Restaurant Violations: O'Brien's Oyster Bar, Giant, UR Burger

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 November 2017 report that was recently released. Two venues had to close for part of a day while problems were corrected.

The county health department has posted a list of 282 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 November 1 and 30.

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.

Food Facility Closings:

• Union Jack’s, 2072 Somerville Road, Annapolis, was closed Nov. 1 due to no hot water available. The facility was reopened the same day.
• Parole Exxon, 2069 West Street, Annapolis, was partially closed Nov. 14 due to operating the food service portion without a current and valid food service facility license. The facility was restored to full operations on Nov. 15.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• Asian Buffet, 2019 West Street, Annapolis
• Bernie's Grill, 407 S. Camp Meade Rd., Linthicum
• Burger King, 1952 West Street, Annapolis
• Curry Masala, 1070 Annapolis Mall, FC24, Annapolis
• El Pan Cafe, 1908 Forest Drive #1D, Annapolis
• Element Arundel Mills, 7522 Teague Rd., Hanover
• Giant Food Store, 1161 MD Rt. 3 Crofton Station, Crofton
• Happy Harbor Restaurant, 533 Deale Rd., Deale
• Ledo Pizza, 505 B S Cherry Grove Ave., Annapolis
• Mario's Restaurant, 1912 Forest Drive, Annapolis
• New Dragon Boat, 4147 Mountain Road, Pasadena
• O'Brien's Oyster Bar/Rest., 113 Main Street, Annapolis
• Popeyes of Edgewater, 98 E Central Avenue, Edgewater
• Subway Restaurant, 7502 Connelley Drive Ste 115, Hanover
• Swamp Circle Saloon, 5471 Muddy Creek Road, Churchton
• Taqueria & Pupuseria El Portalito, 1900 Fairfax Rd., #12, Annapolis
• Union Jack's, 2072 Somerville Rd., Annapolis
• UR Burger, 120 Mitchells Chance Rd., Edgewater
• Wendy's, 100 East Central Ave., Edgewater

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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