.
ReplyDeleteThis is really unfortunate. The DOH has basically made it impossible to serve real sushi in NYC. Every sushi bar is violating the rules by holding the rice at a warm (not hot) temperature, warming the fish up to room-temperature, and forming the sushi via hand. All of this despite zero evidence that these processes make anyone sick at a place like Dojo where the utmost care is taken for fish selection and handling. (see the eater article - the only cleanliness thing they were docked on was gloves and fish temp).
ReplyDelete