Food for Thought Report 3.27 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

J&M BBQ Express at 7924 Slide Road jump starts this edition with zero critical violations. Manager Braxton Davis says getting it right is just part of the job. "There's a list for every employee, we go through that list every day until everything's done," says Davis. Even though BBQ sure is good, it can be messy.

Luckily, the staff at this repeat Top Performer knows how to handle it and make sure their customers enjoy their experience. "There's a lot of grease involved and so we have to clean two or three times a day. Customer service is our main goal and then we expect to put out the best food."

Jetting on to our next Top Performer, it's another Bar-B-Q joint. This time it's J & J BBQ taking the honors. Located at 1306 Texas, they receive zero critical violations.

Okay, enough of the "J" thing, now on to the 'DQ' thing. Dairy Queen at 7813 Slide Road gets zero critical violations. Next stop is the Native Texan at 2907 Slide Road, they also cook up a perfect score this week.

Schlotzky's at 1220 Main rounds out the list with zero critical violations.

Now on to this week's Low Performers beginning with Mr. Gatti's at 5001 50th St. That's where four critical violations were found. Violations including:

• Cheese and melon being held at improper temperatures. Cold foods must be kept at 45 degrees or cooler.
• Dented cans were stored with usable products and damaged boxes of cheese were stored with usable products.
• Dishes were not being heat sanitized at 180 degrees or higher.
• The floor sink was holding water and the toilet in the women's rest room was backing up.

Other violations included a soiled interior in an ice machine, uniforms stored on top of a bag of flour in the dough room and condensation dripping in the refrigerator.

The Manager at Mr. Gatti's told me the restaurant's General Manager would have to handle all comments made about the inspection report, but the General Manager is on vacation. The report shows three critical violations were corrected on site.

Our other Low Performer is Linda's Cafe at 6201 19th St. with four critical violations.

• Food was found at unsafe temperatures. Fish was found at 61 degrees, rice was found at 84 degrees and eggs were found at 57 degrees. Cold foods must be kept at 45 degrees or cooler.
• Raw chicken and beef was found next to ready to eat items.
• Ready to eat, potentially hazardous food items were not date marked.
• A hand washing sink was blocked by a spice rack.

NewsChannel 11 called Linda's several times and no one answered. The inspection report shows all critical violations were corrected on site.