The Squeamish Gourmet

 

Restaurant Closure Edition

Sometimes the Dabbler peruses the Los Angeles Health Department’s restaurant closure list just to make sure that her favorite establishments are not making any major violations that would prevent her from frequenting them. A recent such peek revealed some interesting data. One of the named facilities (Fred 62) is a place where the Dabbler dines with some amount of frequency – though, thankfully, only two or three times a year. She will not be going back.

For your protection, I am providing you with the list of restaurants that Angelenos, especially Westsiders, should avoid. While a B is forgivable once an A grade returns, a shut-down most certainly is not; strange that the closures on the Westside tend to be those of the health food variety (i.e., Juliano’s Raw, Wild Oats). Less surprising, perhaps, is that a place that dare call itself the ‘Poop Deck’ was shuttered for vermin infestation. I include the Poop Deck on this warning list not because I, nor anybody I know would eat there, but because the name is so fascinatingly unappealing.

Sadly, a Korean BBQ joint – Shik Do Rak – that I would have liked to recommend as a daring ethnic adventure does not pass health code muster. Back when the Dabbler wasn’t squeamish, the barbecue there, wrapped in rice paper rather than lettuce leaves, was both intriguing and delicious. The same note of regret goes for the Hollywood branch of Zankou Chicken, although the strange murder/suicide episode there had already turned me off from it (thankfully, a new West LA location gets an A and is devoid of yellow police tape).

Oddly, the Gubernator’s Schatzi on Main also closed this summer, for nearly a week, due to vermin infestation. Apparently the exterminator couldn’t terminate whatever pests were milling about. You’d think Arnold would have more sway with the powers that be, wouldn’t you? (Unless one of his ballot initiatives involves the de-unionization of health inspectors.)

The biggest mystery, though? How does a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (again, in Santa Monica you poor beach bums), a place that serves only pastries and beverages, and whose food preparations consist only of blenders blending, and espresso machines espressing, manage to get so dirty that it requires shuttering?

Without further ado, the list:

FRED 62, 1850 N VERMONT AVE, LOS ANGELES
Date Closed: August 24, 2005
Date Reopened: August 26, 2005
Reason for Closure: Gross contamination of utensils/equipment. Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Unsafe food temperature

JULIANO'S RAW, 609 BROADWAY, SANTA MONICA
Date Closed: August 26, 2005
Date Reopened: September 09, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

PICHOLINE, 3360 W 1ST ST, LOS ANGELES
Date Closed: September 06, 2005
Date Reopened: September 13, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

POOP DECK, 1272 THE STRAND, HERMOSA BEACH
Date Closed: October 14, 2005
Date Reopened: October 17, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

PRIMITIVO, 1025 ABBOT KINNEY BLVD, VENICE
Date Closed: August 29, 2005
Date Reopened: August 31, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

SCHATZI ON MAIN, 3110 MAIN ST, SANTA MONICA
Date Closed: August 11, 2005
Date Reopened: August 17, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

SHIK DO RAK, 2501 W OLYMPIC BLVD, LOS ANGELES
Date Closed: October 06, 2005
Date Reopened: October 14, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

THE COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF, 2901 MAIN ST, SANTA MONICA
Date Closed: August 15, 2005
Date Reopened: August 17, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

TORTILLA GRILL, 1357 ABBOT KINNEY BLVD, VENICE
Date Closed: October 07, 2005
Date Reopened: October 09, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

WILD OATS DELI & JUICE BAR , 500 WILSHIRE BLVD, SANTA MONICA
Date Closed: September 08, 2005
Date Reopened: September 10, 2005
Reason for Closure: Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation

ZANKOU CHICKEN, 5065 W SUNSET BLVD, LOS ANGELES
Date Closed: August 16, 2005
Date Reopened: August 18, 2005
Reason for Closure: Gross contamination of utensils/equipment. Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin. Vermin infestation