Food for Thought Report 7.31 - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

We begin this Food for Thought report with this triple topping of sweet perfection:

Bahama Bucks at 1708 50th Street; Cookies by Design at 3310 82nd Street; and HiJo's Lemonade Express inside the flea market at 1808 Clovis Road are all Top Performers.

get more>> Web Enhanced 7/31/08 Food for Thought 7.31 Here is a complete list of the restaurants and their violations for the week ending on 7/31/08.

Our first stop on this list of repeat low performers is Hong Kong Buffet at 4845 50th. They had eight critical violations.

• Live flies were found throughout the kitchen.
• Live flies were on raw pork that was being prepared to cook.
• Raw beef and pork were above the safe temperature of 41 degrees. Cantaloupe and honeydew on the buffet line were thrown out because they were also at wrong temperatures.
• Also from the buffet, inspectors threw out squid, shrimp and pizza that were not at least 135 degrees. Fried chicken had to be reheated.
• Employee's personal food and drinks were on food prep counters.
• Dishes were not being sanitized.
• Several utensils in the kitchen were dirty.
• According to the report the restaurant has a certified food manager, but the inspector notes that employees are not being properly trained by the manager.

Management says all violations have been corrected. According to the report most of the violations were corrected at the time of the inspection.

We head inside our next low performer. Lubbock's Breakfast House at 7006 University invited us into their kitchen to explain their nine critical violations. "We had a few problems in the kitchen. All the problems were fixed immediately," Andrea Lowman said.

• Raw hamburger patties, milk, cheese and ham were above 41 degrees.
• A can was sharply dented - which can cause bacteria to grow and can lead to botulism.
• An employee was not wearing gloves when handling shredded cheese.
• An employee did not wash their hands between handling food and other duties.
• Several foods did not have an expiration date.
• Dishes were not being sanitized.
• Two coolers did not have thermometers, and the food thermometer was not available to employees.
• Multiple kitchen utensils were dirty.

Again, Management says all violations have been corrected. They also say they are glad that inspectors randomly check-in on Lubbock restaurants to keep everyone on their toes. "We are very thankful for the health department that they set the guidelines for us to give our customers a safe and enjoyable place to dine," Lowman said.

And everyone at Lubbock's Breakfast House says, when you do dine with them, you can expect the best breakfast in Lubbock at the most reasonable prices. They say they always strive to be at the top of the list. "I like Food for Thought. I think that Food for Thought is great for all involved because whether we did good or bad it helps viewers, and we always see a positive return from our customers," Lowman said.

Our final low performer is Lin's Buffet at 5608 Slide Road. They had 10 critical violations.

• Multiple food items, that were at potentially dangerous temperatures, were thrown away including: raw and cooked beef, crayfish and oysters.
• Rice was thrown out after it did not cool properly.
• Sausage and ribs were not date-marked.
• Employees were not properly washing their hands.
• The hand sink was used to rise off soda nozzles.
• A cleaning solution was at a toxic level.
• Dishes were not being sanitized.
• Dry goods were thrown out because an employee did not know what was inside a container and the label did not match its contents.
• Several items in the kitchen were dirty.
• The report states that while the restaurant has a certified food manager, employees do not demonstrate knowledge of food safety.

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