Gjusta written up by health inspector, given B grade

Crop of health report on Gjusta in July.

Three weeks before being anointed by Bon Appetit as the second-best new restaurant in America, Gjusta in Venice was inspected by the county health department and given a B grade for numerous violations. Those violations included excessive flies in the food prep area, improperly stored food and staffers handling food with dirty fingernails and without gloves. There also was mold on the ice machine in the coffee area. The inspection earned Gjusta an 82 score and a B in the window.

The bakery-smokehouse-deli in the Google district near Gold's Gym is flying an A grade now, so they may have been reinspected and cleared of last month's violations. But locals unhappy that Gjusta displaced a building of artists and who see it adding to the gentrification of Venice are doing what they can to publicize the bad inspection. Yo Venice takes a few swipes in a story posted today. Gjusta is apparently still grappling with the city over its permit to provide seating and alcohol.

Coincidentally, I assume, Larry Mantle discussed needed reforms in the restaurant grading process on today's Airtalk on KPCC. The segment was prompted by a series of stories in the LA News Group newspapers that found many restaurants dinged by health inspectors don't actually get reinspected. And by a push at the Board of Supervisors to improve the letter grade system.

Joel Grover at NBC 4 also weighed in today:

For more than a decade, the NBC4 I-Team has been investigating Los Angeles County's restaurant grading system.

Big changes were recommended for the food safety program Tuesday by the Interim Director of L.A. County’s Public Health Department, many of them addressing concerns that the I-Team investigations raised.

In May, an investigation revealed how the public is rarely told about foodborne illness outbreaks. In fact, more about those outbreaks could be gleaned from websites like Yelp and Trip Advisor than from county health officials.