Even though Charlotte’s restaurant selection continues to grow, so does our population, and some restaurants are taking advantage of this growing customer base by letting their health standards slide.
Some of the most common reasons for low scores were food handlers not washing their hands properly, contaminated food containers, and improper food temperatures (many restaurants are starting to use infrared thermometers to avoid this). You can see exactly what the inspectors look for on this blank copy of an inspection report.
These are the top 10 worst currently standing inspection scores in Mecklenburg County (some restaurants scored lower in January but were reinspected with higher scores before February 6th):
#10 Pagoda Chinese Restaurant
5304 Sunset Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 1/26/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed employee drinks stored on prep tables and inside prep cooler next to or above foods.
- Observed a couple pans with food residue on the outsides.
- Observed spray bottle of sanitizer reading 0 ppm.
- Observed foods made yesterday (egg rolls, and rangoons) that are kept more than 24 hrs that are not being date marked, observed no date marking system in place.
#9 Levant Meditteranean Cuisine
135 Levine Ave., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 1/12/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed employees wash hands for less than 15 sec and also recontaminate hands by turning off faucet with bare hands.
- Observed employee handle raw beef kabob and then handle RTE foods including cilantro and potatoes.
- Observed blanched fries cooling at a rate of .18F/min in first step of cooling.
- Observed grape leaf dumplings stored in prep cooler above 45F.
- Observed chick peas in walk-in dated 1/9. Observed hummus in prep cooler dated 1/12. Hummus was made from chick peas in walk in and therefore was improperly dated.
#8 Freshii One Carolinas
200 S. College St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 1/29/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed employee wash hands and then turn off faucet without using a barrier.
- Observed employee washing dishes by using soap and water, rinsing, and then dunking in sanitizer for 2 seconds and then immediately placing them on side to dry. Chemical sanitizer facility is using states to sanitize with contact time of 1 to 2 minutes.
- Observed multiple items not cooling at the proper rate.
- Observed items holding above 45F in front prep top coolers including cabbage, beans, goat cheese, feta cheese, corn, tomatoes, edamame, and boiled eggs.
#7 Fonda La Taquiza
5135 Albemarle Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 1/8/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed two containers of oysters in the walk-in cooler- one was small and shucked and the other was large and not shucked. Staff stated that they were from the same batch but neither had the tag with them.
- Observed tags from the past 3 months and none of them had the last sold date on them.
- Observed raw oysters stored over cooked beef today.
- Observed ice machine with the lid open today and no one was using it.
- Observed pork stored in the oven and the oven was off – pork was <135F.
#6 Curry ‘n Cake
2015 E Arbors Dr., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 1/29/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed chicken in the hot box holding at 123F, butter on the counter at 130F and soup on the counter at 91F.
- Observed a bowl of shell eggs on the prep unit at 78F.
- Observed cooked chicken in the prep unit without a date and sambar in the reach in cooler without a date.
- Observed rice held on time but the time was not marked.
#5 Embassy Suites – Uptown Charlotte
401 E Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 89.5 (B) on 1/31/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed food employee turning off faucet without protecting hands from recontamination.
- Observed egg station food employee preparing shelled eggs that are not pasteurized without washing hands and changing gloves before hand dispensing RTE foods.
- Observed one handsink blocked b ice from the breakfast service.
- Observed wings cooked to 110F stored over RTE chicken parmesan on speed rack in the kitchen.
- Observed stacked plastic pans with sticker residue on the outsides.
- Observed pink and brown buildup around the ice chute inside the ice machine.
- Observed chicken cooked to 110 F.
#4 Tsuki Japanese Steak House
3429 Toringdon Way, Charlotte, NC
Scored 88.5 (B) on 1/24/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed issues with hand washing, bare hand contact, employees not properly sanitizing and cleaning equipment/utensils.
- Observed food employee donning gloves without washing hands after completing task.
- Observed food employee touching face while wearing gloves and move to ware washing.
- Observed food employee preparing sushi rolls then go to walk in cooler to grab additional food ingredients while wearing gloves then go back to sushi station to continue making rolls.
- Observed food employee placing hat on while wearing glove doing food preparation.
- Observed food employee cutting mushrooms with bare hand.
- Observed no paper towels at hand sink.
- Observed raw shell eggs which had become cracked being stored directly on top of ready to eat vegetables (zucchini, carrots and onion mixture).
- Observed food employee at grill using same spatulas to handle cooked ready to eat foods and raw proteins.
- Observed food employee using same cutting board to cut first raw beef then cut zucchini and vegetables.
- Observed mandolions in the oven with significant food debris on it.
- Observed rice hot holding below 135 degrees.
- Observed product holding flip top unit above 45 degrees.
- Observed chicken, noodles and broccoli that were cooked prior today.
#3 Bombay Grille
8706 Pineville Matthews Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 87 (B) on 1/29/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed a food employee turn faucet off with their bare hands after hand washing.
- Observed hot water drop to 73 degrees F at hand washing sink near grill cooking area.
- Observed stainless steel bowl stored in handwashing sink in ware washing area.
- Observed a container of raw chicken stored in contact with container of cooked chicken.
- Observed raw chicken removed from commercial packaging and stored over fish in walk-in freezer.
- Observed container of lamb stored on chicken in walk-in cooler.
- Observed a bowl and small bowl stored as clean but soiled with food debris.
- Observed cooked chicken with date of preparation of 1/14/18.
#2 McCormick & Schmicks
200 S. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 87 (B) on 1/19/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed large container of blanched green beans being stored on bottom shelf in walk-in below other unwashed and packaged produce.
- Observed slicer, used and cleaned this morning with food debris left on the blade.
- Observed cleaning needed on the ice well by bar.
- Observed red soup cooling at a rate of 0 degrees/minute in walk-in cooler.
- Observed blanched green beans cooling at a rate of 0.08 deg/min in walk-in cooler.
- Observed roasted red pepper mashed potatoes and white rice holding at temperatures below 135F in hot box.
- Observed items prepared on 1/18 including cabbage coleslaw, diced tomatoes, bruschetta mix, grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, and white rice holding at temperatures as high as 51F in reach-in cooler.
- Observed items without date labels that are not intended to be used within 24 hours including portioned lobster meat, tomato soup, half and half, and potato cakes.
- Observed room temperature butter by stove with time stamp of 12pm-4pm at 11:53am.
- Observed two spray bottles of orange liquid without labeling in kitchen.
#1 Sithara
9609 N Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 84.5 (B) on 1/30/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed employees washing hands with cold water. No hot water available due to problem with hot water heater.
- Observed handsink in kitchen without hand towels or hand soap.
- Observed food items in walk-in cooler without cover.
- Observed bulk dry food containers without lids. observed open bags of dry food.
- Observed raw chicken stored on top of raw goat meat in upright freezer.
- Observed 3 compartment sink in-use with sanitizing solution testing 0ppm chlorine.
- Observed vegetable paneer prepared for delivery to secondary location stored in dining area < 135F.
As of February 6th, the above scores have not changed, but they can be increased (or decreased) at any time, as soon as they have a re-inspection.
If you’d like to monitor health scores, or do a quick search for a restaurant you’re about to eat at, check out North Carolina’s health inspection database here.