Citys restaurant grades all about fines not health

The Department of Healths intrepid crusaders, who for a second time stripped the great, 3-Michelin-star restaurant Per Se of its A rating this week, wont likely peel away a single customer.

Devotees of chef Thomas Kellers cuisine from Hong Kong, Paris and Abu Dhabi who booked months in advance wouldnt care if city inspectors claimed to find live tarantulas swarming over tables.

Nor should they. Neither should New Yorkers who know anything about the Ministry of Mouse-Dropping Enforcements rotten inspection system a long-running joke that was inflated to Public Nuisance No. 1 by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and showing no signs of being rationalized by Mayor de Blasio.

By my calculations, the Health Department deploys 19 times more inspectors proportionately for restaurants than the Department of Buildings does for buildings one for every 160 eateries compared with one for every 3,075 structures.

While we read about fatal wall collapses, construction accidents and elevator mishaps, the last time I checked, no one has yet been killed by defective meat loaf.

The idea that no handwashing facility in the food prep area, one of Per Ses sins, imperils the dining millions is far-fetched anywhere: most restaurant kitchens are so small that the food prep area might be all of six feet from the bathroom sink.

Its criminally ludicrous at Per Se, which is immaculately clean by any English-language definition.

You could probably eat off Per Ses floor, observed celebrated Regency Bar & Grill chef Dan Silverman, a view widely shared by restaurant professionals flabbergasted by the situation.

Per Se was also penalized for hot food held below 140 degrees and cold food held over 41 degrees.

The temperature rules are inimical to first-class cuisine and ignorant of modern cooking techniques.

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Citys restaurant grades all about fines not health