November 6, 2007
DOH to Bartenders: Drop the Lime and Step Away
As health-code inspections in bars and restaurants continue apace in the wake of The Great Rat Rodeo of Aught Seven, strange, unheard of violations are coming to light: a bartender at Red Hook’s Moonshine bar was recently cited for “having bare-hand contact with one slice of ready-to-eat lime while placing on top of beer bottle for patron in bar.” In other words, every time you see your bartender poke a wedge of lime into your Corona, you’re witnessing a criminal act. (Call 311 to report!)
In the “nice work if you can get it” department, Times reporter Michael Wilson conducted a thorough tour of several city watering holes to get bartenders’ reactions to the violation (“asinine”, “ridiculous”). Tom Carney, the recently retired Elaine’s barkeep, reminds us of the importance of lime in beer: “It’s got a skin on the back of it that takes scurvy off parts of your body.” Indeed, British sailors were called “limeys” because of the use of limes by the Royal Navy.
The approved Health Department method for getting the lime into the bottle is with a tong or plastic gloves. But as Wilson notes, “tongs are to a bartender what work boots would be on a ballerina.” Smith & Wollensky's Patrick Ford, the Baryshnikov of bartenders, futilely searched for a pair of tongs behind the bar. Finally, to the amusement of the regulars, he speared a lime wedge with a fork and delivered it to the bottle, surely cursing himself to years of hygienic Corona requests. “Hey, Patty,” Wilson reports one man bellowing. “Give me a Corona over here! Be sure to use a fork!”
Photo from Lindsay Fincher.
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They've got to fucking be kidding.
Does this apply to lime or lemon wedges on the side of drinks? What about olives in martinis?
don't they understand - the alcohol kills the germs!
I assume they also can't touch a glass with their hands now?
This is such unadulterated jackassery. Hand contact with fruit really is the last thing bar patrons should be concerned with; trust me.
During a DOH inspection a few years ago at a now defunct poolhall, the female bartender was cited for not having a proper hair restraint. Imagine having to wear a hairnet while slinging hooch.
It wasn't like she was serving food.
solution: start drinking real beer
LOL, TK, you nailed it. I think the DOH is secretly trying to educate NY beer drinkers about how digusting corona with lime in it really is.
Sounds like someone at the DOH is trying to justify their existence.
who would have thought that lime and alcohol, two naturally antimicrobial substances, would be responsible, via the oversight of bartenders worldwide, for infecting ... um... nobody!
It's no different than the rule which keeps the guy behind the counter from making your sandwich with bare hands.
Beer is not alcoholic enough to act as a serious antiseptic. CDC has determined that those alcohol hand gels need to be at least 60% to be fully effective.. but yeah, this is silly.
so lime and alcohol kills MRSA.
Patrick Ford, the Baryshnikov of bartenders, futilely searched for a pair of tongs behind the bar."
Yea, so the article didn't mention anything about his search for tongs that... maybe you stick to the facts next time.
@ Paul - From the article: "He fished out a Corona and looked around. 'We don’t have tongs,' he said. 'I’ll use a fork.'"
Yea, so maybe you do a better job fact checking or find another hobby, Paul.
I read that, what I stay still stands. There was no "futile search," you embellished in hope of a dramatic effect. Come on, you know it came off cheesy. Don't be ashamed.
They should be more concerned with the outside of cans and the contact made between bottle-opener and bottle.