Food for Thought Report 6.19 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

There's nothing funny about this week's only top performer; except their name. Schlotzsky's at 3715 19th Street serves up serious perfection.

Food for Thought 6.19 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 6/19/08.

Now to this week's list of low performers.

Inspectors found six critical violations at Furr's Cafeteria at 6001 Slide Road.

• Raw beef and chicken were above the safe cold temperature of 41 degrees.
• Two employees put on gloves without first washing their hands.
• An employee's uncovered drink was near clean dishes.
• Sugar, in a heavily soiled canister, was thrown out.
• Multiple items in the kitchen were dirty.
• According to the report, inspectors noted a fly problem in the kitchen and around the buffet area. The report notes that the restaurant is on a regular pest control schedule.

Management says the flies came in during a delivery the morning of the inspection, but the problem has been taken care of. He adds, all other violations have been corrected as well.

The report shows most of the violations were corrected during the inspection.

The restaurant at Hillcrest Country Club was cited for six critical violations.

• Inspectors threw out baked potatoes that were not at least 135 degrees.
• The top layers of ice in an ice machine were discarded because of mold on the ice.
• There was also mold on the deflector inside the ice machine. Several other items in the kitchen were dirty, including: pans, plates and bowls that were stored with clean dishes.
• An employee did not wash their hands before putting on gloves.
• Ham and cheese did not have an expiration date.
• A kitchen hose did not have a black flow prevention device to protect the water supply from contamination.

The report shows that most of the violations were corrected while the inspector was there.

Hillcrest's General Manager released this statement:

"All violations have been corrected, and at no time were any customers at risk of being served anything that could be harmful. Safe food handling and food safety procedures are top priority at Hillcrest Country Club."

We head to the Texas Flea Market at 2323 Avenue K for our final low performer. Inspectors found seven critical violations at Snacky Flea.

• Hot dogs, cheese and tomatoes were not 41 degrees or below.
• Nacho cheese was not at least 135 degrees.
• An employee did not wash their hands before handling food.
• An employee did not put on gloves before handling food.
• An employee did not wash their hands between cleaning and cooking.
• Uncovered drinks were near food contact surfaces.
• There was no digital thermometer available.

We tried to contact management, but our calls were not answered. According to the report all but one of the violations were corrected while the inspector was there.