Food for Thought Report 2.1 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Paddy's Original Philly Cheesesteak is grilling up perfection once again. The restaurant at 1101 Main Street was perfect in its last health inspection.

Two other downtown restaurants are repeat top performers this week, including La Diosa Cellars at 901 17th Street. This bistro also makes and sells wine.

It's five for five for chef Matt Britton. He can add another top performing plaque to his wall. La Bowski's at 1205 13th Street is tops this week.

Eddie's Barbecue at 1324 E. 50th earned a perfect score, making it a repeat top performer as well.

The golden arches get a gold star this week. The McDonald's at 5010 I-27 is a top performer.

Wrapping up the top performers this week, is a location that has been open less than three months. The restaurant inside the Market Street at 4205 98th Street is a first time top performer.

Food for Thought 2.1 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 2/1/07.

Now to our low performers.

Dairy Queen at 8105 Indiana had four critical violations.

• Tomatoes were between 46 and 50 degrees. They must be 41 degrees or colder.
• An employee was handling food with bare hands.
• Cooked chicken did not have the correct discard date.
• Toxic items were stored near a food product.

Management was unavailable to comment. The report shows all violations were corrected during the inspection.

Mi Tio's at 7412 University had five critical violations.

• An employee did not wash their hands before putting on gloves.
• There were no thermometers in coolers.
• A can opener blade and serving line cooler was soiled. And several dishes were chipped.
• There was no hot water in the rest room.
• Inspectors found several fresh rodent droppings in the dry storage age.

Management says, "There was a water leak under the building so they had to run the plumbing through the ceiling which brought in the mice." They say all violations have been corrected.

Inspectors also cited Cafe J at 2605 19th Street for five critical violations.

• Several food items were found at potentially unsafe temperatures.
• Multiple cans were dented.
• The wrong type of thermometer was used.
• Several food contact surfaces were soiled.
• A consumer advisory was not posted about the consumption of undercooked meat.

Management says, "All violations were immediately addressed and have been corrected." They say, "We always strive to maintain a safe environment and ensure quality food for their customers."

Josie's at 2332 19th Street also had five critical violations.

• Several food items were above the safe temperature of 41 degrees.
• An employee was handling food with their bare hands.
• Coolers did not have thermometers. And the facility did not have a thermometer to measure the temperature of thin meats.
• Multiple food contact surfaces were soiled.
• A consumer advisory was not posted about the consumption of undercooked eggs.

Management did not return our phone call. The report shows most violations were corrected during the inspection.

Joe's Crab Shack at 5802 West Loop 289 had six critical violations.

• Several food items, including scallops and shrimp, were found at temperatures as high as 69 degrees - that's 28 degrees above the safe temperature of 41 degrees.
• An employee did not wash their hands when changing gloves.
• Personal drinks were found near food contact surfaces.
• Several items were soiled or broken. 
• Various spray bottles without labels were found in the kitchen area.
• Crab meat salad was found with an expired date mark.

Management says, "After preparing the salad, an employee did not change the expiration date on the lid, but it was discarded as a precaution." He says, "We take food safety very seriously, and go through a vigorous chick list every two hours." He says all violations were corrected while the inspector was there. The report shows that as well.

Fazoli's at 1902 West Loop 289 also had six critical violations.

• Spaghetti was found between 44 and 53 degrees.
• An uncovered drink was found in the kitchen area. An employee washed their hands in a sink not designated for hand washing.
• A dented can was found. Lemons were moldy.
• An employee handled sliced tomatoes with their bare hands without proper hand washing.
• Pasta and tomatoes were found without proper date marking.
• Utensils and drink lids were soiled.

Management says they were not aware of some of the new health codes, but with their inspectors help everything has been corrected.