By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — The bookshelves and paintings lining Doma Café's white brick walls make it a popular spot to read or write, but the peaceful atmosphere could soon be shattered by a low cleanliness grade from the Health Department.
The 71 points the Perry Street cafe racked up for health violations makes it one of the worst offenders in Greenwich Village, according to the new directory of restaurant scores released last week by the city.
Critical violations at Doma cited by the Department include evidence of mice and other live animals, cold food held above permissible temperatures and insufficient hand washing facilities.
Doma’s 71 points, acquired during a March 2010 inspection, place it well above the 28 points necessary to earn a C, the lowest letter grade given before a restaurant is shut down. The new system will eventually award all businesses letter grades based on its point system.
Doma’s owners could not be reached for comment.
Just a few blocks uptown, a grungy image belies the apparently tidy operations at dive bar Hogs and Heifers Saloon at 859 Washington Street, which earned a perfect zero violations from the Health Department. Bars like Hogs and Heifers do, however, face an easier inspection process than food-serving establishments.
Nearby upscale bistro Abe & Arthur’s, at 409 W. 14th Street, also got a perfect score.
In Chelsea, the worst news went to Japanese Eatery Blue Ginger, which racked up 82 points in July for violations such as evidence of flying insects as well as mice and food that is “spoiled, adulterated, contaminated or cross-contaminated,” according to the Department. A Blue Ginger employee declined to comment.
Specialty dessert-maker Colette’s Cakes at 681 Washington St. also came out as a winner under the new system after failing to receive any violations.
“We’re really happy,” said cake decorator Jennifer Roach of the by-appointment-only establishment. “It helps that we don’t deal with meat or fish. There aren’t as many dangerous things.”
Colette’s does, however, occasionally design its artistically distinctive cakes to resemble "dangerous things" — it's current window display features a multi-tier cake created to resemble slabs of raw meat.
At Downing Street’s famed Blue Ribbon Bakery, a total of 36 violations put it sixth from the bottom of the 10014 zip code. But owner Eric Bromberg said he planned to contest some of the points they were docked.
Bromberg attributed one violation, described by the Department as “food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food,” to the placement of a lemon inside a cocktail glass.
Blue Ribbon’s docking for “food not cooked to required minimum temperature,” was due to mayonnaise made with farm fresh rather than pasteurized eggs, Bromberg said.
“Basically every restaurant in New York that makes their own mayonnaise does the same thing,” he said.
Bromberg also pointed out that his July inspection occurred during the height of the heat wave, on a 103-degree day.
Nonetheless, he said, “We’ll do our best as always to comply with any rules.”
