Restaurant Inspections: Evidence of Pests in Two Arlington Establishments

These Arlington restaurants were recently paid visits by the the Virginia Department of Health. Restaurants are paid periodic visits.

See Clarendon Patch for restaurants in the Clarendon, Courthouse and Rosslyn neighborhoods.

The full reports can be accessed on the state Health Department's website:

7-Eleven Store #27547A
5030 Lee Highway
Date of inspection: March 12
Food stored in a location where it is subject to splash, dust or other contamination. Cases of drinks stored on the floor in lobby and walk in.

Cafe Manna
2345 Crystal Drive #130
Date of inspection: March 12
A food employee failed to wash his or her hands before donning gloves for working with food.

Carpool
4000 N. Fairfax Drive
Date of inspection: March 12
The food establishment is not under the immediate control of a Northern Virginia certified food manager.

Charlie Chiang's Restaurant
320 S. 23rd St. #150
Date of inspection: March 12
Containers of wontons, prepared and held in the food establishment for more than 24 hours, are not clearly marked to indicate the date or day by which the food shall be consumed on the premises, sold or discarded.

Convenience Express
2450 Crystal Drive
Date of inspection: March 12
The handwashing stations at the sushi station and smoothie station are being used to clean equipment and utensils.

America Seafood
4550 Lee Highway
Date of inspection: March 11
The toilet room hand sink is no longer tightly sealed to wall.

Aroma Indian Cuisine
4052 S. 28th St.
Date of inspection: March 11
Insect, rodent and/or other pest harborage conditions exist on the premises. Some mouse droppings were observed on the floor downstairs, a few dead roach pieces were observed on the floor, and fruit flies were observed both upstairs and downstairs.

Cowboy Cafe
4792 Lee Highway
Date of inspection: March 11
The nonfood-contact surface of the milk crates used for shelving is not free of unnecessary ledges, projections, and crevices and/or designed and constructed to be easily cleanable or maintained.

El Tutumaso
4707 Columbia Pike
Date of inspection: March 11
Some cooling units are not equipped with at least one integral or permanently affixed temperature measuring device that is located to allow easy viewing of the device's temperature display.

Hi-Cue Billiard
940-A S. George Mason Drive
Date of inspection: March 11
Insect, rodent, and/or other pest harborage conditions exist on the premises. Mouse droppings were observed in the employees-only room by the restrooms.

Hunan Bar-B-Q- Express
6017 Wilson Blvd.
Date of inspection: March 11
Food employees are not wearing effective hair restraints.

Prospect Market
1200 N. Nash St.
Date of inspection: March 11
The hand wash sink in the employee toilet room was in need of being sealed to wall.

Ristorante Murali
1201 S. Joyce St. C-4
Date of inspection: March 11
Lamb shanks, flan, lasagna, cooked vegetables and some other foods, prepared and held in the food establishment for more than 24 hours, is not clearly marked to indicate the date or day by which the food shall be consumed on the premises, sold or discarded.

Rustico Restaurant & Bar
4075-B Wilson Blvd.
Date of inspection: March 11
The hand washing sink in the kitchen are used for purposes other than hand washing. An employee was observed rinsing a knife in the hand sink.

Stray Cat Cafe
5866 Washington Blvd.
Date of inspection: March 11
An open beverage container and/or a closed beverage container not handled to prevent contamination of a food employee's hands, the container, exposed food and/or clean equipment was observed.

Chanda Market
5550 Columbia Pike
Date of inspection: March 8
Ready-to-eat food is not protected from cross contamination by separating it from raw animal foods. Shell eggs stored above milk in walk in.

Cosi #147
1801 N. Lynn St.
Date of inspection: March 8
A sign or poster that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not provided at all hand washing lavatories used by food employees and/or is not clearly visible to food employees. No hand wash sign at kitchen hand wash sink.

Sichuan Wok Restaurant
901 N. Quincy St.
Date of inspection: March 8
Containers of meats under preparation, cases of cooking oil, containers of foods in walk in, observed stored on floor and subject to contamination.

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According to the Virginia Department of Health:

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations.

"Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long term cleanliness of an establishment."