May’s restaurant inspections reveal important health violations.

Polk County Restaurant Inspections

Editor’s Note: Polk County health Department conducts a bi-annual, unannounced inspection of licensed restaurants. The establishments receive an overall grade on various criteria, including food temperatures, food preparation practices, worker hygiene, dish washing and sanitizing, and equipment and facility cleanliness. The restaurants are scored on a 100-point scale, with 5 points deducted for priority violations and 3 points deducted for priority foundation violations. Deductions are doubled if recorded on consecutive inspections. Restaurants are considered compliant if they receive a score of 70 or higher. However, if they score below 70, they must be reinspected within 30 days or face closure or other administrative action. Restaurants are required to display a placard by the entrance indicating whether they have passed or failed their most recent inspection.

Inspection Findings

Restaurant Name: Rick’s Place Coffee Pushcart

Location: 365 E Ellendale Ave., Dallas

Score: 95

Finding: Potentially hazardous food is not maintained at proper hot or cold holding temperatures. Individual packages of butter in a container are stored at 71 F, instead of at or below 41 F or above 135 F.

Restaurant Name: Aaron & Jack’s Snack Shack

Location: 289 E Ellendale 401, Dallas

Restaurant Name: Momiji Sushi Bar & Restaurant

Location: 303 N Main St., Independence

Score: 92

Finding: Food-contact surfaces are not clean. The interior back wall of the microwave has food splatter dried onto the surface. Additionally, potentially hazardous food is not maintained at proper hot or cold holding temperatures. A container of eel beside the microwave is at 67 F. The manager states that the eel has been sitting out at room temperature since 11:30 am.

Restaurant Name: Washington St. Steakhouse & Pub

Location: 141 SW Washington St., Dallas

Score: 87

Finding: Soap is not provided at a handwashing sink. The men’s restroom soap dispenser is empty. Additionally, the chlorine sanitizer concentration, pH, or temperature is not adequate. The bar dishwasher sanitizer is at 0 ppm, and the sanitizer solution container is empty.

Restaurant Name: Westside Taphouse And Growler Fill

Location: 1216 NW Wallace Road., West Salem

Score: 97

Finding: Food-contact surfaces are not clean. The food slicer adjacent to the breakfast area has dried food debris on the blade surface.

Restaurant Name: Brooks & Terry’s Espresso

Location: 1407 Monmouth St., Independence

Restaurant Name: North Dallas Grill & Sports Bar

Location: 170 E Ellendale Ave., Dallas

Score: 95

Finding: Medicines are improperly stored or labeled. A bottle of opened Pepto Bismol is stored above ready-to-eat foods in the back walk-in fridge.

Restaurant Name: 345 N Monmouth Ave– Library

Location: Monmouth

Score: 97

Finding: A test kit is not provided or is not accurate enough to measure the concentration of sanitizing solutions. No sanitizer test strips are available onsite for testing the quaternary ammonia sanitizer used for the wipe cloth solution.

Restaurant Name: 345 N Monmouth Ave.

Location: Monmouth