Food for Thought Report 5.5 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

It's a tough Cinco de Mayo for one Mexican restaurant who find's themselves a low performer. Also, a restaurant who literally enjoys the view from the top finds themselves on bottom. But first a hotel restaurant faces problems with roaches.

Food for Thought 5.5 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 5/5/05.

The Lubbock Inn's restaurant at 3901 19th Street received five critical violations the last time the health department paid them a visit. The following violations landed them on the low performer list:

• Eggs on a food service line were being held at 56 degrees.
• Eggs in a reach in cooler were cracked
• A wet, soiled rag on a stove top posed a risk of cross contamination.
• A dead roach was found on the floor of a food prep area.
• A can opener was soiled.

A kitchen manager could not be reached for comment, but the Lubbock Inn's General Manager told NewsChannel 11 that pest control had visited the day before the inspection. That's why the dead roach was present.

An exclusive restaurant that provides striking views of the city received six strikes during their health inspection. The Lubbock Club at 1500 Broadway Avenue was cited for:

• Shrimp salad and American cheese on a buffet found above the required cold hold of 45 degrees or cooler.
• Dented cans were found in dry storage.
• Shrimp stored in standing water, a soiled vent hood and a soiled air conditioning vent created cross contamination hazards.
• Tarter sauce and vegetable soup were not properly date marked.
• A spray bottle containing a toxic substance was not labeled.
• The ice machine, knives, bowls, a wine opener and dish rack were soiled.

The Lubbock Club's general manager, Stuart Johnson, says he has some differences of opinion with the health inspector. Some violations were received for procedures they've followed for years. They did schedule a training seminar with the health department. Johnson says, "I think it's important for everyone to know all violations were minor and corrected on site. We've always worked very hard with the health department in the past and look forward to working with them in the future."

Durango's at 4001 19th is our third and final low performer.

• Cheese rellenos were found on a food rack at 80 degrees, and rellenos in a walk in cooler were found at 70 degrees.
• Raw chicken was found at 50 degrees on a table.
• An employee was observed not washing hands between tasks
• A vent hood was soiled... And created a cross contamination hazard.
• A hand sink did not have paper towels.
• A spray bottle containing a toxic substance was not labeled.
• Plates and bowls had cracks on food contact surfaces.

Durango's Manager, Ana Astorga, invited us into the kitchen to prove all violations have been corrected and their restaurant is clean. When asked what she'll do to keep the violations from happening again, Astorga says, "It is my responsibility to make sure everything is up to par and up to the standards the owners like to have. I'm going to have to do a better job at saying don't forget this and don't forget that."