Food for Thought Report 11.13 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

More than 20 city and county kitchens opened their doors for health inspectors this week. So what health violations did their inspections reveal? Two local food spots make good this week with perfect scores. And three Lubbock restaurants get a combined 12 health violations. Here's the low down in another installment of NewsChannel 11's Food for Thought

Food for Thought 11.13 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 11/13/03. More >>

Leading the charge this time is Albertson's at 6524 Slide Road. The bakery and grocery departments both get zero critical violations.

Next up it's a repeat Top Performer. Chimy's at 2417 Broadway earns a perfect score making them a Food for Thought Top Performer.

Our Low Performing list begins with Spanky's at 811 University with four critical violations. Owner Lisa West was not available in person, but we did speak with her over the phone. She explained the violations and invited us into the kitchen, she says she wants the public that Spanky's is conscientious and on top of things.

• Chicken was maintained at 50 degrees. The chicken was discarded and a reach in refrigerator in the front of the kitchen was not holding at 45 degrees.

This is the same the refrigerator where the chicken was stored. West told NewsChannel 11 there was a discrepancy with the temperatures and that the restaurant's refrigeration specialists arrived within 45 minutes and said the readings were okay, but because of the respect for their health inspector, the product was discarded, and the units were double checked to make sure Spanky's was up to par with the health inspector's expectations.

• A front hand sink was backed up and was draining slowly.

West said it was a minor problem and they were able to use equipment kept on site to snake the sink, and the problem was fixed.

• Soap was missing from the upstairs hand sink behind the bar.

West said the soap was refilled while the inspector was present.

West told NewsChannel 11 that Spanky's will continue working hand in hand with the health department to keep their stores up to standard, as they have done for 21 years, and they want their customers to remain confident in Spanky's.

Burrito Sabroso at 1212 MLK is next with four critical violations.

• The hot hold food unit was not keeping food at 140 degrees or warmer.
• There was a man in the kitchen area smoking.
• The hand washing sink was being used for purposes other than just hand washing.
• Coolers did not have thermometers.

We called Burrito Sabroso repeatedly but no one answered the phone. The report does not show that any violations were corrected on site.

Finally Home Plate Diner at 5217 82nd Street gets four critical violations.

• Sliced ham was found on a counter top at 60 degrees. Cold foods must be kept at 45 degrees or cooler.
• A hand washing sink was being used to dump ice.
• A soiled wiping cloth was found on the food prep table.
• Ham was found in a container with an expired date mark.

The Manager at Home Plate Diner told me everything has been corrected. The report shows all violations were corrected on site.