Food for Thought Report 5.15 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

Two-time top performer, The Office Grill and Sports Bar sinks a hole-in-one at their new location at 5004 Frankford.

And like in most sports, manager Justin Robertson says this win takes a team-effort, "We've got a good staff. We stay on top of everything and make sure everybody does their stuff. We do inspections on each other. Sometimes we're here until 4am or 5am making sure stuff gets done. All the way down to the bathroom. If the bathroom is dirty no one wants to come in. It's all about cleanliness."

But great food doesn't hurt, "The pork and peppers. They're hand-stuffed jalapeno poppers, bacon-wrapped, with seasoned cream cheese. They're awesome."

get more>> Web Enhanced 5/15/08 Food for Thought 5.15 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 5/15/08.

Now to this week's two low performers.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant at 5605 Slide Road had 8 critical violations. They invited us inside their kitchen to show everyone that their violations have been cleaned-up.

• A large pot of refried beans, that was next to a hand sink, was thrown out because of the potential for cross-contamination and the beans did not cool properly.
• Eggs, raw beef and raw pork were as high as 66 degrees. They must be 41 degrees or colder.
• Spanish rice was not at least 135 degrees.
• An employee did not change gloves between job duties.
• An employee filled a pitcher with water from a hand sink. Those sinks are for hand washing only.
• Toxic items were not properly stored or labeled.
• Multiples utensils were dirty.

According to the report, those violations were corrected while the inspector was there.

• The restaurant did not have a Heimlich chart posted.

According to the report, the restaurant was to have one by their next inspection.

Owner, Denise Fernandez says after the inspection they went over all expectations with the employees, "We're making sure our temperatures are correct, that everything is cleaned up and everything is in it's place. We try to give our best service, the best food also cook it right, every time. We try to keep our place very clean, a clean kitchen and then good service."

Multiple repeat low performer Grand Buffet at 906 50th finds itself again on the low performing list. This time inspectors cited them for 12 critical.

• Raw chicken, beef and shrimp were all about 10 degrees above the safe cold temperature of 41 degrees.
• Several food items on the buffet were not at least 135 degrees.
• According to the report the facility had numerous cross-contamination issues including: raw chicken that was stored over beef, and chicken was thawing under running water in a heavily soiled sink.
• An employee did not properly clean the sink before using it to thaw foods. The report states the manager was advised to discard all products in the sink and to wash, rinse and sanitize the sink before using it again.
• An employee did not wash their hands after cleaning and then handled foods.
• Several hand sinks had food or dishes in them. An uncovered drink was on a food contact surfaces.
• The items in the walk-in cooler did not have an expiration date.
• Several items were not labeled.
• Toxic items were next to food.
• Cans were dented.
• Several utensils were dirty and surfaces throughout the facility were soiled.
• The report states that food safety procedures were not being passed on to employees, and the certified food manager could not demonstrate food safety.

We left messages for management, but no one returned our calls.

According to the report, most violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.