What is an “A” restaurant in New York City?

Everyone here has probably seen a restaurant’s “grade,” but does anyone know how the restaurants are graded? These restaurants are graded by three criteria

— Public health violations, with the potential to cause an immediate health threat. Inspectors are authorized to shut the place down immediately if the restaurant is unable to address these.

— Critical violations, which do not pose an immediate public health threat but are generally unappetizing, like the presence of live roaches, evidence of rats or mice, and food held at improper temperatures.

— General violations. The list of these is long, and may include improper thawing techniques for frozen meats, improper trash receptacles and unsanitary bathroom facilities.

These criteria grade restaurants based on the number of violations they obtain. A restaurant with 0- 13 violations would receive a grade of an A, while restaurants with 14-27 a B and 28 or more, a C. This shows us that the difference between an A and a B is just one point.

As you can see, many restaurants barely make the cut. If the point system changed a little and what constituted an “A” required 2 less violations, a quarter of the “A” restaurants would now become a “B.” All “A’s” are not created equal and should not be seen that way. An “A” of 0 violations and an “A” of 13 violations differ completely, but hold the same prestige.

According the Department of Health, tainted restaurant food accounts for more than 10,000 visits to the emergency room and 5,000 hospitalizations each year; providing customers with easy-to-access information may help them avoid joining those totals.

This system will help to inform the public but with every system, it is imperfect and people should still do their research.