A recently released report of restaurant inspections in West Philadelphia, put out by the city's Department of Environmental Health Services, may have nauseated a few readers, but Penn students aren't going to change their appetites anytime soon.
The report, which lists campus-friendly restaurants like Cosi and Greek Lady, does not deem the food establishments as endearing as many students tend to find them.
"Wet cloths on table with unwrapped cheese," reported a city inspector in October 2005 on the Cosi at 130 S. 36th Street. An inspection in May of that year found "mouse infestation [and] mouse excreta on ledge under baker table."
Similar spottings of "mouth excreta on front counter base" were made at Greek Lady -‹¨« located on 222 S. 40th Street ‹¨« in early 2005, as well as at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, where "liquid waste [was] not disposed of properly" in February 2004, according to the report.
The establishments were quick to fix their violations, however, and subsequent inspections found no critical violations at any of these establishments.
"We did everything we could to get up to code," said Greek Lady manager George Konstantinidis, who called the flies that the inspectors reported "important, but minor."
And sometimes, a violation is really just a misunderstanding.
According to Isiah Dixon, an employee at Ben and Jerry's, the mop and bucket were not put away immediately -- meriting the citation -- only because another customer came in and needed to be served.
"This doesn't happen on a regular basis," said Dixon, who noted that the mishap didn't affect ice-cream lovers. "We still get hordes of customers, especially in the summertime."
Despite the series of violations, Konstantinidis was never worried about how his customers would react.
"Everyone loves us," he said.
And it turns out that Konstantinidis was right.
Even with the restaurateur's speedy efforts to comply with city codes, hungry students say they will always remain loyal to their beloved food-providers.
"It's nasty, but it's not going to affect anything," said Engineering senior Jonathan Lehr. "I'm sure that every place [I go to] isn't any different.
Lehr added that while the reports are unfortunate, "nothing beats Philly Diner at 2am on a Saturday night."
Indeed, Philly Diner, a hotspot for late night cravings, was last written up in May 2005 for not protecting food from contamination. Earlier reports include not disposing of liquid waste properly and not having hot water in the employees' bathroom.
But not all restaurants are being busted on a weekly basis.
Tony Luke's, an eatery famous for its cheese steaks on 37th and Spruce, made no critical violations, according to the report. The same is true for WaWa, a 24-hour grocery store located down the block.
"As long as the food's still good, I'll eat it," said College sophomore Alex Salasyuk, who said he was pretty unfazed by the report.
