Business & Tech

Restaurant Grades: Know Then Go

A look at restaurant inspections conducted by the health department in Greater Lilburn.

Below are this week's results of recent Gwinnett County restaurant inspections in Greater Lilburn by the East Metro Health District, which covers Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties. Each report includes a synopsis of deficiencies found by the inspector.

Dec. 20

Name and location: El Costeno Calentano, 475 Pleasant Hill Road

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Score: 93/A (follow-up inspection)

Previous scores: 78/C on Dec. 12, 2011 and 96/A on March 24, 2011

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Violations cited: The person in charge wasn't aware of the foodborne illnesses that must be reported to the health department. There was no chlorine in the towel sanitizer.

Name and location: , 495 Pleasant Hill Road

Score: 96/A

Previous scores: 96/A on March 23, 2011 and 93/A on Dec. 10, 2010

Violations cited: Dishes were washed by hand during the inspection, and dishes weren't cleaned with the right wash, rinse and sanitizing procedure.

Name and location: 880 Indian Trail

Score: 88/B

Previous scores: 83/B on June 1, 2011 and 94/A on Aug. 17, 2010

Violations cited: An employee was seen drinking from an open container in the food prep or storage area. Some employees' personal items were stored in the food prep sink area, and an open container of tomatoes was in the dish-washing sink. There was no hot water faucet at the vegetable prep sink. Some fruit flies were spotted in the men's restroom.

Name and location: Skate Along USA, 754 Beaver Ruin Road

Score: 88/B

Previous scores: 93/A on March 5, 2011 and 94/A on Oct. 26, 2010

Violations cited: The food safety manager's certificate wasn't posted. The sanitizer had too much chlorine. One employee's hair wasn't properly restrained.

Name and location: , 4760 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 66/U

Previous scores: 94/A on June 29, 2011 and 95/A on March 25, 2011.

Violations cited: The person in charge didn't know enough about food safety. The inside of the ice machine needed cleaning. Cooling foods in a short enough time and keeping them cold enough were both issues. Containers with chemicals weren't labeled. There was too much chlorine in the towel sanitizer. Handwashing signs at sinks were missing.

Name and location: , 4234 Highway 29

Score: 90/A

Previous scores: 90/A on June 10, 2011 and 99/A on May 9, 2011

Violations cited: One employee was seen washing hands without soap, and another handled raw hamburger meat and then touched the handle to the freezer without washing hands in between. Some floor tiles needed replacing.

Dec. 17

Name and location: , 4774 Highway 29

Score: 75/C

Previous scores: 94/A on March 3, 2011 and 92/A on July 16, 2010

Violations cited: There were no papers towels at the handwashing sink. The inside of the ice machine had black, mold-like buildup. Some cold foods weren't kept cold enough. Some boxes of food were stored on the floor in the freezer. Sanitizer buckets were on the floor. Disposable items weren't kept in the container they came in and weren't protected from contamination. Sef-sevice cooler wasn't cold enough. A raw-wood ramp to the freezer was dirty.

Name and location: , 4230 Highway 29

Score: 85/B (follow-up inspection)

Previous scores: 72/C on Dec. 9, 2011 and 84/B on May 11, 2011

Violations cited: An employee was seen handling cooked chicken with bare hands. Some chemical spray bottles weren't labeled. A household pesticide was in the restaurant. There was too much chlorine in the sanitizer bucket. A sinking for washing wares was used for dirty dishes and food prep.

Name and location: , 4123 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 97/A

Previous scores: 90/A on March 9, 2011 and 95/a on Sept. 10, 2010

Violations: Some wire baskets and the fryer basket needed repairing, and a fan in the kitchen was dusty. Water at the restroom sinks wasn't hot enough.

Dec. 15

Name and location: Alcove Coffee, 4615-B Highway 78

Score: 82/B

Previous scores: 92/A on June 10, 2011 and 100/A on May 12, 2011

Violations cited: Surfaces that come into contact with food and the inside of the ice machine weren't clean. Some foods weren't kept cold enough. Ready-to-eat, refriderated food kept more than 24 hours wasn't clearly labeled with use-by dates. The front display cooler wasn't keeping a low enough temperature. The dishwashing machine wasn't sanitizing dishes.

Name and location: , 4086 Highway 29

Score: 100/A

Previous scores: 92/A on Feb. 17, 2011 and 96/A on July 26, 2010

No violations cited.

Name and location: , 4099 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 87/B

Previous scores: 93/A on April 13, 2011 and 86/B on Oct. 10, 2010

Violations cited: First-aid items were stored above food. Raw fish was on ice that wasn't draining. Hand-washing signs weren't posted at the sink. The fryer baskets needed repairing. Some wooden shelves weren't clean, and the sides of some cooking equipment had "excessive" grease buildup. The floors under a storage unit and under equipment weren't clean.

Name and location: , 4113 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 99/A

Previous scores: 98/A on June 29, 2011 and 96/A on March 25, 2011

Violations cited: Light bulbs on the prep line needed shields.

Name and location: Kabab Hut, 880 Indian Trail Road

Score: 97/A

Previous scores: 92/A on June 30, 2011 and 84/B on March 29, 2011

Violations: There was an open can of food in the cooler. The sanitizer needed more chlorine.

Name and location: , 4085 Highway 29

Score: None given. This was a follow-up to an earlier inspection, when the restaurant got 91/A.

Previous scores: 91/A on Dec. 5, 2011, 96/A on April 12, 2011 and 92/A on Aug. 10 2010

Violations: The inspector noted that all violations from the had been corrected except that food was still stored too close to the floor and the wood panel under a table was still there.

Name and location: Pho Delight, 4805 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 82/B

Previous scores: 86/B on June 24, 2011 and 82/B on March 22, 2011

Violations cited: The person in charge wasn't aware which food-borne illnesses should be reported to the health department. Some bottles holding chemicals weren't labeled, including a vitamin water container. Roach bait was stored above the food prep counter, and there was paint and transmission fluid next to plates. Some cooked foods weren't cooled down quickly enough. Some dead roaches were stuck to tape around a poster.

Name and location: Pizza K Lilburn, 5570 Lawrenceville Highway

Score: 95/A

Previous scores: 97/A on April 22, 2011 and 100/A on March 23, 2011

Violations: There was no handsoap in the employee restroom. The fryer baskets had excessive grease buildup.

Name and location: S&P Hot Pot, 4051 Stone Mountain Highway

Score: 95/A

Previous scores: 92/A on June 24, 2011 and 97/A on Sept. 29, 2010

Violations: The mop sink needed a taller spout and a back-flow preventor. The back screen door needed to be repaired.

Name and location: , 3907 Burns Road

Score: 73/C

Previous scores: 84/B on April 14, 2011 and 87/B on Sept. 10, 2010

Violations cited: The shield on the ice machine and on the tea urn nozzles were showing signs of mold and buildup. Rice in the cooker wasn't kept hot enough, and spaghetti sauce wasn't marked with a date and time. Calimari was thawing at room temperature. The bartender indicated he was using ice from a bin that also held bottled water.

Dec. 14

Name and location: , 3997 Five Forks Trickum

Score: 87/B

Previous score: 90/A on June 24, 2011 and 91/A on Sept. 22, 2010

Violations cited: The prep cooler wasn't keeping foods cold enough. Ham, cheese turkey and eggs had to be thrown out because they were too warm.

Dec. 13

Name and location: , 460 Rockbridge Road

Score:91/A

Previous scores: 94/A on April 7, 2011 and 87/B on Aug. 12, 2010

Violations cited: An employee had an open drink in the food prep or storage area. An employee filled a cup with water from the hand sink, which is only to be used for washing hands. Ready-to-eat, refrigerated food wasn't clearly labeled with a use-by date. The lighting in the walk-in cooler wasn't bright enough.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here