Is your state among the worst ranked?
By CASSIDY MORRISON SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Your state may be a haven for restaurant health hazards, from hair landing in food to rat infestations.
An analysis of Tripadvisor reviews has revealed that New Jersey tops the list with the highest number of negative reviews, particularly for uncleanliness, hair in food, and vermin.
A notable omission from the top 10 list that may surprise many was New Jersey‘s eastward neighbor, New York City, known for its staggering rat problem.
Florida and California ranked second and third dirtiest based on the number of negative reviews that included the words ‘dirty restaurant.’
New Jersey is home to an estimated 16,000 restaurants, the tenth-highest number in the nation.
Yet, according to Tripadvisor, it leads the pack in reviews using the term ‘dirty restaurant,’ with 320,520 reviews.
According to the analysis, it is also home to the hairiest food. More than 1,800 reviews cited ‘hair in food.’
Taking the second spot on the list is Florida, with 4,560 ‘dirty restaurant’ reviews.
Nearly 1,700 reviews say diners found hair in their food. And 636 reviews named rats and roaches somewhere in restaurants.
While New Jersey and Florida topped the list for reviews naming ‘dirty restaurants’ and ‘hair in food’, diners out west were more likely to spot vermin while they ate.
California had the third-highest number of reviews, including ‘dirty restaurant.’ While rats and roaches may not have been on the menus, they were namechecked in over 960 online reviews for restaurants in the state.
Even high-end establishments are not exempt from the vermin problem. The Sky Terrace at the upscale W Hotel in Hollywood was infested with rats.
Staff there encountered mice and rats on multiple occasions scurrying across the basement of the hotel, leaving feces, urine, and bite marks around stored food and flour.
Arizona takes spot number four with 1,759 reviews, including ‘dirty restaurant’, 639 reviews, ‘hair in food,’ and 443 reviews, including ‘rats and roaches.’ A somewhat unexpected addition to the list, Arizona has far fewer restaurants than the top three states on the list and a far smaller population.
Arizona’s Family, a news outlet in the state, gathers up some of the worst restaurant offenders in Maricopa County to inform its readers which dining establishments do not pass the smell test.