Restaurant Health Ratings This Month: Who Didn't Make The Grade

BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Jefferson County Department of Health's restaurant ratings are updated on a consistent basis, and while the Birmingham metro is home to some of the best eateries in the state, some restaurants have some work to do in order to maintain a high score from the department.

According to the JCDOH health inspections in the month of April, here are the restaurants in the area that scored at or below 85 from their inspections:

Waffle House, 1833 Crestwood Blvd (73): Points deducted for not providing food safety training for all food handlers; eggs above grill not marked with discard time; several stacks of "clean" dishes were dirty; unclean nonfood contact surfaces; not storing wet wiping cloths in the appropriate sanitizing solution; several containers stored above 3-compartment sink were wet stacked; box of disposable cups on floor in dry storage area; leaking freezer; men's restroom was dirty; ceiling vent in dry storage area soiled with dust; accumulation of grease from hood condensing and running into catch tray; failure to store toxic items below and away from food, utensils, equipment, linens, and single service/single use articles.

Brito's Supermarket, 118 Green Springs Highway (76): Points deducted for not posting current inspection report in a conspicuous place inside the food establishment; not maintaining TCS food at 135 F or above; no digital tip reading food thermometer; not having smooth, easily cleanable nonfood contact surfaces; no chlorine solution at 50 to 200 ppm for storing cloths used to wipe counters and equipment; wet stacking of clean food pans stored on the drying racks; paper towels are not provided at the hand sink; observed a bowl of ready-to-eat fruit stored in the hand sink; a number of roaches were observed crawling around inside the oven that is unused.

Katie's Plates, 4500 Montevallo Road (77): Points deducted for not providing safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented food; having several bags of dry ingredients soiled with wet substance; having several cooked food items under the required temperature; not using shallow pans that facilitate heat transfer when cooling; not enough equipment to maintain all cold-held TCS food at 41 F or below; not storing raw shell eggs below and away from ready to eat food; having ground turkey stored beside raw bacon; unclean exterior of RI units, interior of ovens, stovetop, interior shelves of RI coolers; no paper towels in men's restroom; ceiling is soiled with food splatter over cooking area and ceiling vents are covered with dust clumps over food prep area; unclean hood filters.

Domino's Pizza, 445 Main St, Trussville (79): Points deducted for not providing an employee health policy that states what actions are necessary when an employee has a specific symptom or diagnosis related to diseases that are transmissible through food; food employee returned to the work area after using the toilet room and resumed work with food without washing hands; not providing clean-up procedures for employees to follow when responding to vomiting or diarrheal events in a food establishment; no documentation of current food safety training for the employee on duty; not posting current permit in public view; not protecting unpackaged food from environmental sources of contamination during preparation; digital air temperature display on the WI cooler is not working; paper towels were not supplied at any of the handwashing sinks, and there were none in stock in the establishment at the time the inspection was initiated; hot water is not available at the handsink in the toilet room; leaking hot water faucet valve on the handsink in the rear work area; ventilation unit in the toilet room is inoperative.

Golden Rule BBQ, 120 Chalkville Road (83): Points deducted for not providing a utensil with a handle for serving or dispensing food or ice; dish machine sanitizer rinse tested negative for chlorine; bulk chemical container was discovered to be empty; unclean non-food contact surfaces; accumulated, impacted residues on the frame, mount and workboard of the fry cutter; mineral and soil build-up in the wells of the steam table and buffet warmers; food storage totes with broken and cracked rims; temperature thermometer on the hot food holding cabinet is not working; disconnected drain line from the dish machine is discharging onto the floor in the dish room, flowing into the floor drain in the hallway of the adjoining food prep area; blown bulbs in fixtures in the vent hoods.

Rock N Roll Sushi, 5078 Pinnacle Square, Trussville (83): Points deducted for not providing an employee health policy that states what actions are necessary when an employee has a specific symptom or diagnosis related to diseases that are transmissible through food; sushi chef is not wearing a hair restraint; accumulated, dried food residues on the exterior rim of the sushi rice cooler; air temperature thermometer is not provided in the sushi display cooler; no smooth, easily cleanable nonfood contact surfaces; no air gap between the water supply inlet and the flood level rim of the warewashing sink compartments; ventilation unit in the men's restroom is not working; blown bulb in fixture over the food prep table at the fountain drink station.

Spare Time Trussville, 3800 Roosevelt Blvd. (85): Points deducted for not maintaining food below 41 degrees; unclean nonfood contact surfaces; unclean floor drains; gnats and drain flies near the floor drain; unclean vent cover in restroom.

Photo by Chaloner Woods/Getty Images

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