Food for Thought Report 10.28 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Our only top performing restaurant in Food for Thought is a popular truck stop, plus a top performing school is the apple of our eye.  The students at Harwell Elementary School aren't the only ones making the grade this week.  The people who serve up all that brain food have earned top performer plaques six times now!  Harwell Elementary principal, Celia Glick, says, "I just have a totally awesome group of workers. The kitchen they cook well.  Jeannie is our cafeteria manager and she does an excellent job of organizing the crew to work together as a team.  Jeannie Soliz says, "We have a schedule they have to go by and if it's not done, I'm after them."

Food for Thought 10.28 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 10/28/04.

Jeannie has been managing the Harwell cafeteria for six years. Six years, six perfect inspections... coincidence? Not when kids are involved.  Jeannie says, "I like a clean kitchen. I like the kids to get the best food.  That's our top goal is the students and teachers."

Just blocks away from Harwell we find our second top performer. The City Grill at 4609 Avenue A. It's a popular spot for truckers and they hauled in a perfect score during their last inspection. 

There's also five low performers this week, count 'em five. Together they left us with almost 30 critical violations to list.  From chinese food, to Mexican food, to hotel food, it's a hodgpodge of low performers. 

We begin with the Holiday Inn's restaurant at 801 Avenue Q. Inspectors found four critical violations. They include:

• Shredded cheese on the food line held at 58 degrees... The required cold hold is at least 45 degrees.
• Dented cans were found in dry storage.
• Deli meat and baked potatoes were not datemarked.
• A spray bottle containing a toxic chemical was not labeled.

All violations were corrected on site.  The Holiday Inn's food and beverage director tells NewsChannel 11 they have installed a new prep table on their food line so it will keep food at the proper temperature.

The Lubbock Inn's restaurant is also a low performer this week. Located at 3901 19th Street, the restaurant was cited for seven critical violations.

• Green beans and corn in a walk in cooler were being held at 76 degrees.
• Eggs on a countertop were found at 67 degrees.
• Baked potatoes were held at 85 degrees.
• Ham and chicken were not properly datemarked.
• A hand washing facility did not have soap.
• Knives were stored with soiled blades.
• A heimlich chart was not available.

The first six violations were corrected on site.  A manager says they do have a heimlich chart now. He also stated the health inspector came during a shift change and they are working to improve safety while changing shifts.

Moving to the Mexican food joints, we start with Mi Tio's at 7412 University. Mi Tio's had five critical violations.

• Potentially hazardous foods were cooling improperly.
• Cold flank steak was being held at 71 degrees.
• Employees were not drinking from approved containers and drinks were not stored in the proper place.
• Toxic items were not properly labeled.
• Dishes and plates were soiled and chipped.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A manager tells NewsChannel 11 the health inspector educated employees on proper cooling procedures, they have revised their health checklist and they are trying hard to become a top performer.

Durango's at 4001 19th Street is our fourth low performer. Durango's six violations were:

• Shredded cheese held at 60 degrees.
• Hot foods held at 90 and 67 degrees.
• Chicken and carne guisada were not properly datemarked.
• A dishwashing area did not have papertowels or soap.
• A reach in cooler did not have a thermometer.
• A heimlich chart was not available.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A manager says they take pride in caring for customers and they've started performing inspections of the kitchen every few hours.

Our last low performer is Summer Palace at 4210 82nd Street. Summer Palace had seven critical violations.

• Raw beef was held at 63 degrees and fried chicken at 92 degrees.
• Cooked chicken, noodles, and wontons were below the required hot temperature of 140.
• Personal drinks without covers were found througout the kitchen.
• Ready to eat food items were not datemarked.
• Gnats were found in various liquors.
• Various reach-in coolers did not have thermometers.
• Soiled plates and containers were found with clean items.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A manager at Summer Palace could not be reached, and an employee declined to comment.