Restaurant Inspections: Life Cafe and Wendy's

From Feb. 22 to March 1 , the state health department inspected a few restaurants in the Chantilly and Centreville areas: Life Cafe, Otani Japanese Steakhouse and Wendy's.

For prior restaurant inspection reports, click here.

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

That said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation. Inspectors grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations.

A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

"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," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

The site continues: "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."

Below, find the latest restaurant inspection from the Virginia Department of Health. These inspections reflect visits from inspectors during the last few weeks. Some of the violations were corrected immediately during the recent inspections.

The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

Life Cafe
5900 Trinity Parkway
Date of inspection: Feb. 28
Critical: One or more of the elements of an effective employee health policy is either missing or incomplete. A complete employee health policy is required to be in place at the food establishment.
Critical (corrected during inspection): Food items were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device.
Non-critical (corrected during inspection): There was no temperature measuring device located in the following cold or hot holding equipment: Superior 1-door undercounter refrigerator and the Delfield 2-door worktop refrigerator.
Non-critical: The nonfood-contact surfaces of the following equipment had accumulations of grime and debris: caulking of the 3-compartment sink has build-up of mold.
Non-critical: The nonfood-contact surfaces of the following equipment were observed soiled with an accumulation of dust, dirt, food residue, and/or other debris: Observed door gaskets of the following units soiled with food debris - Delfield 2-door refrig prep unit, Superior 1-door undercounter refrigerator and the Delfield 2-door worktop refrigerator.

Otani Japanese Steakhouse
13952 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy
Date of inspection: Feb. 28
Critical (corrected during inspection): Food employee(s) was observed handling the following ready-to-eat foods using their bare hands: unwrapping trays of imitation crab with bare hands.
Critical (corrected during inspection): Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food in the refrigeration unit. Walk-in refrigerator observed with raw shrimp, raw shell eggs, raw beef stored over containers of cooled lo mein noodles, prepared vegetables.
Critical (corrected during inspection): The food-contact surfaces of the following equipment were not observed sanitized: equipment (pots/pans) being washed at 3-vat sink.
Critical (corrected during inspection): The following food item(s) for which time rather than temperature is used as a control is not marked or otherwise identified to indicate the time that is 4 hours past the point in time when the food is removed from temperature control - sushi rice, shrimp tempura.
Critical (corrected during inspection): Restricted, commercial use pesticides present in the facility are applied by the operator who is not a certified pesticide applicator. Sprays bottles of pesticide were observed at back with cleaning supplies.
Non-critical: Caulking at hand sinks and 3-vat sink was observed cracked and peeling, with some areas dirty with mold.

Wendy’s
13902 Lee Jackson Memorial Hwy
Date of inspection: Feb. 28
Critical: Food items were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device.
Non-critical: The following refrigeration unit is not operating properly and is unable to maintain cold food at or below 41°F: 2dr Reach-in refrigerator near drive-thru, 52F.