69236 Wed May 11 14:18:14 -0700 2005 9 2 Los Angeles Area 0 377214 Now, I'm not a big fan of the whole raw food movement; as a foodie, I think it's silly, and as a transplant, I think the whole celebrity-sighting thing is ridiculous... Nevertheless, we had friends in town about six weeks ago, and they had heard about it (and the fact that the chef sometimes prepares food with his shirt off). I read reviews and they were mixed, with most people talking about stopping at Jack in the Box on the way out to fill up due to the portion sizes. Yet the guests were very adamant that this would represent something they couldn't get in rural Iowa (no kidding!). I figured, hey, why not, I'll try anything once. We made reservations, we went down there, we parked, and we walked up to the restaurant, only to see that it had a 65 from the public health agency. Now, I'm not so picky about the rating (except for sushi restaurants, which must have an "A"), because frankly the best cooking is often found in the ickiest-looking places... but a 65, when all you serve is produce? We didn't go in. I couldn't bring myself to do so. We threw ourselves on the mercy of the house at Jiraffe and procured a table and enjoyed ourselves immensely. What on earth could possibly have happened in that kitchen?! Wed May 11 14:18:14 -0700 2005 0 Das Ubergeek 1 377222 To address the overall issue of getting informaiton about the exact reason why a restaurant gets a rating (And I can feel your pain, I had to plan a major Okamase dinner at Matsuhisa for a client only to discover it was currently sporting a C!!) You can check out the details of the inspection at the LA County Department of Health Site. Here is a direct link... http://lapublichealth.org/rating/ratedetail.cfm It's also a GREAT site to just find out restaurant names and locations! :D --Dommy! Wed May 11 14:41:49 -0700 2005 377214 0 Dommy! 2 377224 Looks like they've pretty consistently scored in the 90's, but had one ding in mid January where they got a 65. Maybe Juliano had his shirt off when the inspector walked in? Wed May 11 14:44:10 -0700 2005 377222 0 David Kahn 3 377246 what letter-grade does 65 get them? C? D? i've never seen a D before. Link: http://www.ablowtothehead.blogspot.com Wed May 11 15:43:33 -0700 2005 377224 0 dwg 4 377250 Pretty sure that when it's below a C, they just post the number. Wed May 11 15:54:43 -0700 2005 377246 0 David Kahn 5 377269 That is indeed what happens... there is no D or F, only the number. I was in Mishima (now Yashima) at Olympic and Sawtelle with a client once. We had settled in, I was assuring her how good the restaurant was, and we ordered a California roll to start while we perused the menu. There was a commotion at the front door -- the health inspector arrived, took down the nice shiny blue A, and put up a '58'. Just at that moment, our sushi arrived. It was months before she would eat in a restaurant with me again. As for the looking at the inspection, only the most recent inspection is available online. They have since managed to shoot back up to a 90 (which is an "A"). Wed May 11 16:45:27 -0700 2005 377250 0 Das Ubergeek 2 377285 How can you look up what grades a restaurant has recieved? Wed May 11 17:47:36 -0700 2005 377222 0 blackbookali 3 377287 First you can submit the search. You can do it by restaurants name, city restaurant is in, address... whatever.. Then the search will give you the results with restaurant name and location and current rating. Then it will give you a box for you to click to check out the details on why it got that rating as well as Rating history. Much like Raw, the Matsuhisa thing was a TOTAL fluke (They must have left out some fish that day and didn't wash their knives.... that is what they got dinged for... ) it had gotten straight As up until the point... And thankfully by the time my big event happened, the rating was back up to an A! --Dommy! Wed May 11 17:53:24 -0700 2005 377285 0 Dommy! 1 377342 I work right near Raw, and as a matter of fact the guy I work for eats there several times a week. What I heard is that there was a fridge that they weren't even using to store food that was not working and that caused the low score. I've only eaten their food once and it is true that the portions are not large. That being said, it was shockingly filling and far tastier than I would have imagined. I had an entree and a desert (which was much better than I expected) and I was stuffed. Other raw food fans I know have started frequenting Leaf (on Washington Blvd. in Culver City), which is nice and clean and extremely reasonably priced. I've only had a smoothie from there though (it was good). -Sam Wed May 11 20:49:00 -0700 2005 377214 0 mobleyfan 1 377501 Hi Folks. We just wanted to remind you that the regional boards are for the discussion of the local food scene. If anyone wants to continue this discussion about restaurant health grades on Raw, or any other restaurants, please start a new discussion on NAF. You can place a pointer here to direct others to that discussion. Any futher posts on the LA board regarding this topic will be removed. Thanks for your cooperation. Thu May 12 15:29:08 -0700 2005 377214 2 The Chowhound Team