Feb 20, 2007 9:50 pm US/Central
CBS 11 News Investigates Dirty Dining In Arlington
by Bennett Cunningham
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 News) ―
With flies in the kitchen and mold on the soda nozzles, your neighborhood restaurant may not be as clean as you think.
Little Caesars Pizza [1250 E. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington] had a big problem with my request to see the kitchen. The manager tossed me and the food inspection report out the door.
I doubt he was smiling the day the inspector issued the establishment 34 demerits. Anything above 30 isn't good. The inspector found:
• Evidence of insect contamination
• Toxic items not properly stored or labeled
• Inadequate equipment to maintain product temperature
• Improper or inadequate hand-washing facilities
The Little Caesar's Pizza franchise owner stated "we have passed all health inspections to date."
The manager of an Arby's fast food restaurant [4406 Little, Arlington] wasn't smiling either when we asked to see the kitchen. He said if we were another TV station, he'd let us inside. He told us "I don't like CBS." I think that's ok.
On a recent routine inspection, that Arby's scored 29 demerits, barely a decent score. The inspector found:
• No ammonia sanitizer in the sink
• Mold on the soda nozzles at the drive thru
• The following items were at potentially hazardous temperatures:
1. Crispy chicken
2. Sub-sauce
3. Ranch sour cream sauce
4. Parmesan sauce
Arby's corporate office was not amused by this manager's behavior. It stated, "Arby's takes the health and safety of its customers seriously and finds the score unacceptable. The problems were corrected immediately."
Our next stop was Colter's Bar-B-Que [4435 Little, Arlington]. We wanted to see their kitchen. The manager on duty told us, "If it was up to me I won't have a problem with it."
Well it wasn't. His boss said no, but the inspector got in and gave them 29 demerits. On a recent regular inspection she found:
• Chicken and turkey at potentially hazardous temperatures
• Inadequate amount of sanitizer being used for dishwashing
• Flies
The manager told us, "On hot days, depending on the temperature, you may have flies back there where we keep our other trash."
All these restaurants stated they take the health and safety of their customers very seriously. All the restaurants in this story passed a re-inspection and are open for business. For more information on the score of your favorite Arlington restaurant,
click here.
(CBS 11 News)
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