New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg continues his war on good food:
The New York Times looks today at what factors go into the scorecards that produce the letter grades that, for about a year, New York City restaurants have been forced to display in their front windows. Some of the rules—you’re not supposed to have rat droppings in the kitchen—are uncontroversial. But others are criticized by chefs and restaurateurs as needlessly costly or even interfering with the quality of food.
One has to do with holding and serving temperatures for foods. Certain foods, like terrines and cheese, should be served at room temperature for the best flavor. But this is either prohibited or, in the case of cheese, subject to onerous requirements . . .
Cheese isn’t the only problem area. Pork is supposed to be cooked to 165 degrees (twenty degrees higher than the USDA guideline!) unless the customer specifically requests otherwise. I’ll save you the trouble of investigating: a 165 degree pork chop is terrible. . .
Restaurants also aren’t allowed to let steaks come up to room temperature before cooking them—which leads to them cooking too heavily on the outside before reaching the desired internal temperature. . .
This is why I happily dine in restaurants that display B grades from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Giving consumers more information is a good idea — provided it’s good information. This clearly isn’t.
(Via Instapundit.)
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