Health Inspection Scores of NYC Law Firm Cafeterias: How Does Your Firm Stack Up?
(And Open Thread About Firm Cafeterias More Generally)
We have a lunch meeting today, so we're going to be offline for a while. We'll leave you with a food-related post to chew over while we're gone. Hopefully it won't cause you to lose your appetite.
Over at Keeping Up With Jonas, Jonas Karp has filed a great investigative report: a look at how various law firm cafeterias fared in unannounced annual inspections by the New York City Department of Health. If you're hoping for a healthy dose of schadenfreude, you might be disappointed. As Karp writes, "All of the firms surveyed passed their inspections, and none had Serendipity 3-like 100 live cockroach violations."
Darn. But as Jonas notes, "some firms did a lot better than others."
Which ones? Read the full post to find out. As you review the results, consider this question: Is cafeteria cleanliness inversely proportional to law firm prestige? Simpson Thacher and Cravath came within a few points of failing inspection, while a perfect score was earned by... Greenberg Traurig!
Maybe GT associates won't be getting a pay raise anytime soon. But at least their New York office has an immaculate cafeteria.
Feel free to opine on the quality of your law firm's cafeteria, or any other Biglaw canteen that you have personally sampled, in the comments.
Law Firm Cafeterias: Inspection Results [Keeping Up With Jonas]
(24) Comments
Do attorneys at these firms actually eat lunch or dinner in their cafeterias? Or are they mainly used for grabbing a snack?
Schulte sounds like a great big mess of sewage and warm smoked salmon.
very valuable information.
Morgan Lewis DC has a kick butt cafeteria.
That's because the health inspectors who gave the perfect score weren't looking to the source of any infestation: the offices!!
I have fond memories of the Cravathateria. Attorneys definitely eat there for lunch, but SeamlessWeb for dinner unless they forget and are starving. But then again, since I used to live in the West Village, I occasionally ate at the KFC/Taco Bell of shame (you know, the one from the disgusting YouTube video?)
The Cravathateria had awesome, subsidized food, fantastic staff, and my favorite--bacon EVERY morning. Nothing wipes away a hangover like a made-to-order omlette and a handful of bacon....
Oh--and it had 180 degree views, all the way down to the Statue of Liberty. This was both good and bad. On 9/11, everyone ran up there to see the hubbub and in 2002/2003, when the Hudson froze over, we would watch the icepickers making paths for the ferry. Pretty cool.
My other favorite thing about the cafeteria was that they deep-fried random foods, and there was a REALLY large secretary who would send out firmwide emails via Junkmail (a separate system) announcing things that clearly made her day, such as "FRIED OREOS/SNICKERS in the cafeteria for afternoon snack RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!" Too funny!
NYC to 175!
(New York Cafeterias that is . . .)
I like D&L's cafeteria. There are always foods of the day (e.g., Raspberry Hot Chocolate today!) and there's always a $0.99 item for breakfast (yay, pancakes!). Everyone is pleasant and there is a great selection of healthy and not-so-healthy foods to choose from.
Basically, it is definitely one of the perks of working at D&L that I enjoy most!
My firm has an area of cafeteria seating that mimics the feeling of sitting in a real bamboo forest. (and also hella good breakfast burritos - shout out to Norberto)
I like Cleary's cafeteria, though I'm not much of a gourmet. I eat there for lunch and dinner only when I'm here late, only because there's nothing I really like around One Liberty Plaza. They have a ridiculous amount of deserts, though, including black and white cookies that I scapegoat regularly for making me fat. Only major problem - it's sort of weirdly designed so that when it gets around 12:15, you can barely move because it gets so crowded. All in all, better than my caf in college.
mmm....fried oreos.....
So it's true, Schulte really *is* a toilet.
"...plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly..."
1:54: try Trinity Place just across the tree plaza. They serve a decent lunch.
Years ago S&C's cafeteria was closed for a day or two because of a sanitary problem the closing was listed in the Sunday NYT along with the usual roster of greasy spoons in the outer boroughs.
LAT - PLEASE GET US THE CHASE v. SEINFELD COMPLAINT
Send me your tipppps!
(No fatties)
MW charges its associates extra for roaches
clearys caf is great. and yes, attys really do eat many meals there. i ate there (or rather got food from there and ate in my office) almost every lunchtime (if i didnt have a mtg, court date, etc) and about half the time id stay late, for dinner
GT has a cafeteria??
NY secretaries to 275!!
Debevoise seems to be the highest ranked firm with a pretty spotless cafeteria.
debevoise's cafeteria is less than ten floors above schulte's in the same building. im sure its not that clean.
Hughes Hubbard and Reed has one of the shitties cafeterias in town--small, barely subsidized, no variety, and surly employees. It's worse than many school cafeterias. S & C's cafeteria serves up food poisoning every night for dinner. Steer clear of the hot entrees.
"debevoise's cafeteria is less than ten floors above schulte's in the same building. im sure its not that clean."
This reasoning is pathetic. Please tell me you're not at a respectable law firm.