This Internet Widgety Thing Will Rat Out The Dirtiest Grocery Stores In Brooklyn Heights

By on October 14, 2013 9:12 pm in Health

Welp, for those of you who thought going to Columbia Journalism School was a complete waste of time, think again. Those crazy kids have come up with an widgety thing based upon NYC DOH info that will magically display the dirtiest grocery stores in any neighborhood.

So which store is the dirtiest in Brooklyn Heights? If you guessed “Grosstedes”… you’re wrong!

The information here says it’s Garden of Eden on Montague Street! Not only that, but it’s the grossest store in the ENTIRE CITY:

New York World: The grocery store with the highest number of critical deficiencies in the most recent year, ending in July, is the Garden of Eden in Brooklyn Heights, with 20 offenses. Among them: old encrusted meat residues on food contact surfaces, mold and grime in the area of the seafood area ice machine and “deep knife scores containing imbedded/dark matter across food contact surfaces.”

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  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com/ Claude Scales

    According to the information I get when I click on the location on the map, Key Food on Montague, where I do most of my shopping, has been squeaky clean since 2011.

  • Frank Underhill

    That Met Food on Smith street has smelled like rotting corpses for years. Not surprised to see them get bad marks.

  • David on Middagh

    How much per pound?

  • jt

    Where is Trader Joe’s?

  • jt

    I guess Eden was a dirty place

  • Marathoner

    This is proof that the system is fixed – Key Food on Montague is disgusting – no way GoE is That much worse.

    I’ve never touched produce in KF without a swarm of fruit flies puffing into the air – it’s absolutely revolting. It’s hard to believe they are allowed to operate with all those bugs. I can only imagine what’s in the basement

    KF doesn’t do prepared hot food, so they’re a whole category of violations removed, but the sidewalk out front is a sewer’s dream from the constant flow of food that sits outside while they move it around.

    Not to mention, their ice cream freezers have been out of commission for the last few weeks and we’ve had more ruined yogurt and ice cream from that alone.

    I’m not as familiar with Gristedes, but it’s never struck me as the cleanest place either. But, I’d trust the food coming out of Garden of Eden 100 to 1 over KF any day – hot or cold.

    Either the big chains know how to get around the violations or they know who to get around the violations – but no way is KF the cleanest shop around

    Anyone disagree?

  • Andrew Porter

    And you’re so sure you’re right that you’re posting under your own name.

  • Hicksanthrope

    Can we talk about the roaches that scurry out from underneath the food at Grosstedes? Can we? Because THAT is gross.

  • Remsen Street Dweller

    I’m done with the Garden of Eden — after buying bad pre-packaged chicken there a few weeks ago.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com/ Claude Scales

    I shop at Key Food on Montague a lot because its convenient to where I live and, on most items, the prices seem reasonable. For some items I’ll make the hike to Sahadi’s or Trader Joe’s for better prices; I’ll also go there, and to Garden of Eden, for specialty items. I’ve patronized Key Food since 1983; in those thirty years I think I’ve seen a single housefly in there on maybe four or five occasions. I’ve never seen a fruit fly in the produce section, and I buy produce frequently. On rare occasions my wife has been dissatisfied with items from there and has returned or exchanged them, with no hassle. We do check product expiration labels on meat and other perishables carefully, as we have known instances where items have been left out past the sell-by date. In short, we’ve found it a less than perfect but mostly reliable place to shop.

    I’m frequently surprised by the vehemence of the comments about local merchants on this blog. In a few cases I think they’ve been justified, but in many I think they’re hyperbolic and perhaps symptomatic of a simple need to vent spleen.

  • MonroeOrange

    its called protein….in many countries, bugs are a delicacies…they should call it Gourmestedess!

  • MonroeOrange

    I agree Claude…my family has been shopping there for decades, besides the narrow aisles, its a good supermarket with good prices. It’s not a Wegmans or Piggly Wiggly down south, but for Brooklyn, its a good supermarket. Its a supermarket to get essentials for dinner, not gourmet fare. I hope it continues to thrive!

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    You are hallucinating, I shop at Key Food on Montague almost daily for decades and have never experienced a “swarm of fruit flies puffing into the air”.
    Key does have one hot prepared item, roast chicken. so they are exposed to the same level of violations as GoE.
    I was sold rotten fish at Garden of Eden and some foul smelling meat as well, all of which I had to toss.
    I believe the reports are correct.

  • Marathoner

    ok, check the tomato and onion bins – KF is convenient and prices not so bad, but Fresh Direct has far better produce

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com/ Claude Scales

    Been there many times, never saw flies or any other vermin. I’ve never cottoned to Fresh Direct because I like to choose what I’m buying and their trucks add to traffic, noise, and air pollution. If I happen to be on Atlantic Avenue, say on one of those jaunts to Trader Joe’s, Sahadis, and Damascus Bakery (another spot I love), I’ll often buy produce from the grocer there. We also get a fair amount of produce, and all of our fish, from the Greenmarket.

  • north heights res

    Fish recommendations, Claude? And on what days are fishmongers at the Borough Hall market? I usually get mine at Fairway, but it would be great to have another option in the neighborhood–love Fish Tales, too.

  • Copldenizen

    The Key Food on Atlantic at Clinton is the worst. They are forever stocking shelves during regular business hours. One has to climb/reach over/around stacks of boxes and even hand trucks. The workers leave their discarded coffee cups and soda cans on the shelves and on the floor. Mention any of this to the management – and they just look at you with a blank stare. The Key Food on Montague is much cleaner and has a more professional staff.