They're big, plump and healthy-looking? Fry 'em up, Colonel!

This is such an overly-abused joke, but I can't help myself after watching that...

Kentucky Fried Rats!!!

This should make Bloomberg's ban on Rats-in-Restaurant-Windows an easier sell than once thought.

I want to know was when the last time they were inspected, and how they passed that inspection.

While I live in New York and accept that rats are a fact of life, I'd much rather not see them where I....

well, I can't even say I eat at Taco Bell. Or KFC.

Regardless, that's gross.

Good luck to those guys!! I'd say that franchise is dead now. No one in their right mind would return after this fiasco.

Sooo... ya want trans fats, E. coli, salmonella, or rat tail with that order? Thanks, and have a nice day!

Awwww...I think they're kinda cute. Look at 'em scurry around, looking for a treat to lay their remarkably articulated little claws on. I don't understand the aversion.

As nasty window displays go, this ranks up there with FOX News studios in Midtown.

Who can blame them? The Colonel puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes ya crave it fortnightly!

@zibby: I love me some rats too, but keep in mind that these guys are, presumably, not so much lab-bred and disease-free, and are more likely to bite your ear than sit on your shoulder and ride around.

That said, can I have one to take home with me?

KFC & Taco Bell are both owned by the ironically-named company 'Yum! Brands'

at least the rats look healthy and well fed

Funny, I used to think the most disgusting thing about that particular Taco Bell was the people who hung out in front of it. God, I love New York.

Oh, and are those free-range rats? Sorry, I had to.

I blame the health department. If they'd let 'em keep a couple of big surly tom cats in the place (litter box in one of the restrooms with a little cat door) all they'd find is dead rats in the morning.

@ Yourfriendandneighbor -
damn, busting out "So I Married an Axe Murderer"? There's something you don't see every day. Nice.
And I am not sure who I'd bet on in a cage match between a cat and an enormous mutant rat like the one I'm seeing here. Ew. How can anyone eat in these places, seriously? I work on 28th St, at a regular company, and some of my coworkers eat at a Taco Bell around here, which blows my mind.

Video footage here is actually better (and includes incidental hilarious commentary from bystanders)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_us/restaurant...

And FoxFive News has a great shot of a few of them crawling up in a high chair.

I blame the health department. If they'd let 'em keep a couple of big surly tom cats in the place (litter box in one of the restrooms with a little cat door) all they'd find is dead rats in the morning.

or just feed em some green onions.
i'll think inside the bun for now, i suppose.

Rats at KFC are still more appetizing than watching Bill O'Reilly on fox.

I'm trying to decide whether it's good or bad that I've only ever eaten at that particular Taco Bell while too drunk to remember much...

The meat you get there....i'ts not chicken.

Rats have to eat,too.

ps Whyinthefuk is there even a KFC, Taco Bell, Applebees, etc in Manhattan? Can you not find any other dining alternatives? I can enjoy better quality food in any bodega at a lower price, and at least I can't see the rats.

If the city is going to do something about the rats at this place, they really should walk a block east to Washington Square Park and do something about the huge excess of rats there too-- and those aren't just any rats, but rats that have no qualms about invading people's personal bubbles. Blech, I just lost my appetite for the rest of the day.

Shooting a commerical one night in downtown LA, I looked down the alley to see a large herd of possums hovering in the distance, anxiously waiting for the chunks of food the way-bored grips were hurling at them. Only these weren't possums. They were possum-sized rats that make these puny NYC rats look like lab mice. Holla.

KFC just announced that they are offering Fish Bits (Bites?) just in time for Lent!
Hehehehehe, does rat count as meat? It can open up the Lenten menu to so many new dishes!

Getting cited by the health department for rat infestation must be a nice change of pace from getting cited by the health department for serving shitty food.

I like how the anchor said "there's a story developing." All the newspeople collectively gasping and groaning is hilarious. Next you will see the swat team cover the building as they throw a phone through the window so the hostage negotiator can call.

I'm wondering how the news crew knew to go here and film rats? Do roving bands of local news teams roam the streets of New York looking for vermin?

(Wouldn't put it above some of our more interesting interest groups to release a bunch of rats in a KFC and tip off a news crew, is what I mean.)

unbelievably disgusting. very glad i don't eat at KFC/Taco Bell but... who is to say any run of the mill bodega is cleaner??

btw UGH! I just watched again and vomed in my mouth.