CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you have dinner plans this weekend, you'll want to make sure you check the health inspection scores of your favorite restaurants, because you never know what might be going on in the kitchen.
And look beyond just the letter grade. There are some places with an A that might have issues that could make you very sick.
First up this week is the Copan Restaurant on North Sharon Amity Road. The inspector asked one employee how to wash their hands and they didn't know the correct procedure. The suggestion? More training for the staff.
Their flip-top cooler was holding food above the required 41 degrees. Some of their beans and cheese were 61 degrees, so they were thrown in the trash. The inspector recommended a new cooler since this seems to be an ongoing issue. Lastly, they had some food stored that was not dated.
The grade at Copan was a 90, that's the lowest possible A. Click here to view their full inspection report.
Next up is a repeat offender on the report, Las Meras Tortas on Farm Pond Lane. They were storing an open bag of french fries under raw chicken. Those items have to be kept separate, and there were cooked beef and pork tamales sitting on the counter...from the day before. They were thrown in the trash.
The grade at Las Meras was an 86.5, that's a mid-level B. Click here to view their full inspection report.
Last on this week's report is the HIbachi Express on North Tryon Street. Employees were not washing hands when they were supposed to. They were told to do it more often. And on that note, there wasn't any soap when they did wash. What were they washing with? Makes you wonder who has their dirty hands on your lunch.
The grade at Hibachi Express was an 87, that's a B. Click here to view their full inspection report.
Hand washing issues are always a big problem. It's so easy but often overlooked. The rule is 15 seconds with soap and warm water.