Food for Thought Report 8.4 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Two Lubbock cafe's have a lot to be proud of this week. First the 82nd Street Cafe at 3416 82nd Street. The restaurant had zero critical violations during their last inspection and they are a top performer. The Doll House Cafe at 1717 Avenue K shares the honor. They also had a perfect inspection.

Food for Thought 8.4 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 8/4/05.

Four restaurants weren't so lucky. The Denny's at 607 Avenue Q had four critical violations, landing them on the low performer list.

• Cold diced ham on a food service line was held at 50 degrees. Cold foods must be held at 45 degrees or cooler.
• An egg carton was saturated with water posing a risk of cross contamination.
• A hand sink did not have paper towels.
• Cooking utensils were stored in a soiled container.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A manager at Denny's declined to comment. She said it would be against company policy.

Cotton Patch Cafe at 6810 Slide Road also had four critical violations.

• Cold turkey in a reach-in cooler was held at 49 degrees.
• Fried chicken was held in a warming unit at 114 degrees. Hot foods must be held at 140 degrees or hotter.
• Glasses were being stored in a hand washing sink in the bar area.
• A can opener, cooking utensils, and silverware container were soiled.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A Cotton Patch manager tells NewsChannel 11 they do everything they can to work with the health department. He says, though the health department considers their violations critical, they feel they are just four small steps away from being a top performer.

Our third low performer, Jimenez Bakery and Restaurant at 1217 Avenue G, had four critical violations.

• Raw eggs in the shell and sliced ham on a counter were found well above the required cold temperature.
• Cooked eggs and breakfast burritos containing eggs and sausage were well below the required hot temperature.
• Raw beef was thawing above uncovered, cooked beans in the walk in cooler - posing a risk of cross contamination.
• Cooked beans and beef were not date marked.

All four critical violations were corrected on site. A manager could not be reached for comment.

Lastly, Josie's at 2332 19th Street had six critical violations. Manager David Hernandez bared it all for NewsChannel 11's cameras. He is proud to show how clean his kitchen is. Hernandez says, "This is a good place to eat. I'd like to invite everyone to come over."

David and the Josie's staff made sure all the following critical violations were corrected on site.

• Sour cream in a cooler was found above the required cold temperature. Hernandez explains, "From now on, we have our own set of lists. We make sure we go through it and check the bar and make sure the temperatures are right and we stay on top of things.
• Employees were not washing their hands between tasks. To that, Hernandez says, "We're gonna do more training and just keep them on top of things."
• A hand sink was used to store a rag, so Josie's posted a sign informing employees that the hand washing sink was not to be used for storage.
• Hand sinks were lacking soap. Hernandez says the soap dispensers are all stocked now
• There was no thermometer in a reach in cooler, but there is now
• Lastly, soiled knives were stored with clean knives. Hernandez explains, "They used it but they set it back on there. We got that all taken care of.