Anne Arundel Restaurants: Armadillo's, Houlihan's, Mangia, Sakura

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Thirty-four restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called "critical violations" in the September 2017 report that was recently released. One South County venue had to partially close for nearly a week while problems were corrected.

The county health department has posted a list of 345 restaurant and food service inspections online and says 34 were found to have critical problems that were corrected. Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between September 1 and 31.

Most of the problems noted in the report were for employees who didn't wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature.

Food Facility Closing: Countryside Deli & Market, 5901 Southern Maryland Blvd. in Lothian, was partially closed Sept. 22 because of a lack of a mechanical ventilation hood over cooking equipment and the lack of a current food service facility license. The facility was reopened on Sept. 28.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• Applebee's Restaurant, 2408 Brandermill Blvd, Gambrills
• Armadillo's, 132 Dock Street, Annapolis
• Back Creek Cafe & Boat Supply LLC, 7310 Edgewood Road, Annapolis
• Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, 2478 A Solomons Island Road, Annapolis
• Bella Italia Pizzeria & Restaurant, 609 B Taylor Ave, Annapolis
• Brooklyn Park Elementary, 200 W 14th Avenue, Baltimore
• Cafe Normandie, 185 Main Street, Annapolis
• California Pizza Kitchen, 22 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis
• Central Elementary School, 130 Stepney's Lane, Edgewater
• Chick-fil-A, 7831 Quarterfield Park Rd., Severn
• Chris's Charcoal Pit House of Annapolis, Inc., 1946 West Street, Annapolis
• Cold Stone Creamery, 15 Lee Airpark Drive, Edgewater
• Countryside Deli & Market, Inc., 5901 Southern Maryland Blvd., Lothian
• DC-3 Hot Dogs, BWI, Pier B, Upper Level, Space B-X1, Linthicum
• Harwood Market, 4450 Solomons Island Road, Harwood (inspected 2 times)
• Houlihan's Waugh Chapel, 1407 S. Main Chapel Way, #115, Gambrills
• Jerry's Subs and Pizza, 914 Bay Ridge Rd, Annapolis
• Joy Luck IV Delivery, 1394 Cape St Claire Road, Annapolis
• Katana Sushi, 2371 Solomons Island Road - Shoppers Market, Annapolis
• Kelly's Cajun Grill, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle, Hanover
• Lindale Middle School, 415 Andover Rd, Linthicum
• Mangia, 81 Main Street, Annapolis
• Neo Pizza, 220 Harker Place, Annapolis
• Nordstrom Cafe, 1880 Annapolis Mall Rd., Annapolis
• Park Elementary School, 201 East 11th Avenue, Baltimore
• Parole Exxon, 2069 West Street, Annapolis
• Plazuela's Mexican Restaurant, 3029 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater
• Sakura Cafe, 105 Main Street, Annapolis
• Springhill Suites-BWI, 899 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum

Inspectors evaluate nine critical food safety items, which are those most likely to contribute to foodborne illness, the department says. If a critical food safety violation is discovered, it must be either corrected immediately or the facility risks being closed.

Find the full inspection list here and explanations for the citations on the health department website.

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health inspects restaurants and other food service facilities routinely to monitor the sanitary and physical conditions at each establishment.

Indicates type of inspection:

ICI - Initial Comprehensive Inspection: Complete environmental inspection which includes both critical and sanitation items and food flow process (HACCP)
IM(1 or 2) - Monitoring Inspection: Specialized inspections performed to monitor critical steps of food handling for potentially hazardous foods.
R(or R2) - Reinspection
Column 5: Critical food safety items found NOT in compliance. Any critical items found to be in violation must be corrected during the inspection. Numbers appearing in this column indicate the food safety item found in violation.

These numbers correspond to the following critical items:

1. Food must be obtained from an approved source.
2. Food must be protected from adulteration, spoilage and contamination.
3. Food workers must be restricted during illness or infection.
4. Food workers must practice effective handwashing.
5. Food must be properly cooled.
6. a. Food must be held at proper cold holding temperature. All existing refrigeration equipment must maintain the internal temperature of potentially hazardous food at 41 degrees F or less. b. Food must be held at proper hot holding temperature.
7. a. Food must be cooked to proper temperature. b. Food must be reheated to proper temperature.
8. Potable hot and cold running water must be provided.
9. Sewage must be properly discharged.

Ways to spot a possibly unclean restaurant kitchen are:

• Outdoor space: If the exterior is unkempt and littered, don't trust the inside.
• How clean is the restroom? Smells and overflowing trash cans are a red flag.
• Well-groomed employees: Are they washed, do they wear gloves when handling food, and do they wash their hands? If not, be careful.
• Healthy servers: If your waiter is sneezing or coughing, ask for another or consider leaving
• Table cleaning: Is a clean rag and disinfectant used to clean the table's surface? If not, the staff could just be spreading germs around.

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