(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Queen City News is breaking down the best and worst scores at area restaurants with our Restaurant Grades series. Did your favorite restaurant make the grade?
Let’s take a look at the worst and best grades for Mecklenburg County so far for the month of April.
DAKSHIN INDIAN GRILL (16640 Hawfield Way Drive, Unit 103, Charlotte, NC 28227)
It’s an 84 for Dakshin Indian Grill on Hawfield Way Drive in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte.
Inspectors noticed most of the food items in the walk-in cooler, walk-in freezer, and the low boy without lids or food wrap coverings (repeat violation), unwashed mushrooms and bell peppers being stored above ready-made sauces being stored without lids (repeat violation), and fried vegetables, potatoes, and shredded cheese being stored at improper temperatures (repeat violation).
Inspectors also noted that food items such as vegetable sauces, yogurt sauce, fried cauliflower, chicken, goat, and chickpeas, were being stored in the coolers without date labels. The manager in charge told the inspector that the items are prepared on Mondays, the store isn’t open on Tuesdays, and that they place dates on all the items on Wednesdays. This was also a repeat violation.
Inspectors also found several bags of flour, a box of ginger, dry storage items, and a large container of rice soaking in water on the floor at a dry storage area, back prep area, and the handwashing area. Health codes state that food must be stored in a clean, dry location, not exposed to contamination, and be kept six inches above the floor. This, too, was a repeat violation.
There were reportedly several knives with dried food debris stored clean in the knife rack. Trash was blocking access to the handwashing sink near the prep coolers. Containers and boxes blocked access to the back handwashing sink. Inspectors observed the employees prepping and handling food without proper head and beard coverings.
During the inspection, no manager was present until the end of the inspection.
JUST SALAD (1021 Morehead Medical Drive, Ste. 30000, Charlotte, NC 28204)
It’s an 85 for Just Salad on Morehead Medical Drive in the Dilworth area of Charlotte.
All the violations were noted as critical during this visit, with several repeat violations. Salad dressings were being stored at improper temperatures. Cabbage and salad dressings were noted as expired, and the procedures for storing hot and cold foods were not being followed. In addition, chicken thighs were being served undercooked.
Inspectors noted that an employee was found eating from a bowl at a prep station. Employees were reportedly re-contaminating their hands on handwashing sink faucets after washing their hands.
There were no paper towels at the handwashing sink in the kitchen. An employee told inspectors that she did not know how to replace the towels in the dispenser.
No employee or manager was reportedly certified in being a food protection manager, and the manager on duty was unaware and had no knowledge of food safety and health codes and was not monitoring final cooking temperatures, holding temperatures and procedures, and health code procedures.
GONG CHA (7808 Rea Road, Ste. E, Charlotte, NC 28227)
It’s an 87 for Gong Cha on Rea Road in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte. During the inspection, inspectors found an employee drink stored on a shelf above bags of powders (repeat violation), ice in the employee handwashing sink, no soap at the handwashing sink (repeat violation) and no rolls of paper towels at the handwashing sink (repeat violation).
Other repeat violations include improper storage of raw animal foods with ready-to-eat foods, and improper cleaning of pitchers and shakers.
Inspectors also noted improper food temperatures and improper mixing of cleaning solution. Jelly was reportedly condensing on ice on the floor of the kitchen.
Inspectors also noted that an employee was not wearing gloves and was wearing artificial nails while preparing food. None of the employees were reportedly wearing head coverings while preparing food. In addition, employees’ personal items were found on a shelf with dry food ingredients.
There was reportedly no manager present at the time of inspection and none of the employees present were familiar with food safety and handling knowledge. In addition, no employee present was aware that the health department should be notified in the event of an employee being ill.
Several Mecklenburg County restaurants were noted for having good grades, however, none of the restaurants inspected had perfect scores of 100. All of the following had A scores above 95:
- Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne (13139 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, NC 28227) – 99
- The Atrium (3315 Scott Futrell Drive, Charlotte, NC 28208) – 98
- Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (5501 Josh Birmingham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28208) – 97
- Bang Bang Burger SouthEnd (235 West Tremont Avenue, Ste. 101, Charlotte, NC 28203) – 96
- Applebee’s (8700 J.W. Clay Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28262) – 96
- 1900 Mexican Grill (5110 Park Road, Ste. 1E, Charlotte, NC 28209) – 96
All inspections in this report were conducted in a 15-day period between April 1, 2022 and April 15, 2022.