Food for Thought Report 12.16 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

It's a very merry Christmas for Lubbock's Cajun kitchen. Jazz at 3703 19th St. had a perfect inspection last week. They owe their success to their team. Laura Lee Appelgate, an employee at Jazz says "We've always been a top performer and basically we have a great strong team here and we all work together and we pull together and come through every year."

get more>> Web Enhanced 12.16 Food for Thought 12.16 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 12/16/04.

Four Lubbock restaurants will have to wait until next year to get their top performer plaques. The International House of Pancakes at 3911 South Loop 289 is our first low performer this week. Their four critical violations are as follows:

• A hand sink was being used for purposes other than hand washing.
• A cucumber was found in unsound condition.
• The date marking system was not accurate.
• Various food contact surfaces were dirty.

All critical violations were corrected on site. NewsChannel 11 called IHOP, the person who answered said they were told to refuse our calls.

Next, six critical violations earn the Subway at 2515 82nd St. a spot on the low performer list.

• Meatballs were found at 105 degrees. Hot foods must be held at 140 degrees or hotter.
• A hand sink was dirty and it was being used for purposes other than hand washing.
• Soiled handles on equipment created a cross-contamination hazard.
• Potentially hazardous ready to eat foods were not date marked.
• Toxic items were not properly stored.
• Food contact surfaces were soiled.

A manager at Subway declined to comment.

Nirvana at 5130 80th St. also finds itself a low performer.

• Cantaloupe on a buffet was found at 49 degrees. Cold food must be kept at 45 degrees or cooler.
• Cooked chicken was found on a countertop at 66 degrees. Hot food must be held at 140 or above.
• Employees handling food were not washing their hands.
• Employees handling ready to eat foods were not wearing gloves or using hand sanitizer.
• Ready to eat, potentially hazardous foods were not properly date marked.
• Clean plates were stacked with soiled plates and various kitchen surfaces were soiled.

Four of Nirvana's six violations were corrected on site. A manager could not be reached for comment.

Durango's Restaurant at 1602 Main Street is our final low performing restaurant. Durango's top three violations were all temperature violations.

• Cooked tamales and roast beef were held below the required hot temperature.
• Raw beef and chicken were held at 50 degrees, five degrees above the required cold hold.
• Cooked beef was being held at 113 degrees. Alicia Guasp, a manager at Durango's says, "We calibrated the thermometers. Everyone who is cooking calibrated their thermometers."
• An employee dumping ice in the hand sink
• Food that was not properly date marked.
• Soda nozzles that were not sanitized.

All critical violations were corrected on site. Guasp tells NewsChannel 11 they have trained employees on proper procedures. She says, "You have to do it every day and get used to doing it every day. Cleanliness is very important."