Restaurant Scores: Giant, Chuy's, Old Stein Inn, UR Burger ICYMI

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Nineteen restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called "critical violations" in the December 2017 report that was released last week. The county health department has posted a list of 396 restaurant and food service inspections online and says 19 were found to have critical problems that were corrected.

Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between December 1 and 31. Most of the problems noted in the reports were for employees who didn't wash their hands properly or food not stored at a proper temperature. This month there were no closings because of urgent problems.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2002 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis
• Chuy's, 2339 Forest Dr., Annapolis
• Courtyard By Marriott, 2559 Riva Road, Annapolis
• Double T Diner, 12 Defense Street, Annapolis
• Edgewater Dash In Shell, 3075 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater
• Fresh Healthy Cafe, 1021 Annapolis Mall, Annapolis
• Giant Food Store, 13 Lee Airpark Drive, Edgewater
• Happy House Pizza Chicken & Beef, 5720 Unit F Deale Churchton Rd, Deale
• Lauer's Supermarket, 8489 Fort Smallwood Road, Pasadena
• Linthicum Market, 421 S Camp Meade Road, Linthicum
• Old Stein Inn, 1143 Mayo Rd., Edgewater
• Pizza Boli's, 1900 Fairfax Road, Annapolis
• Royal Farms Store, 424 Sixth Street, Annapolis
• Safeway Store, 52 West Central Avenue, Edgewater
• Shoppers Food Warehouse, 2371 Solomons Island Road, Annapolis
• Stan & Joe's Saloon, 173 Mitchell's Chance Road, Edgewater
• Union Jack's, 2072 Somerville Rd., Annapolis
• UR Burger, 120 Mitchells Chance Rd., Edgewater
• Wal-Mart Supercenter, 407 George Clauss Blvd., Severn

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.

SEE ALSO:

• Restaurant Violations: O'Brien's Oyster Bar, Giant, UR Burger
• Wegmans, Chad's BBQ, Corner Grill, Qdoba: Restaurant Inspections
• Anne Arundel Restaurants: Armadillo's, Houlihan's, Mangia, Sakura

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.

Image via Shutterstock