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Nov 5, 2009 10:00 pm US/Central
Into The Kitchen Of Some North Texas Restaurants
IRVING (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Some local restaurants are still having problems "making the grade," possibly putting your health at risk. CBS 11 News got a look at what health inspectors often see on an actual inspections, including the good, the bad and the dirty.
When CBS 11's Bennett Cunningham walked into the kitchen at
I Love Pho on North Macarthur in Irving, his first question was "Is the chicken supposed to be on the garbage pail?"
Cunningham found chicken on the garbage pail. Someone sat it there so it could warm to room temperature. When the poultry was tested with a thermometer, it measured about 70 degrees. According to the city health code, that's about 20 to 30 degrees too warm and a violation.
According to the City of Irving, chicken allowed to get that warm should be thrown out. CBS 11 also found shrimp at improper temperatures. It was about 10 degrees too warm and had the potential to make someone sick.
But the real problems became clear when Cunningham walked into the freezer. It was littered with junk all over the floor and the further into the freezer CBS 11 went - the worse it got. We found water leaking from the freezing unit and a bag of freeze-dried ribs that one cook said he wouldn't even eat.
CBS 11 showed the restaurant video to Darrell Hammond, who heads up the city department in charge of inspecting restaurants in Irving. Hammond saw the video of the ribs and wondered, "If it [has] been dropped on the floor?"
Records show
I Love Pho failed four health inspections this year. In June, records show the city shut the restaurant down for health code violations. The owner told CBS 11 the city was "extremely overbroad with their food inspection" and the score had "little to do with food inspection."
Hammond pointed out that, "All the food codes and regulations… are set up to go the extra mile to prevent something that might happen."
We also visited the
Texas Bar and Grill on East Las Colinas. It failed four health inspections this year. When we went for a recent visit, the refrigerator was the first place we found a problem. We picked up what appeared to be a jalapeno and found a string of hair in the celery. We also found sour cream unrefrigerated and too warm to serve. The manger on duty told us they don't want an "F" again, they want A's.
There were other kitchens CBS 11 didn't go into but that failed multiple health inspections this year.
In April, the
Wendy's on West Airport Freeway failed inspection and was shut down. When the inspector went back three days later for a re-inspection, it failed again.
Read the Wendy's corporate statement.
A spokesman for that
Wendy's franchise told us it has scored A's in the past and apologized for the poor scores.
Read the Wendy's franchisee statement.
We also visited the
Golden Corral on North Beltline. Six years ago CBS 11 tried to go into the kitchen; after inspectors found rodent droppings and a dead mouse in the establishment. In 2009, the same place had multiple failing grades. Inspectors found live roaches and ants among other violations and the city shut it down. So we asked to see the kitchen and just like six years ago – we were not allowed inside.
All the restaurants in this story passed a re-inspection and did much better. It's important to note that the City of Irving has the toughest grading system for restaurants in the state. The city inspectors take off a lot more points than other cities. So a grade of F in Irving may be a grade of C in another city.
Click here to how your favorite Irving restaurant faired.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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