Alexandria Restaurant Violations: Knives Exposed To Trash Can

Every wonder how clean your local restaurants are? City of Alexandria restaurants regularly undergo health inspections, with the frequency depending on the type of food served and how it is prepared. While violations like malfunctioning refrigerators and food that's not warm or cold enough often pop up, health inspectors sometimes note more critical violations.

“In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," notes the Virginia Department of Health.

Here are full results for the latest inspections around Old Town Alexandria, including restaurants that passed with no violations. Among these violations were knives exposed to splash and a trash can, as well as build-up in the ice bin at Rock It Grill. The first violation was corrected during the inspection.

Click on the violations to see each restaurant's results. Full reports are usually available five to seven days after the inspection on the health department’s website.

Violations

Hummingbird: 220 S Union St., Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 14

violations: Employee failed to wash her hands for 20 seconds, employees failed to wash hands before putting on gloves, raw hamburger sliders were improperly stored above ready to eat pasta and watermelon, methods used for cooling were not adequate to facilitate cooling of the product from 135°F to 41°F within 6 hours: pasta was cooling in a tightly covered plastic container, foods measured at improper temperatures: sliced tomatoes, lettuce, tartar sauce (ice bath line) and half and half (wait station), raw and/or undercooked foods are provided on the menu, menu board, table tent or brochure without proper disclosure (all corrected), date on which the last shellstock from the container is sold or served was not recorded, refrigeration unit is not currently operating as required to cold hold food at a temperature of 41°F or less: the refrigeration unit in the wait station

Joe Theismann's Restaurant: 1800 Diagonal Rd, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 14

violations: Unwrapped or uncovered food in the following location where the food is subject to contamination: dry storage area, foods measured at improper temperatures: the crab dip was 45°F in the produce walk-in refrigerator (corrected)

La Fromagerie: 1222 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 15

violations: Foods measured at improper temperatures: brie in the cheese cooler, half and half in the glass door cooler (corrected)

Namaste: 1504 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 11

violations: No Northern Virginia Certified Food Protection Manager on duty during hours of operation, meat observed thawing on the counter in standing water, foods were not cooled from 135°F to 41°F within a total of 6 hours: tandoori chicken, lamb, methods used for cooling were not adequate to facilitate cooling of the product from 135°F to 41°F within 6 hours: product observed in large, deep containers and products observed covered, food in the refrigeration unit is not used within 24 hours of preparation and is not properly dated for disposition within 7 days at 41°F: cooked chicken, cooked vegetables, cooked lamb, cooked cauliflower, sign that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not clearly visible (all corrected)

Old House Cosmopolitan Grill: 1024 Cameron St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 13

violations: Raw animal food holding in a manner that may cause cross contamination of ready-to-eat food as follows: raw fish observed over goulash soup in the WIC, food in the refrigeration unit is not used within 24 hours of preparation and is not properly dated for disposition within 7 days at 41°F: cheese mixture, cooked rice, sliced tomatoes, cooked potatoes, goulash, garlic in oil mixture, mushroom sauce, hand soap was not provided at each handwashing sink, sign or poster that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not provided at all handwashing sinks used by food employees (all corrected)

Pita House: 719 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 11

violations: Food employee failed to wash his hands before engaging in food preparation, after leaving the kitchen and then returning, donning gloves and engaging in food preparation, raw beef and lamb stored uncovered directly above cooked vegetables and eggplant in the prep cooler across from the cookline, cooked and raw foods in prep coolers, 2 door reach in unit and walk-in coolers were not covered to prevent potential contamination, foods measured at improper temperatures: rice observed at 114F, food in the refrigeration unit is not used within 24 hours of preparation and is not properly dated for disposition within 7 days at 41°F: cooked lamb, cooked vegetables and grape leaves, hand soap was not provided at each handwashing sink (all corrected)

Rock It Grill: 1319 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 15

violations: Utensils improperly stored between use as follows: knives stored on a magnetic strip with the trash can position right next to it on the prep line, knives exposed to splash and the trash can touching the knives, foods measured at improper temperatures: soup, sliced turkey, coleslaw, chili, cooked broccoli, cut cabbage, meat, food in the refrigeration unit is not used within 24 hours of preparation and is not properly dated for disposition within 7 days at 41°F: broccoli, coleslaw, sliced turkey, salsa (all corrected), refrigeration unit is not currently operating as required to cold hold food at a temperature of 41°F or less, unwrapped or uncovered food in the freezer (fish and shrimp), under the prep table near the dry storage room (buckets of flour and breadcrumbs), build-up observed on the interior walls of the ice machine, floors under prep tables and equipment is in need of cleaning

Subway: 320 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 19

violations: A bottle of oven cleaner observed without the common name of the product on the bottle (corrected), plastic containers at the triple sink were found stacked while wet after cleaning and chemical sanitization

No violations

B Doughnut (pre-opening): 215 S. Union St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection: June 14

violations: none

Don Taco: 808 King St, Alexandria, VA 22314, last inspection June 11 (follow up)

violations: none

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