"C"razy!!!

When one thinks of Benihana, they think of the onion volcano, or the fun-loving chefs who flip shrimp tails into their hats. The last thing one would think of would be a questionable health inspection score.

Well, brace yourself residents of Santa Monica because one of those wacky cooks may be serving hibachi rat.

That's right folks, our beloved Japanese franchise has been bestowed with a "C" health rating. That's right, a "C".

Think about that for a moment. Let it seep in like ginger sauce. When was the last time, if ever, that you saw a restaurant with a "C"? I would have to guess never.




I've been by roach-coaches in downtown L.A. and I've been to seafood shacks in Chernobyl and they are abiding by the standards set by the Department of Public Health.

By definition, a "C" grade states that conditions are "Generally acceptable in food handling practices and overall general food facility maintenance".

Most places have an "A" grade, which leads me to believe that being sanitary isn't all that hard.

The Benihana in question was rewarded with an "A" in it's previous inspection in April.

However, it was not without some negative marks such as "Disease Transmission". This sub-category will be marked to indicate the observation of employee(s) who are likely to transmit disease to others while performing tasks.

Disease Transmission - carrier/lesion/rash. Examples:

• handling food with bandage on hand without approved gloves.


• butcher with an open sore on hand, handling meat without approved gloves.


• a food handler with a persistent runny nose requiring frequent wiping.

Wow. Now if a restaurant can get an "A" while a cook has as lesion, I can only imagine what they did to get a "C".

At least they cook the disease out of the food right in front of you.

To see the ratings of all inspected restaurants in Los Angeles, go to http://lapublichealth.org/rating/. Or for complete ignorance, do nothing.