Food for Thought Report 11.17 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

11/17/05

Food for Thought Report 11.17

It's not very often we have a restaurant that's both a top and low performer, but we do this week in Food for Thought. One Sonic location came out on top and one did not. The Sonic at 101 North University Avenue is our only top performing restaurant. Inspectors gave the location no critical violations.

Food for Thought 11.17
Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 11/17/05.

The Great Wall is our first low performer with five violations.

  • Cooked rice was held at 80 degrees in a walk in cooler.
  • Hot cooked rice was only 128 degrees... well below the required hot temperature.
  • Wet, soiled rags were stored on food contact surfaces.
  • A hand sink did not have soap.
  • An ice maker was soiled.

All critical violations were corrected on site. A manager tells NewsChannel 11 they're trying to keep everything clean and they'll do better next time.

Lala's Restaurant at 1110 Broadway is also a low performer. Lala's had five critical violations.

  • Ground beef was not cooling properly.
  • Eggs, raw bacon and cooked beans were above the required cold temperature.
  • Cooked potatoes and eggs were below the required hot temperature.
  • A hand sink was used to rinse lettuce.
  • A bottle of degreaser was stored next to food on a cutting board.

Each violation was corrected on site. A manager at Lala's assures customers the restaurant is clean and they plan to keep it that way.

Finally, Sonic makes it's second appearance... this time as a low performer. The Sonic at 1901 34th Street had seven critical violations.

  • Hot dogs were found at 57 degrees.
  • Employees were not following proper hand washing procedures.
  • Employees were chewing gum and storing drinks near the food prep table.
  • Tomatoes were moldy and cans were heavily dented.
  • Employees were not handling ready to eat foods properly.
  • Storage practices created a cross contamination hazard.
  • Food contact surfaces were soiled.

A follow up inspection was conducted two days later and a manager tells NewsChannel 11 they performed with flying colors. He says the location is now spotless.