Restaurants Cited: Adams Ribs North, O'Loughlins, The Hawk's Nest

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Fifteen restaurants and food stores in Annapolis and elsewhere in Anne Arundel County were cited for what county health inspectors called "critical violations" in the July 2018 report that was just released. The county health department posted a list of 312 restaurant and food service inspections online and said 15 were found to have critical problems that were corrected.

Businesses, schools and care centers were inspected between July 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. No restaurants were closed last month because of urgent problems.

The restaurants and businesses with critical violations were:

• The All American Steakhouse, 1502 Annapolis Road, Odenton
• McDonald's, 881 MD Rt.3 North, Gambrills
• Safeway Store, 2644 Chapel Lake Drive, Gambrills
• Subway Restaurant, 7502 Connelley Drive Ste 115, Hanover
• Royal Farms, 803 Pinnacle Dr., Linthicum
• Food Lion, 8741 Piney Orchard Parkway, Odenton
• The Hawk's Nest Grill & Deli, 101 College Parkway, Sun Building 112, Arnold
• Subway, 2311-C Forest Drive, Annapolis
• Adams Ribs North, 589 B & A Blvd Store #3, Severna Park
• Cracker Barrel, 1520 W. Nursery Rd., Linthicum
• Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, 1905 Towne Centre Blvd., Suite 130 Annapolis
• El Nopalito, 2710 Mountain Rd., Suite #1, Pasadena
• Spa Creek Center, 35 Milkshake Lane, Annapolis
• Park Tavern, 580 P Ritchie Highway, Severna Park (two inspections)
• O'Loughlins Restaurant, 1258 Bay Dale Drive Arnold

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:

• Restaurants Cited: Nando's, Adam's Ribs, Newk's Eatery, Chilis
• Restaurant Violations: PF Chang's, Greene Turtle, Vocelli Pizza
• Restaurant Violations: O'Brien's Oyster Bar, Happy Harbor, Weis
• Restaurant Violations: Cooper's Hawk, La Bella Italia, CaliBurger

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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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