Moldy eggplant and dirty hands: Triangle restaurant sanitation scores (Dec. 6)
The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.
Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.
You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.
Here are sanitation scores in Wake and Durham counties for the week of Nov. 29-Dec 5.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County sanitation grades database shows at least 100 inspections were completed between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5.
▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.
▪ Three restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.
Chili’s (11380 Capital Blvd., Wake Forest) received a score of 88% during an inspection on Dec. 1.
The restaurant was in violation of 13 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to two points.
Violations included an employee handling dirty dishes and then doing food prep without washing their hands, hand wash sinks with dirty dishes and food, dirty pans stored as clean, raw steaks and cheese sauce stored under raw chicken, food stored at incorrect temperatures, food stored without date markings and tortilla chips stored on the floor.
The restaurant previously scored a 90% in September and a 95% in February.
Chutney’s ( 4121 Davis Dr. Morrisville) received a score of 87% during an inspection on Nov. 29.
The restaurant was in violation of 13 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.
Violations included employees coming in from outside and donning gloves to begin food prep without first washing hands, no paper towels at hand wash sink, hand wash sink blocked by a table, dirty knives stored as clean, employee washing dishes without sanitizer, clean pans stored in mop sink and buildup on dish machine and deep fryer.
The restaurant previously scored a 90% in June and a 90.5 in March.
Roots Grill & Bar (962-B Airport Blvd, Morrisville) received a score of 88.5 during an inspection on Dec. 5.
The restaurant was in violation of 14 state standards, with point deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.
Violations included moldy eggplant stored with other foods, raw meats stored above cooked meat and corn and cheese in cooler, incorrect concentration of chlorine sanitizer in dish machine, raw chicken kept on griddle in between sections of cooked meat, food kept at incorrect temperatures, walk-in cooler unable to maintain correct temperature, incorrect procedures for thawing frozen foods, lack of written employee health policy, lack of procedure for cleaning bodily fluids and lack of parasite destruction letter for cooked-to-order fish.
▪ No restaurants in Wake County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.
▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.
Durham County sanitation scores
The Durham County inspection management system shows that 23 restaurant inspections were completed between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.
Orange County sanitation scores
The Orange County inspection management system shows that 16 restaurants were inspected between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.
Johnston County sanitation scores
The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 27 restaurants were inspected between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5.
▪ All restaurants received an A grade.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.
