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Health Department Shuts Down E.A.T. After Storefront Rat Makes News
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 4, 2012
Modified Dec 4, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 4, 2012
Modified Dec 4, 2012
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Yesterday our day began with the heartwarming video of a rat frolicking in the front window Eli Zabar's E.A.T., a gourmet food shop on the Upper East Side that's a popular stop with the Met museum crowd. The video and photos, obtained by the Post, must have caught the attention of the city's Health Department, because today E.A.T. is shut down.
"The Health Department treats evidence of rodents in restaurants very seriously," the Health Department says in a statement. "Whether by a video, or by a complaint from the public, we inspect as soon as we are able to. E.A.T. has a serious mouse infestation as well other food safety deficiencies. They will be closed temporarily until they can address these problems."
A manager at E.A.T. finally answered the phone after about the 20th ring to confirm that E.A.T. is indeed closed. "We are doing construction, the manager said. "We'll be back in business on Thursday." Asked about the rat situation, the manager sighed and said, "Yes, we saw that. That's why we're closed. We're cleaning everything, throwing things out, and calling in an exterminator." It's unclear what they plan to do with the rats once they catch them, but after our experience eating rats earlier this year, we think there's got to be a market for locally-sourced rat meat!
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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