Food for Thought Report 10.12 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Here's a look at this week's top performers:

• Auntie Anne's Pretzel inside the South Plains Mall
• Chicken Express at 4704 4th Street
• Sonic at 7220 Quaker
• Stein's Coffee and Sandwiches at 1406 Ave. Q. 

And the only school inspected this week, Coronado High School Catering at 3307 Vicksburg, also finds itself at the top.

Food for Thought 10.12 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 10/12/06.

Now to the list of low performers.

Chili's Grill and Bar at 607 University has four critical violations.

• Chicken was holding at 52 degrees and steak was 48 degrees. Cold foods must be 41 degrees or colder.
• Dented cans were found.
• A hand wash facility did not have paper towels.
• Measuring cups, plates and storage bins were found soiled.

Management at Chili's says the inspector came in right after a Friday lunch rush. She added that, "Chili's follows very strict rules and food regulations - something that the inspector complimented us on." She also said, "We're very excited to be open and in this area, and we're all dedicated every single one of us to food safety." The report shows all violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.

Donut Depot at 3612 34th street also had four critical violations.

• Cold food was found between 52 and 53 degrees. It must be 41 degrees or colder.
• A hose was hooked to a faucet without a vacuum breaker meaning raw sewage could possibly end up in the kitchen.
• A cooler was holding above the safe temperature of 41 degrees.
• Rodent poison was not covered with a bait station.

Management at Donut Depot did not return our phone call. Only one of the violations was corrected at the time of the inspection.

Maharaja Indian Cuisine at 5130 80th Street had five critical violations.

• Chicken and potato stew was found at 82 degrees. Rice at 125 degrees and cooked carrots at 80 degrees. Hot foods must be 135 degrees or hotter.
• Uncovered, personal drinks were found on food prep counters.
• Cooked rice, chicken, beef and other potentially hazardous food products were not date marked.
• Rodent droppings were found in the dry storage area.
• Kitchen utensils were found very soiled. And soda machine nozzles were found very moldy and soiled.

We contacted management at Maharaja, they had no comment. The report shows most of the violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.

O'Hana Mongolian BBQ at 3410 98th Street had six critical violations.

• Cooked noodles, fried chicken and egg rolls were not properly date marked.
• No hot water was available at a hand sink.
• A hand sink was out of paper towels.
• A live roach was found on the door of a reach-in cooler. Dead roaches were in a kitchen utensil container.
• Spray bottles were not labeled.
• Food contact surfaces including: utensils, utensil containers, shelves and other areas were soiled.

We contacted O'Hana, they are currently closed for remodeling and will soon reopen under new management.

Garcia's Mexican Restaurant at 5402 Slide Road had six critical violations.

• Food was not cooling properly and had to be thrown out.
• An open beverage was found in the food prep area.
• A walk-in cooler was holding at 45 degrees. It must be 41 degrees or colder.
• An automatic towel dispenser was not working.
• Boxes of tortillas were stored on the floor. They must be at least 6 inches off the ground. Can openers were soiled. An onion container was damaged. And ice was stored in a utility sink.

Management at Garcia's says they are dealing with an old building and are in the process of up-grading to a new location. They say until then they are making the best out the older equipment. They also say, the tortillas had just been delivered when the inspection began. Management says all violations have been corrected. The report show most of them had been as well. 

Jake's Sports Cafe at 5025 50th Street had nine critical violations. Owner Scott Stephenson says he wants customers to see what a critical violation looks like, because it's not always as bad as it sounds. "I'd like to show you some of the things in the kitchen, because 9 violations sounds like a lot," Stephenson said.

• Lunch meat and raw hamburger patties were found between 48 and 50 degrees. They must be 41 degrees or colder.
• Employees were not properly washing their hands. '

"(An employee) made a sandwich and he thought, 'I need to change my gloves.' So he took off those gloves and put on a new pair - well that's a critical violation because you have to wash your hands between putting on gloves," Stephenson said.

• Good hygienic practices were not followed.

"(The bartender) made a drink and while she was here, since the doors are open she could see that someone came in, so she set it there.

• Two cans were dented.

"This is a critical violation," Stephenson said pointing to a small dent in can. 

• Food was found with improper date-marking. 
• Hand washing facility were inaccessible.

"That's a critical. To me that's what we should call a minor," Stephenson said showing an example of a hand towel sitting on the side of the sink.

• Evidence of cockroaches.

"I didn't see it, however what we did do is have somebody come out and spray," Stephenson said.

• Improper thermometers were provided.
• Food contact surfaces were unclean.

"Two plates we had a little bitty piece of cheese sitting on the corner," Stephenson said.

"Would you have used that plate?" asked NewsChannel 11.

"No, if we would have picked up it we would have used a different plate," Stephenson added.

He says he does not disagree with the violations and commends the health inspectors for what they do, he says he wishes there were various levels of violations and that not everything was labeled critical.

"When they were done, I said, 'You known man that's pretty bad,' and I said, 'But, would you (the inspector) eat here and she said, 'Yeah I would eat here.'"

Stephenson says all violations have been corrected. The report shows most were corrected at the time of the inspection.