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Behind the Kitchen Door: Sichuan Cuisine, Taco Cabana fail inspection

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:35:21 GMT

Health inspectors have handed out two more failing scores to a pair of popular local restaurants.

Sichuan Chinese Cuisine at 2347 N.W. Military Highway failed their most recent health inspection with 41 demerits.

The inspector says no one washed their hands during his visit. Flies were spotted in the restaurant. There was visible food debris on a knife hanger, on cooler shelves and the dishware storage area.

KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door left a message for the manager, and as of Thursday night, had not heard back from her yet.

Metro Health says a re-inspection was scheduled for last Friday but has not taken place yet.

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The Taco Cabana at 6826 North Loop 1604 East, across Rolling Oaks Mall, failed inspection with 40 demerits.

There were food temperature violations. employees not washing their hands. An employee accidentally mixed lime remover as a sanitizing solution. That was corrected on the spot.

The staff was also asked to create a cleaning schedule and stick to it.

Taco Cabana's chief operating officer sent Behind the Kitchen Door the following statement:

"We take our food quality and safety practices very seriously at Taco Cabana. Upon hearing of the results we promptly took corrective action and we passed the inspection that took place two days later."

For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.

Restaurant scores for week of May 13

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:36:00 GMT

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District rates restaurant scores excellent to poor based on a demerit system.

The scoring is as follows:

0-10 demerits = excellent

11-20 demerits = good

21-30 demerits = acceptable

31 or more = poor

Following are the latest scores:

Big’z Burger Joint, 10106 Hwy. 151, no demeritsBush’s Chicken, 13603 Nacogdoches, no demeritsSubway, 2400 West Ave., no demeritsThe Egg & I, 700 E. Sonterra, 3 demeritsLuther’s Café, 1422 N. Main, 3 demeritsTaqueria Vallarta, 1430 E. Durango, 4 demeritsTacos Don Nacho, 19902 Pleasanton Rd., 4 demeritsLa Fonda On Main, 2415 N. Main, 5 demeritsC&C Tacos, 1819 N. Walters, 7 demeritsEl Charro de Jalisco, 8388 Marbach, 8 demeritsFuddrucker’s, 9845 I-10 W., 9 demeritsLa Joya Mexican Restaurant, 510 S. Gen. McMullen, 9 demeritsEl Molino Restaurant, 1703 I-35 N., 10 demeritsHacienda Jalisco Grill, 1516 Basse Rd., 10 demeritsPicante Grill, 3810 Broadway, 10 demeritsTolentino’s Italian Kitchen, 16607 Huebner Rd., 10 demeritsPedro’s Mexican Restaurant, 4127 Naco Perrin, 11 demeritsArmadillo’s, 1423 McCullough, 12 demeritsTaco Rey, 11825 West Ave., 15 demeritsChick-fil-A, 8221 Marbach, 21 demeritsRiver Donuts, 6811 San Pedro, 22 demeritsThe Arizona Café, 1111 S. Gen. McMullen, 24 demeritsLa Michoacana Meat Market, 4523 Blanco, 27 demeritsTaco Cabana, 6826 N. Loop 1604 E., 40 demeritsSichuan Cuisine, 2347 N.W. Military, 41 demeritsEl Sol De Jalisco, 1743 Bandera Rd., 59 demerits

Behind the Kitchen Door: Mexican restaurant with 59 demerits shut down

Wed, 15 May 2013 16:26:11 GMT

A northwest San Antonio restaurant was shut down by the health department after receiving a whopping 59 demerits.

El Sol De Jalisco at 1743 Bandera Road was shut down by Metro Health on May 2 for violations that included a sewage backup, failed grease trap and evidence of a roach and rodent infestation.

KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door crews arrived at the location Tuesday morning and the restaurant was locked up with a sign saying "'closed for repairs."

Other major violations included:

Food at unsafe temperatures. 9-day-old leftover food still in use. Rodent droppings near clean dishes. Dead roaches by the back door.

Behind the Kitchen Door crews also noticed a drive-thru window that was wide open. Unused or broken equipment was found outside near the front door.

There appeared to be evidence of recent work behind the restaurant. A paint can was spotted in the entry way along with new plywood and caulk near the front door, however, there was still large gap that could let critters inside.

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El Sol De Jalisco on Bandera Road can not reopen until everything is fixed or they face hefty fines. Behind the Kitchen Door will check in on the restaurant gain next week.

The following restaurants received a perfect score or zero demerits on their latest health inspection:

Big'z Burger Joint on Highway 151. Bush's Chicken on Nacogdoches Road. Subway on West Avenue.

For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.

Behind the Kitchen Door: Wok on Wheels, Tacos Ricos fail inspection

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:34:01 GMT

Two San Antonio eateries failed their recent health inspection for a variety of violations.

Wok On Wheels located at 8809 Grissom Road failed their most recent health inspection with 32 demerits. Here are a few of the things the inspector found.

Chicken sitting on a table at an unsafe 51 degrees. There were no paper towels at some of their hand washing sinks. The staff was told to clean the inside of all their coolers.

The owner of the Wok On Wheels franchise in San Antonio describes the inspector as "kind of difficult" but she wants to work with him. She said all violations have now been corrected.

Tacos Ricos located at 8025 Bandera Road failed their latest inspection with 31 demerits. Their violations included:

Food temperatures were a problem here as well. Raw eggs at 62 degrees. Cooked sausage was not being kept hot enough. It was at 103. They received demerits for improper food handling. The staff was cleaning tables with dry towels instead of ones soaked in a sanitizing solution.

The person in charge told KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door, "We took care of everything we messed up." She also say they passed a re-inspection about ten days after the inspector's first visit.

The following restaurants received zero demerits on their latest health inspection.

Bill Miller Bar-B-Q on Culebra Road. Golden Corral on Loop 1604 at Bandera Road. Los Mariachis Del Valle on Huebner Road. Wingstop on Loop 1604 near Culebra Road.

For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.

Restaurant scores for week of May 6

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:05:42 GMT

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District rates restaurant scores excellent to poor based on a demerit system.

The scoring is as follows:

0-10 demerits = excellent

11-20 demerits = good

21-30 demerits = acceptable

31 or more = poor

Following are the latest scores:

Bill Miller BBQ, 10939 Culebra, no demeritsGolden Corral, 9111 N. Loop 1604 W., no demeritsLos Mariachis del Valle, 9386 Huebner, no demeritsWingstop, 530 W. Loop 1604 N., no demerits54th Street Grill & Bar, 5722 W. Loop 1604 N., 3 demeritsCafé Salsita, 555 E. Basse, 3 demeritsCarl’s Jr., 5623 W. Loop 1604 N., 3 demeritsPanda Express, 11619 Bandera Rd., 3 demeritsSushiholic, 11619 Bandera Rd., 3 demeritsDruther’s Café, 8637 Fredericksburg Rd., 6 demeritsCarrabba’s Italian Grill, 12507 IH-10 W., 7 demeritsWhataburger, 6803 N. Loop 1604 W., 8 demeritsAldo’s Ristorante, 8539 Fredericksburg Rd., 12 demeritsBurger King, 7997 Bandera Rd., 12 demeritsLee’s Kitchen Chinese Restaurant, 8181 Tezel Rd., 12 demeritsMcDonald’s, 7257 N. Loop 1604 W., 12 demeritsJerusalem Grill, 3259 Wurzbach Rd., 22 demeritsQuik Wok, 5203 Eisenhauer Rd., 28 demeritsLa Popular Bakery, 6634 Binz Engleman, 37 demeritsEl Patio Bar & Grill, 7905 Bandera Rd., 41 demerits

KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door: Bakery, bar and grill fail inspection

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:03:09 GMT

Two eateries on opposite ends of the San Antonio area failed their recent health inspection by Metro Health.

El Patio Bar & Grill at 7905 Bandera Road failed their most recent health inspection with 41 demerits. The restaurant's violations included:

They were storing raw meat above cooked food in the fridge, which is a contamination risk. No dates on leftovers. Not all sinks had hot water. Gnats were spotted and the microwave was dirty.

KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door called El Patio several times and no one answered. San Antonio Metro Health said they have done two re-inspections and all violations have been officially corrected.

La Popular Bakery at 6634 Binz-Engleman Road failed their latest inspection with 37 demerits.

The report showed the inspector took time to translate all the written violations into Spanish. The bakery's violations included:

There were food temperature violations. Cooks were not washing their hands properly. The inspector also asked the staff to clean the ice machine, utensil storage container and the dish washing machine itself.

KSAT Behind the Kitchen Door caught the manager by phone and he said he would call us back. We called back and he was suddenly "not there" anymore.

The following four restaurants all received zero demerits on their recent health inspection:

Chili's Grill & Bar on Loop 1604 at Culebra Road Hacienda Real on Old Pearsall Road. Taco Cabana on Marbach. Thomas Jefferson High School on Donaldson Avenue.

For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.

Restaurant scores for week of April 29

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:45:04 GMT

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District rates restaurant scores excellent to poor based on a demerit system.

The scoring is as follows:

0-10 demerits = excellent

11-20 demerits = good

21-30 demerits = acceptable

31 or more = poor

Following are the latest scores:

Chili’s Grill & Bar, 5790 W. Loop 1604 N., no demeritsHacienda Real, 8738 Old Pearsall Rd., no demeritsSultan Café, 5625 Babcock, no demeritsTaco Cabana, 8213 Marbach, no demeritsThomas Jefferson High School, 723 Donaldson, no demeritsRami’s Pizza, 7806 Callaghan, 3 demeritsSilver Star Café, 4901 S. Flores, 3 demeritsSonic, 973 Bandera Rd., 3 demeritsBun & Barrel, 1150 Austin Hwy., 4 demeritsBrio Tuscan Grille, 15900 La Cantera Pkwy., 6 demeritsBill Miller BBQ, 620 Division, 7 demeritsEl Puesto Mexican Restaurant, 1504 Castroville Rd., 11 demeritsThe Egg & I, 8603 Hwy. 151, 12 demeritsPorky’s Burgers & More, 2426 Culebra, 17 demeritsMurphy’s Deli, 7700 Floyd Curl Dr., 18 demeritsTre Trattoria, 401 S. Alamo, 18 demeritsJersey Mike’s Subs, 8603 Hwy. 151, 19 demeritsLos Habaneros, 4334 Culebra, 22 demeritsGolden Wok, 1410 SW Loop 410, 26 demeritsJalisco Taqueria, 3218 Wurzbach, 27 demeritsCarry On, 8770 Hwy. 151, 29 demeritsBuffalo Wild Wings, 115 SW Loop 410, 29 demeritsEl Patio Bar & Grill, 7905 Bandera Rd., 41 demerits

Behind the Kitchen Door: 3 Taco restaurants fail health inspection

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 08:53:17 GMT

Three San Antonio taco restaurants failed their recent inspection from Metro Health.

Taco Jalisco located at 8099 Culebra Road failed this month's inspection with 46 demerits.

The inspector had some food thrown due to unsafe temperatures. Items such as raw eggs, meats and beans. The inspector discovered someone storing personal food items in the ice used for customer's drinks, and there was mildew or mold in the ice machine.

Metro Health says Taco Jalisco was re-inspected on April 18. Many violations had been corrected but some remained.

Lee's El Taco Garage Tex-Mex Cruisine located at 8403 Broadway failed their inspection with 41 demerits.

A year ago this month, they failed with 51 demerits. Some of things that were a problem last April were a problem again.

A fridge at an unsafe 51 degrees and employees not washing their hands. New violations included blood from defrosted meat leaking into some flour and moldy cutting boards.

The manager confirms that many of the same problems exist and he's called another all-hands-on-deck meeting to get the staff on the same page. He says their re-inspection was last week and went well.

Taco de Cortez located at 9735 Interstate 35 North near Randolph Boulevard failed their inspection with 39 demerits.

The inspector noted no employee hand washing. Not enough hot water for the restaurant. Cooks weren't wearing the required hair restraints along with numerous other violations.

Metro Health reports Taco de Cortez was re-inspected on April 23 and everything that was wrong was taken care of.

The following restaurants received perfect scores on their latest inspection from Metro Health:

Bill Miller BBQ on DeZavala. Corner Bakery Cafe on East Basse. Shipley Donuts on East Commerce. Taqueria Vallarta on West Military Drive.

For a list of recent stories Mark Austin has done, click here.

Restaurant scores for week of April 22

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:27:10 GMT

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District rates restaurant scores excellent to poor based on a demerit system.

The scoring is as follows:

0-10 demerits = excellent

11-20 demerits = good

21-30 demerits = acceptable

31 or more = poor

Following are the latest scores:

AMF Country Lanes, 13307 Hwy. 281 N., no demeritsAnthony’s Tex-Mex Food To Go, 4942 Woodstone, no demeritsRudy’s Bar-B-Q, 10623 Westover Hills, no demeritsWok Inn, 10919 Culebra Rd., no demeritsLa Gloria, 100 E. Grayson, 3 demeritsP.F. Chang’s China Bistro, 15900 La Cantera Pkwy., 3 demeritsPita Gourmet, 5450 Babcock, 6 demeritsTaqueria Vallarta, 829 S. Gen. McMullen, 7 demeritsTaco Bell, 9160 Grissom Rd., 10 demeritsEl Folklor Bakery, 8141 Bandera Rd., 11 demeritsLas Mananitas Café, 103 W. Theo, 13 demeritsTomatillos, 3210 Broadway, 13 demeritsPho Star 4 Noodle, 3505 Wurzbach, 17 demeritsYellowfish Sushi, 9102 Wurzbach, 19 demeritsTong’s Thai Restaurant, 1146 Austin Hwy., 20 demeritsOlivia’s Mexican Restaurant, 801 Vanderbilt, 23 demeritsTaco Madre Taqueria, 5440 Babcock, 24 demeritsTaqueria Aguas Calientes, 15409 White Fawn, 25 demeritsTexas Brisket, 2456 Harry Wurzbach, 26 demeritsFortune Cookie Chinese Restaurant, 6151 N.W. Loop 410, 30 demeritsTink-A-Tako, 3299 Wurzbach, 30 demeritsTacos Ricos, 8025 Bandera Rd., 31 demeritsWok On Wheels, 8809 Grissom rd., 32 demeritsChina Garden. 7664 Tezel Rd., 35 demeritsLa Popular Bakery, 6634 Binz Engleman, 37 demeritsLee’s Kitchen, 11705 Perrin Beitel, 38 demeritsTacos de Cortez, 9735 I-35 N., 39 demeritsLee’s El Taco Garage Tex-Mex Cruisine, 8403 Broadway, 41 demeritsTaco Jalisco, 8099 Culebra Rd., 46 demerits

San Antonio restaurant scores for week of April 15

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:00:20 GMT

The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District rates restaurant scores excellent to poor based on a demerit system.

The scoring is as follows:

0-10 demerits = excellent 11-20 demerits = good 21-30 demerits = acceptable 31 or more = poor

Following are the latest scores:

Chipotle Mexican Grill, 7322 Jones Maltsberger, no demeritsDanny's BBQ, 4100 Mansion, no demeritsLittle Caesar's Pizza, 1302 Austin Hwy., no demeritsPaul Revere Pizza, 8770 Hwy. 151, no demeritsStarbucks, 255 E. Basse, no demeritsKFC, 8280 Bandera Rd., 3 demeritsPopeye's, 1472 Austin Hwy., 4 demeritsSonic, 2629 Nacogdoches, 7 demeritsWok Inn, 9822 Potranco Rd., 8 demeritsSea Island Shrimp House, 5959 N.W. Loop 410, 10 demeritsRestaurant Don Pablo, 2162 S. Laredo, 10 demeritsCase Linda, 6719 WT Montgomery, 11 demeritsHouse of Joy Chinese Restaurant, 8407 Bandera Rd., 11 demeritsChicago Pizzaria, 1704 I-35 N., 12 demeritsMexican Cowboy Cocina Economica, 8425 Bandera Rd., 13 demeritsTaqueria Los Potrillos, 715 Nogalitos, 17 demeritsElizabeth's Restaurant, 5251 Timberhill, 19 demeritsFreddy's Frozen Custard, 8800 Potranco Rd., 20 demeritsJalisco Grill, 8223 Marbach Rd., 21 demeritsAlbustan Mediterranean, 4841 Fredericksburg Rd., 22 demeritsArandas Tequila, 2526 Culebra, 22 demeritsLa Cocinita Express, 8333 Culebra, 27 demeritsMi Rancho Restaurant, 610 Merida, 28 demeritsJenny's Authentic Mexican Food, 8035 Culebra, 29 demeritsTaqueria Perla Tapatia, 5012 Rittiman, 32 demeritsMittman Fine Food, 1125 Mittman, 36 demeritsRestaurante Mexicano EL D.F., 4119 Culebra, 38 demeritsLa Grande Tortilleria, 2134 Pinn Rd., 51 demerits