CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the spread of coronavirus around the world, there is a ton of focus on good hygiene and cleanliness, which makes this week's restaurant report card all the more relevant.
For years, WCNC Charlotte's Bill McGinty has been talking about handwashing violations and how not having good hygiene in the restaurant industry can make people sick. Today, other examples and violations that should be top of mind are examined, too.
We begin with the Diamond Restaurant on Commonwealth Avenue. The person in charge here was unaware of cold holding issues and other hot holding violations. While we often talk about handwashing, believe it when we tell you that food temperature violations not only can make you sick, but they can be lethal in things like poultry and fish. Food in any restaurant must be kept and served at certain temperatures to keep them safe to eat.
In this particular report, the Diamond was also cited for their ham, turkey and roast beef being too warm when it should have been below 41 degrees. Their ice machine was dirty and needed to be better cleaned.
The grade at the Diamond was an 87.5, that's a B. Click here to view their full inspection report.
Next up is The Bistro at 321 Woodlawn. They had moldy cheddar cheese, so it was thrown away. They had items without date marks, stuff like goat cheese, grilled onions, leafy greens, grilled peppers and so on. All that food was thrown in the garbage.
Their grade at The Bistro was a 90.5, that's a low A. Click here to view their full inspection report.
Last up is Showmar's on 2004 East 7th Street. They had oatmeal that should have been hotter. It was holding at 115 degree, so they had to reheat it up to 165 degrees or higher. Who wants lukewarm oatmeal, anyway? They also had hot dogs and raw chicken above 41 degrees. Chicken getting too warm when it should be chilled can be a big problem.
The grade at Showmar's was an 87.5, that's a B. Click here to view their full inspection report.
As for handwashing, the rule of thumb is 20 seconds or longer using soap and warm water. You'd be surprised at how often we see restaurants getting demerits for that violations.