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 April but were reinspected with higher scores before May 4th):
#10 Boudreaux’s Louisiana Kitchen
501 E 36th St, Charlotte, NC
Scored 91 (A) on 4/6/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed employee handling raw chicken and not properly wash hands afterwards.
- Observed the raw oysters stored below raw beef in the walk in cooler.
- Observed buildup on several pans stored on the clean equipment rack.
- Observed the seafood soup not properly reheated to 165F.
- Observed several items past their time/temperature date marking requirements, including the au ju sauce, she crab, pork belly, fried goat cheese, fried chicken bites, pulled beef, and beignets.
#9 Truc Vietnamese Cuisine
4520 N Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 4/25/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed no employee health policy onsite.
- Observed a bowl being stored in the hand washing sink.
- Observed raw pork stored above cooked beef.
- Observed a dirty meat slicer.
- Observed the bean sprouts in the cooler cold holding above 45F.
- Observed no date marking on the food in the walk in cooler.
#8 Fin & Fino
135 Levine Avenue of The Arts, Charlotte, NC
Scored 88 (B) on 4/30/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed handsink at dish washing area with drink debris and build up.
- Observed handsink on front line by oyster area blocked by ice cooler.
- Observed duck stored over beef in walk in cooler.
- Observed duck stored behind steaks in reach in cooler prep top. Store lowest final cook temperature furthest back in prep top to limit cross contamination that will not be cooked off by final cook temperature.
- Observed raw salmon stored over ready to eat lobster in walk in.
- Observed unwashed produce stored over washed, ready to eat produce in walk in.
- Observed bowls and blender stored as clean with food debris on them.
- Observed large ice machine with black build up around chute.
- Observed tomato soup 101F, cooling in walk in from lunch time.
- Observed collard greens and parsnip puree above 70F after 2 hours of cooling.
- Observed asparagus at 75F after cooling for 3 hours.
- Observed pizza prep cooler items above 45F.
- Observed skirt steak portions and burgers in prep top above 45F.
- Observed frisee stored over stacked in prep top cooler.
- Observed chicken stock stored on counter at 53F.
- Observed many items throughout facility with no date mark including but not limited to fingerling potatoes, mozzarella cheese, cut tomatoes, apple butter, and polenta.
- Observed a lot of foods throughout facility over the 7 day hold date (4/11, 4/16, 4/18, 4/23, 4/20, 4/21) mark including but not limited to pickled cauliflour, cooked beets, goat cheese, tomato relish, hot pickled vegetables, court bouillon, orange conserva, cooked strawberries, and rice.
- Observed pickled red onions in pizza prep cooler dated 4/30 when date on batch in walk in was 4/28.
- Observed lobster dated 4/27 but cooked on 4/28, per Chef.
- Observed skirt steak and salmon with no asterisk as additions to salad, no asterisk on “The Treatment”, or skirt steak on the dinner menu. All of these items are offered undercooked per discussion with Chef.
#7 Bojangles
300 West Blvd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 88 (B) on 4/18/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed PIC was not a certified food protection manager.
- Observed food employee wash hands for less than approximately 5 seconds before rinsing and drying hands.
- Observed steak held below 135F.
- Observed mac n cheese heated to 135F for the first time. Mac n cheese was allowed to sit out of temperature control allowing mac n cheese to drop below 135F.
- Observed raw eggs near grill held at 65F.
- Observed fries not labeled with begining and end times.
#6 Zaxby’s
7508 S Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 88 (B) on 4/25/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed hand washing sink obstructed.
- Observed sanitizer concentration at sani bucket, and at 3 compartment sink was below 50ppm quat.
- Observed cutting boards visibly soiled, as well as grill weight with heavy build up in between food contact surface.
- Observed mixed salad above 45F.
- Observed leafed lettuce cold holding. Top portion of lettuce was observed cold holding above 45F. Bottom portion was observed at 42F. Container was overfilled.
- Observed grill cleaner stored on shelf next to bread, above grill.
#5 Quik Shoppe
11924 Elm Ln., Charlotte, NC
Scored 87.5 (B) on 4/25/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed no certified PIC on-site.
- Observed container of raw shell eggs stored over mustard and sauces in small prep refrigerator.
- Observed residue on blade of can opener and on containers previously used for chicken according to PIC stored as clean.
- Observed soda nozzles and beverage machine nozzles accumulating black soil residues.
- Observed potatoes press with heavy dried food residues remaining on unit. ensure equipment is cleaned at required frequencies.
- Operator stated that taquito were placed on hot hold rolling unit between 8:00am and 8:10 am and were at 122 degrees F after 2 hours.
- Observed cole slaw sitting on ice in plastic container at 52 degrees F.
- Observed open container of cole slaw in walk in unit not date marked but opened on Monday according to PIC.
- Observed bottle of degreaser not labeled as required.
- Observed spray bottle of chlorine sanitizer above 100ppm as registered by test strips.
- Observed Comet and stainless steel polish stored over single-service cups and condiments.
- Observed oven cleaner stored on prep sink.
#4 Lotus Buffet
9605 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 87.5 (B) on 4/2/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed uncovered beverage stored on food prep table.
- Observed handsink without hand soap.
- Observed cleaning supplies stored in handsink.
- Observed raw fish stored over ready-to-eat chicken in upright cooler.
- Observed raw chopped marinated beef stored over raw fish in walk-in cooler.
- Observed sanitizer in 3 compartment sink testing 0ppm chlorine.
- Observed dried food residue build-up on can opener.
- Observed multiple containers of ready-to-eat foods in upright cooler, walk-in cooler without date marks. Fried chicken, chicken wings, chopped cabbage, cooked pasta.
#3 Circle K
6500 Fairview Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 87 (B) on 4/19/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- No employee health policy posted, employees present did not know about employee health policy.
- Observed no soap at front handsink or at back handsink, no disposable hand towels at front hand sink, no towel dispenser at either sink.
- Observed hot water at both bathroom handsinks only got to 75F.
- Observed cole slaw and salsa/pico with tomatoes at 48F.
#2 Waffle House
8220 Pineville-Matthews Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 86 (B) on 4/30/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- Observed open employee drink stored inside reach-in refrigerator.
- Observed staffer wash hands and turn faucets off with bare hands; need to use clean towel to turn off faucets to prevent recontaminating hands.
- Observed staffer remove soiled gloves and don clean gloves without washing hands.
- Observed inside of ice machine with pink and black mold on divider; need to clean more frequently to avoid build-up.
- Observed outside of ice machine with much dust buildup over air-intake.
- Observed inside of ice bin with much buildup of mold inside.
- Observed rim above soda dispenser heads with mold on them.
- Observed chili 138F on one side of pan, 131F on other side of pan. Assure that all portions of food are properly heated prior to placing into hot holding.
- Observed several cartons of milk opened greater than 24 hours ago with no dates on them.
- Purple sponge type item for use with painting/prepping of dry wall was identified for use in polishing the tops of waffle irons.
#1 Fonda La Taquiza
5135 Albemarle Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 86 (B) on 4/25/2018
They had the following critical violations;
- At the time of inspection observed employee beverage uncovered and being stored on food preparation surface where tortilla were being formed.
- Observed food employee going from dirty to clean at ware washing.
- Observed food employee working with raw chicken then proceed to remove gloves and place new gloves on without washing hands.
- Observed unwashed produce in walk in cooler being stored over ready to eat products.
- Observed raw shell eggs in walk in cooler being stored above salsa.
- Observed tongs being used for flipping raw chicken then used to flip steak then used to remove cactus from grill.
- Observed in reach in unit raw chicken being stored over beef.
- Observed food employee on line working with raw product continue with food preparation while wearing same gloves with ready to eat foods.
- Observed can opener with significant food debris.
- Observed chicken coming off the grill twice less than 165 degrees.
- Observed rice cooling at room temperature at time of inspection. After final temperature taken, rice was cooling at a rate of 0 degrees.
- Observed rice hot holding below 135 degrees.
- Observed pork carnitas and chorizo cooked yesterday without a date marking.
As of May 4th, 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.
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