The high-end Manhattan restaurant owned by Lady Gaga and her family has been slammed by health officials for its filthy ways.
Joanne Trattoria on the city’s West Side scored an embarrassing “C” grade during a Department of Health inspection, the lowest possible rating.
And it wasn’t even close to the boundary – any restaurant racking up 28 or more violation points gets stamped with a “C” and Lady Gaga’s was found to have a staggering 42, six of them “critical”.
Joanne Trattoria was visited by the clean team on October 2, the report since published by the Smoking Gun.
Joseph and Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s restaurant-running parents ought really to have seen it coming, following a string of crushing reviews including that the food is “worse than herpes”.
But perhaps they spent too much time listening to their daughter, who in September blamed recent weight gain on eating too much of their good food.
“I’m dieting right now, because I gained, like, 25 pounds,” Lady Gaga told radio host Elvis Duran.
“My father opened a restaurant. It’s so amazing… it’s so freaking delicious, but I’m telling you I gain five pounds every time I go in there.”
The Gotham eatery, which has only been in business since February, began ruffling feathers in the sanitary department shortly after opening.
The West 68th Street spot first fell foul (literally) of health standards less than one month after launching, scoring a boarder-line “C” with 31 violations.
It sharpened up its act, being up-graded and just scraping an “A” with 12 out of a possible 14 counts.
While the “C” shame was swept under the carpet, the restaurant embraced its new found “A”, posting photographs of its qualifying certificate among beaming staff on Facebook.
Now though it seems to have let standards slip once more and is back on the black-list.
With salads charged at more than $20 and steaks in excess of $38, you’d think the family-run business might be able to afford hand-wash basins in staff toilets.
“Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room,” the scathing report reads.
“Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure to enable cleanliness of employees not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.”
That revelation was made more revolting still by the finding that staff was abandoning kitchen utensils in favor of their hands.
Other health crimes committed by Joanne Trattoria’s included staff wearing filthy clothing and no hair nets.
Surfaces were left unwashed, officials found, food not protected from contamination and kitchen workers abandoned utensils in favor of their hands.
Needless to say this one is unlikely to be advertised by the Lady Gaga-clan on social media.
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