Longman & Eagle Fails Health Inspection

Even the fanciest front-of-house doesn't guarantee that everything's up to code in the kitchen, as Chicago's Michelin-starred Longman & Eagle recently failed a complaint inspection by the Chicago Department of Public Health.

According to Audarshia Townsend of 312 Dining Diva, the restaurant was listed at a risk level of 1, which is considered high. The restaurant was issued a serious citation for overflowing garbage containers, grease stains on the ground, and the area not being properly maintained.

Other comments in the report include instructions to clean vents above cooking equipment, change the ceiling in a prep area or move tables away if it is not a prep area, and an instruction to provide working thermometers inside all coolers. 

Information about failed and passed health inspections is available to any interested parties since the city of Chicago started making it available online last November. Before that, customers who wanted to check up on a restaurant's inspection status had to submit a written request for the information, and who actually writes letters these days?

Keeping tabs on restaurants is much easier when the information is all online, though the increased transparency does inspire the occasional freakout. The health department told the Chicago Tribune that a failure should not necessarily scare diners away; what really matters is how quickly the restaurant can fix the problems and get everything back up to code.