Pittsburgh Restaurant Shut Down By Health Department

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Allegheny County Health Department has ordered the closure of the El Paisano Mexican Restaurant on Beechview Avenue in Beechview for numerous health code violations.

An inspector on Thursday observed one live roach underneath the three-compartment sink and multiple dead roaches too numerous to count underneath a microwave and beneath a standup cooler.

The county requires restaurant food to be stored at 41 degrees or lower. But an inspection Thursday found multiple items being held at unsafe temperatures in a cooler, including:

• Ground beef, 58 degrees.

• Tamales, 44 degrees.

• Cooked rice, 44 degrees.

• Fish filets, 57 degrees.

• Two bins of whole thawed fish at 59 and 64 degrees, respectively.

Additionally, a nine-foot deep pit was observed over the building's sewer line with suspected sewage visible at the bottom. A health department inspector believes a sewer line failure has occurred.

No hot water was available in the kitchen at the three-compartment sink.

It is unclear when - or if - the restaurant will reopen.

See the entire inspection report here.