DOH Shutters Danny Bowien's Mission Chinese Food

The Department of Health has shuttered chef Danny Bowien's buzzy New York City restaurant Mission Chinese Food after it failed an inspection Tuesday night. Eater NY reports that the restaurant "racked up 70 violation points." Five of the ten listed violations were deemed "critical" including: "Toxic chemical improperly labeled, stored or used such that food contamination may occur"; "Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred"; and "Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas."

A DOH rep told Gothamist: "[T]he restaurant had a severe mouse infestation that required professional pest control services." Though the restaurant was closed by the DOH, apparently an employee added a sign to the window that reads "Closed because of leak in basement." Based on his Twitter activity, Bowien seems to have headed to San Francisco yesterday. Will he come back to help with the massive cleanup needed to get the restaurant open again?

UPDATE: Mission Chinese has re-opened for business following a DOH follow-up inspection, Eater NY confirms, and Bowien has released this statement, which reads in part: "We apologize for any inconvenience that you may have been caused. We were recently found to be in violation of several health codes and would like to address the information circulating on the internet by being completely transparent and disclosing the codes we were in violation of, and the measures we have taken to address them."

· DOH Shuttered Mission Chinese for Mice, Dirty Surfaces [Eater NY]
· All Mission Chinese Food Coverage on Eater [-E-]