Food for Thought Report 8.16 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

"We're at 2013 N. Ash right behind Pharr RV," Belinda de los Santos said.  She opened Belle's Kitchen in April and already this hidden treasure in Northeast Lubbock is once again a top performer.

She says the recipe for a perfect health inspection score is hard work and routine, "Just follow the proper sanitization and cleaning that's required by our health department and make sure that all our food is kept at the right temperatures."

It's her cooking that keeps the customers coming back, "They come out a lot for the burritos in the morning. We get pretty busy then, but then we're really busy at lunch. We're doing hamburgers and stuff like that at lunch."

From breakfast burritos to Belle's Burgers, chili dogs and chicken strips - everything is made to order, no matter what time it is, "We've had people come up here and want a hamburger at 9:30 in the morning."

So how does it feel to be a two-time top performer? Belinda says, "It feels great! Exciting! It makes it all worthwhile."

Food for Thought 8.16 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 8/16/07.

Now to our two low performers.

Ranch House Restaurant at 1520 Buddy Holly had six critical violations.

• Several cold foods were not 41 degrees or below.
• An employee rinsed a towel in a hand sink.
• Three cans were dented.
• Toxic items were stored next to food contact surfaces.
• A mechanical dish washer was not dispensing sanitizer.
• Tongs were soiled, and the inside of an ice machine was rusty.

Management says all violations have been corrected. The report shows all but one were corrected during the inspection.

Our final low performer is Applebee's at 6501 4th Street where health inspectors found eight critical violations.

• Multiple cold foods including; raw chicken and raw beef were above the safe temperature of 41 degrees.
• Rice was not re-heated to the correct temperature of 165 degrees.
• A pitcher of water was in a hand sink.
• A hand sink was not draining properly and had food particles in it.
• Two cans were sharply dented.
• The scoop handle was in bin of shredded cheese.
• Multiple flies were found in a dry storage area.
• Multiple food contact surfaces were soiled, including; plates, bowls and a can opener.

Management says all violations have been corrected. The report shows most of the violations were corrected while the inspector was there.