It was getting late, around 9 pm, and I still had to drive back an hour north to my hotel in Santa Rosa. None of the Italian restaurants in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood was appealing – most of them were packed or beyond my price range. North Beach is no longer a beach but was one eons ago. The shoreline was turned into a landfill around the late 19th century.
After a full day of revisiting places in the Bay I used to stroll
around when I was a resident, I was starving and in quest of a satisfactory
affordable dinner. Passing by Vietnam
Cafe I glimpsed two grey-haired ladies inside in an open kitchen fringed by a
dining counter. In all my travels, 99%
of the time, any joint run by women of considerable maturity usually mean years
of perfecting their craft. I was seduced
and so I walked in.
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Comely in a grandmotherly way, the ladies were busy prepping the
orders of two parties, a group of four men in their 20s, and a couple. I sat at the counter and saw the cooking
area cluttered. Wanting to wash my
hands, the restroom door was blocked by a big heavy duty 75 liter garbage
bin. I was getting apprehensive. But if the other customers, who looked local,
were not bothered, perhaps I was being overly hygienic.
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After leafing through the plastic-encased menu, I saw a noodle dish
being served to one of the men. He said
it was a favorite. I promptly ordered
the same thing. It was a good pho, not
outstanding, but satisfying.
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Little did I know that five years earlier in 2008 the place was cited
a number of violations by the city including Improper
Hot/Cold holding temperatures. The SF
city regulations asseverated:
“003 Cooking - Comminuted
meat, or any food containing comminuted meat, shall be heated to 157F or 155F
for 15 seconds. Eggs, and foods containing raw eggs, shall be heated to 145F.
Pork shall be heated to or 145F. Poultry, comminuted poultry, stuffed fish, and
stuffed meat/poultry shall be heated to 165F (113996)”
Pray tell me what are “asseverated”
and “comminuted”?
According to dictionary.com, asseverated
means to affirm
positively. From
Latin assevērātus spoken
in earnest.
The adjective “com·mi·nuted” means divided into small parts. From Latin com-
"together"
+ minuere "to make smaller," the root of “minus”.
Other
violations then:
- 019 Shell Eggs - Maintain raw shall eggs at or below 45F (113995, 113997)
- 049 Living/Sleeping Quarters - No sleeping accommodations shall be in any room where food is prepared, stored or sold. (114175)
- 054 Wiping Rags - Not
Clean/Inadequate Sanitizer/Turbid/Storage Wiping rags used to wipe service
counters, scales or other surfaces that may come into contact with food
shall be used only once unless kept in clean water
with sanitizer (114160) - 056 Thermometer - Refrigeration/Probe An accurate easily readable metal probe thermometer suitable for measuring temperature of food shall be available to the food handler. A thermometer +/ 2F shall be provided for each refrigeration unit and shall be located in the warmest part of the unit. (113995)
- 057
Deterioration/Unapproved Materials/Facility Not Fully Enclosed - The
walls/ceilings shall have durable, smooth, nonabsorbent, light colored,
and washable surfaces. All floor surfaces, other than the customer service
areas, shall be approved, smooth, durable and made of nonabsorbent
material that is easily cleaned. Approved base coving shall be provided in
all areas, except customer service areas and where food is stored in
original unopened containers. Establishment shall be fully enclosed. All
food facilities shall be kept clean and in good repair. (114050, 114145,
114150, 114155)
Rest assure the violation has since then been
“abated” as the city would term or in my lingo “addressed”. Fortunately I did not get sick from having the
pho.
In online writing, like this blog, I can
asseverate that comminuted essays are more reader friendly. Would you agree?
