After health inspectors in New York cracked down on sous-vide methods in highend restaurants, the King County Health Department wasn’t far behind. Which makes me wonder if our bartenders could be in for something rotten surrounding drinks with raw eggs and egg whites.

According to the this article in the New York Times, on January 19 a health inspector cited the Pegu Club (the owner of which—blind item alert!—is rumored to be dating one of Seattle’s well-known cocktail experts) for serving a customer a drink containing raw egg white—a fact which, according to the citation, the bartender never mentioned to the customer.

From the article:

The bar’s menu lists the MarTEAni ingredients as “Earl Grey-infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, raw egg white” and states that “we take the greatest care in the storage of our organic eggs. Please note, however, that like sushi, the consumption of raw eggs can be hazardous.”

The inspector reported that the customer who asked for the MarTEAni didn’t order it from the menu and that the bartender didn’t mention raw eggs were in it.

Let’s look at our own regulations. From kingCounty.gov:

If you serve foods that are raw or undercooked, you will need to write on your menu, on table signs, or other means that the Public Health Department has approved, that the particular menu item is raw or undercooked and that the consumption of raw or undercooked potentially hazardous foods may result in foodborne illness.

I can think of a number of bars that serve flips and other raw egg-containing cocktails, and some of them don’t have menus or serve eggy drinks that aren’t listed on the menu. Are they in danger of a health-code crackdown? Also, get it? CRACKdown? Egg puns are funny.