19 Violations Found At Alexandria Restaurant: Recent Inspections

ALEXANDRIA, VA — The latest restaurant inspections are posted up to Dec. 27, and there's a mix of restaurants with violations and no violations.

The Alexandria Health Department's environmental health specialist regularly inspects restaurants and other food service establishments around the city. Each food service establishment gets at least one inspection per year, but the frequency of inspections is based on the type of food prepared and how it is prepared, according to the Virginia Department of Health inspection database. Inspections may be routine visits, follow-up inspections, training inspections, pre-opening inspections, or risk assessment or complaint inspections.

Reports are typically available a week after the inspection. Residents can search for a specific restaurant or browse a map of inspected locations through the online database.

Below are reports for the last two weeks of December at restaurants around Alexandria. One of the notable results was 19 violations at The Executive Diner, including repeat violations on cold holding foods and a food with no discard or prepared date.

Click on each link to see the full report for the restaurants.

El Paisa Grocery (Carryout): 3414 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA 22305

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (follow-up)

Violations: No violations found.

Foxtrot (Carry-out): 701 King St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.

7-Eleven #10765B: 3412 Mt. Vernon Ave Alexandria, VA 22305

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (routine)

Violations: Quaternary Ammonium sanitizing solution used was not at an acceptable concentration; Jamaican beef patties (44) and buffalo chicken (44) inside the undercounter thawing cooler cold holding at improper temperatures.

Alexandria Pastry and Cafe: 3690 King St H Alexandria, VA 22302

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (routine)

Violations: Improper methods used to thaw raw beef and cheese: observed large cut of raw beef in a bucket of stagnate water at room temperature (77) and two bags of cheese on a sheet tray thawing.

Philadelphia Cheesesteak Factory: 3060 Duke St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.

King & Rye: 480 King St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.

Samurai Hibachi & Sushi Bar: 4603 Duke St Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (routine)

Violations: Observed dish machine dispensing chlorine sanitizer at concentration 0 PPM chlorine; observed four bus tubs of white rice in walk-in cooler at the following temperatures: 54F, 48F, 51F, 48F; observed ice scoop stored with handle contacting ice.

Shooter McGee's: 5239 Duke St Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (follow-up)

Violations: No violations found.

Whiskey & Oyster: 301 John Carlyle St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (follow-up)

Violations: No violations found.

TJ Stones: 608 Montgomery St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (routine)

Violations: The sign that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not clearly visible or not in the vicinity of the handwashing sink; handwashing facilities located at the bar and the kitchen were blocked, preventing access by employees for easy handwashing; observed a few missing wall tiles near the 3 compartment sink.

Old Town Sandwich Shop: 127 S. Peyton St 101 Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 27 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.

Old Hat: 112 N St Asaph St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.

Nasime: 1209 King St. Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (routine)

Violations: The cutting board(s) along the prep area are heavily scratched and scored.

Il Porto: 121 King St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (routine)

Violations: In-use utensils improperly stored between use: observed utensils in standing water at room temperature; water temperature gauge on the dish machine is not in good repair and/ or not accurate in the range of use; nonfood-contact surfaces of the following equipment were observed soiled with an accumulation of dust food residue, and/or other debris: magnetic knife holder on wall.

Bistro Sancerre: 1725 Duke- STE 100 St. Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (risk factor)

Violations: Surfaces of ice bins, beverage dispensing nozzles, and enclosed components of equipment are not being cleaned as required; automatic chemical dispenser at the 3 compartment sink and bar dish machine was not dispensing solution.

Silver Diner: 4630 King St Alexandria, VA 22302

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (routine)

Violations: Observed quat sanitizer at the 3 bay sink and in sanitizer buckets at 0ppm; observed cooked squash (46), shredded lettuce (49), spinach (50), feta (48), quinoa (57), cooked veggies (46), kale (50), and cooked corn (47) in the delfield salad prep, spinach (86) and garlic oil mixture (68) on the counter, feta (36), and cheddar (59), in the small prep unit, tomatoes (40-52), cheddar (50), and butter (41-55) in the broiler prep, cold holding at improper temperatures; Improper methods used to thaw ROP salmon.

Bento Nouveau, Inc.: 3526 King St Alexandria, VA 22302

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (routine)

Violations: No violations found.

Mas Seafood: 809 Pendleton St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 21 (follow-up)

Violations: no violations found.

Good Luck Chinese Carry-Out: 6 S. Jordan St Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 20 (routine)

Violations: Observed brown sauce without date mark; observed unlabeled spray bottle of what person in charge stated was a degreaser cleaner.

Executive Diner: 1400 Duke St. Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 20 (routine)

Violations: The person in charge failed to have no violations of priority items during the current inspection; employees are not monitoring holding temperatures of time/temperature control for safety foods to ensure that they are properly held hot or cold; food employee was observed picking up a marker from the floor while wearing gloves, then returned to their food handling position; employee was observed rinsing towels in the hand wash sink on the expo line; no disposable towels were provided a the hand washing lavatory in the expo line and the back prep room; handwashing facility located at the back prep area is blocked, preventing access by employees for easy handwashing; soap was not provided at the hand washing lavatory in the back prep area; multiple cans of Sauerkraut were observed severely damaged; unwrapped or uncovered food in the following location where the food is subject to contamination: sausage; surfaces of ice bins, beverage dispensing nozzles, and enclosed components of equipment are not being cleaned as required: ice machine deflector and the soda gun at the bar was observed with black and pink build up; Avantco lowboy on the cookline was observed cold holding at improper temperatures: shredded cheese (54°F); food stored in the right cold line unit were cold holding at improper temperatures: Pico de Gallo (44°F), Diced Tomatoes (46°F) on the top of the line, and raw Shrimp (50°F) underneath; observed raw eggs not stored in refrigeration equipment that maintains ambient air temperature of 45°F or less; observed the following ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food being held for more than the specified time/temperature allowed: wings (prepared 12/13/22) and sliced cooked ham (prepared 11/25/2022) in the walk in cooler; Par cooked fries observed at room temperature 58°F without written time for discarding; certified food manager could not provide a food temperature measuring device; fruit flies were noted in the establishment in the bar area; in-use utensils improperly stored between use: knives stored between cold lines and prep tables, and multiple utensils stored in room temperature water and hanging from employee aprons; low boy (54°F) behind the counter and the right cooler (48°F) is holding above 41 F.

St. Elmo's Coffee Pub: 529 Montgomery St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 20 (routine)

Violations: Inside components of the front ice machine were soiled: observed a build up near the front flap; observed a container of mozzarella and smoked salmon cold holding at improper temperatures (above 49 F); 2 door prep unit-left was cold holding above 50 F: no TCS food was observed in that unit during the inspection.

Beeliner Diner: 3648 King St Alexandria, VA 22302

Last inspection: Dec. 20 (routine)

Violations: No disposable towels were provided a the hand washing lavatory near the mop sink or at the bar; observed the chlorine solution in the dish machine greater than 200 ppm; observed pork sausage (117-145) in the left steam table in the back area and multiple short ribs in a container on the grill (112-136) hot holding at improper temperatures; observed shredded lettuce (46-52), ham (43-48), sliced tomatoes (42), ranch (46), and shelled eggs (46) in the potato prep unit, raw shelled eggs (72) and raw chicken flour batter (74) on the counter, and mozzarella cheese (51), cooked sausage (58), spinach (58), and marinara sauce (51) in the pizza prep unit cold holding at improper temperatures; cooked potato (98-104), cooked pepper and onion (100), and cooked ground beef (100-124) above the grill for which time rather than temperature is being used as a control was not labeled or otherwise marked with a 4 hour cook, serve or discard by time; raw and/or undercooked over easy eggs is/are offered on the menu, menu board, table tent or brochure without proper disclosure; Observed utensils stored in water on the grill holding at 126 F; cutting board(s) along the potato prep unit and the grill are heavily scratched and scored; mops and brooms not hung up to air dry.

Evening Star Cafe: 2000 Mt Vernon Ave Alexandria, VA 22301

Last inspection: Dec. 20 (routine)

Violations: Employees were not informed in a verifiable manner of their responsibility to report information on their health pertaining to foodborne illnesses and symptoms to the person in charge; observed the following time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food cold holding at improper temperatures in the 2-door low boy refrigerator: Greek yogurt (44°F), house made ranch (45°F), and salsa (45°F); handle of the ice scoop in the bar ice chest was observed touching the ice; observed food containers that were stacked while wet after washing, rinsing, and sanitizing; observed single-use containers being re-used for food storage; cutting boards were observed heavily scratched; observed mops not hanging to air dry.

Hinata Sushi Bar & Grill: 909 N St Asaph St Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 19 (routine)

Violations: No handsoap found at the handwashing station next to the 3 compartment sink.

Sisters Thai: 503 Montgomery St. Alexandria, VA 22314

Last inspection: Dec. 19 (risk factor)

Violations: Observed a line cook making summer rolls with her bare hands-no gloves; no disposable towels were provided at the hand washing sink at the bar and the handwashing sink at the 3 compartment sink; soap was not provided at the hand washing lavatory in the bar; no handwashing signs at the sinks next to the 3 compartment sink and at the bar; handwashing station at the bar is being used as an ice chest; observed raw chicken stored directly on top of raw beef in the food prep unit-middle; observed pork belly that was made yesterday not being adequately cooled to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria; none of the food items (noodles, sprouts, sticky rice, cut vegetables, fried tofu) for which time rather than temperature is being used as a control was not labeled or otherwise marked with a 4 hour cook, serve or discard by time.

City Kitchen: 330 S Pickett Street Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 19 (routine)

Violations: Observed gumbo (50°F) and Bolognese (45°F) that was improperly cooled.

Subway #827: 3674 King St Alexandria, VA 22302

Last inspection: Dec. 19 (routine)

Violations: The person in charge failed to explain his or her responsibility in preventing the transmission of foodborne disease by an employee who has a disease or a medical condition that may cause foodborne disease; no certified food protection manager to supervise the food establishment's food service employees; handwashing facility located at the 3 bay sink is blocked, preventing access by employees for easy handwashing; no disposable towels were provided a the hand washing lavatory near the 3 bay sink; observed a block of provolone cheese (48), 2 containers of american cheese (48), half a bag of shredded lettuce (48), 2 containers of pepper jack cheese (44), and 2 bags of spinach (49) in the Norlake unit Cold holding at improper temperatures.

Popeyes: 25 S. Pickett St Alexandria, VA 22304

Last inspection: Dec. 19 (risk factor)

Violations: No violations found.