Back of the House

Sex Apparently Always on the Menu at New York Restaurants

Upon reading the jaw-dropping news this weekend of rampant sexual abuse at Jean Georges, we started scratching our heads. Just what has gotten into the restaurant business these days? When did the revels pass from frat-house frolics to full-blown Roman debauchery? Here’s a time line to help you understand.

August 2005: The Four-Way Orgy at Batali’s Boîte
A waitress, a chef, a manager, and a waiter are caught on tape going at it after hours all over Bistro du Vent. Sadly, the tape never makes it onto YouTube, but the restaurant closes soon afterward anyway.

September 2006: Don’t Touch the Kitchen Utensils at Megu
An ex-waitress sues the high-end Japanese restaurant for $20 million. Among her horrifying claims: that the head chef continually touched her “breasts, buttocks thighs and hips with his own hands or with various kitchen utensils.”

September 2006: The Debut of Hawaiian Tropic Zone
Times Square’s latest food mall leans heavily on bikini-clad waitresses, who participate in a nightly beauty pageant. The restaurant is an immediate success. No shenanigans reported yet, but it’s surely only a matter of time.

January 2007: Lindsay Lohan’s Mother Gets Extra Service at Kobe Club
She managed to avoid kitchen implements, but Dina Lohan did put a napkin to good use at midtown steakhouse Kobe Club recently.

January 2007: Straddle and Gyrate at Jean Georges
Staffers humiliate a gay waiter, hiring a prostitute who first performed sex acts in the dining room and then straddled the waiter and “began to gyrate … within inches of his face.” Where did they think they were, Robert’s Steakhouse?

Sex Apparently Always on the Menu at New York Restaurants