Lady Gaga's Family's Restaurant Slammed With 6 Critical Health Violations
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Upper West Side restaurant operated by Lady Gaga's family has been slammed with six critical violations by the New York City Department of Health.
Trattoria Joanne, 70 W. 68th St., was cited following a visit by inspectors this past Tuesday with a total of eight violations – all but two of them critical.
The critical violations included:
• A worker who was using bare hands on food that was not to be cooked;
• The lack of a hand-washing facility in or near the food preparation area and the restroom, the lack of hot and cold water running at adequate pressure, and the absence of soap and a means of drying one's hands;
• Inadequate personal cleanliness, including a lack of hair nets in the kitchen and a garment soiled with a "possible contaminant;"
• Food that was not protected from a potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or surface;
• A food contact surface that was not properly cleaned after each use;
• Wiping cloths that were not stored in a cleaning solution.
Also listed was a non-critical violation for the lack of an adequate covered trash receptacle, a garbage storage area that was not maintained properly, and a dirty garbage compactor. Another non-critical violation was listed for an improperly constructed non-food contact surface.
The violations constitute a C grade – the lowest grade issued by health inspectors, reserved for restaurants that are issued 28 violation points or more. Trattoria Joanna had 42.
Restaurant manager Travis Jones told the New York Post the eatery would fight the violations and take the Health Department to court.
The restaurant is owned by Lady Gaga's parents – Cynthia and Joe Germanotta. It opened back in February, and is named after Lady Gaga's aunt, a painter and poet, who died of Lupus at 19.
Trattoria Joanne opened with much fanfare back in February, featuring dishes Lady Gaga grew up on. Art Smith, who used to be Oprah Winfrey's private chef, was brought in to run the kitchen.
But soon afterward, the restaurant was slammed with a scathing review by New York Post critic Steve Cuozzo, who called the grilled calamari "the worst I've had in a lifetime of squid-mongering."
In August, Trattoria Joanne was put on death watch by Eater.com.
