Mouse Droppings, Fruit Flies, Dirty Equipment: VA Restaurants Cited

VIRGINIA — Some signs of a restaurant with problems are easy to spot: Weird smells, crawling insects or unkempt employees are all red flags. But sometimes the problem is harder to pin down, such as food stored at improper temperatures, unclean kitchen equipment, or insufficient handwashing.

Then there are commercial kitchens that are immaculately clean, surpass all safety standards and dish up delicious food.

Do you know how clean your favorite coffee shop, go-to restaurant or school kitchen is? Look through these recent food safety inspections from around Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg, courtesy of Patch.

Click on the links below to see recent inspection reports for area restaurants:

• Fredericksburg Health Inspections: Flies Found In Multiple Kitchens
• Ashburn Restaurant Inspections: Fruit Flies, Week-Old Meat
• Leesburg Restaurant Inspections: 14 Violations At 1 Facility
• Manassas Health Inspections: 20 Violations At 1 Restaurant
• Woodbridge Restaurant Inspections: Fruit Flies In Facility
• Woodbridge Health Inspections: 28 Violations At One Restaurant
• Arlington Restaurant Inspections: Insects, Mouse Droppings, No Soap
• Leesburg Health Inspections: Potbelly's, Bowlero
• Ashburn Health Inspections: Red Lobster, Vocelli's
• Fredericksburg Health Inspections: 21 Violations At 1 Restaurant
• McLean Restaurant Inspections: Soiled Equipment, Expired Certificates
• Vienna Restaurant Inspections: Lezzet, Simply Social Coffee
• Manassas Restaurant Inspections: China Inn, Randall's Cafe

"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 Virginia Department of Health only recommends restaurants have their permits suspended when "the continued operation of the foodservice presents a substantial and imminent threat to the public health.