Darien Health Inspections: One Restaurant Rated 'Fair,' Three 'Good'

In the most recently released health code inspection reports by the Darien Health Department, one food-serving establishment in town was rated “Fair” and four others received ratings of “Good.”

• Little Thai Kitchen, 4 West Ave. -- April 13

State rating: 84
Darien rating: Fair
Inspector’s remarks: ”No documentation of training [for] kitchen employee; food thermometer not accurate on line and thermometer in refrigerator not working; not sanitizing prep surfaces after handling raw chicken; knives (in storage rack)and several bowls on-line not sanitized; granulars [containers of food] not in original containers, not labeled in two locations; paint/interior of microwave chipping and peeling away; torn gaskets on bain marie; [oven] hood system unclean and dripping down wall; leak under three-bay sink (second bay); floor unclean on-line and inside walk-in [refrigerator]; wall on-line and wall near mop sink unclean.”

• Amanda Smith Caterers, 1480 Post Rd. -- April 2

State rating: 96
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “Improper thawing of beef on counter; mixing bowls not stored inverted; no self-closing door in bathroom.”

Additional remarks: “No activity at time of inspection. Establishment clean and organized.”

• Duchess Restaurant, 306 Post Rd. -- April 9

State rating: 94
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: ”Knives in storage and meat slicer corners left unclean; label items not in original containers; food storage containers with cracks, service calls in for under-counter refrigerator and leaking hose near double fryers; walls near line unclean and ceiling in walk-in fridge.”

• Cesco’s Trattoria, 25 Old Kings Hwy. N. (Goodwives Shopping Plaza) -- April 14

State rating: 95
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “No visible thermometer in cooling unit under cooler; foods left uncovered during storage; ice scoop not properly stored at bar; preset tables not protected.“

Health Department Inspection Ratings and Comments

The list above shows what scores local restaurants and other food-serving establishments received under the state health-code scoring system (“state rating,” in which 1-4 points are deducted for each violation, with 100 being a perfect score) from town Health Department inspectors.

The Health Department also gives a rating under the Darien system (“Darien rating,” in which a “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor” is given to food-serving establishments that pass inspections). You can find Darien’s ratings for individual food-serving establishmentshere (also, the name of each restaurant in the list below is linked to its Darien Health Department ratings Web page).

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See also:

• Darien Restaurant Inspection Reports: One Poor, One Fair, Four Good (April 2)
• To sign up for the Darien Patch newsletter, breaking news alerts and more, click here.

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Also shown above are the inspection date and comments by the inspectors as noted in inspection reports. Each comment or set of comments related to a specific violation of a state health requirement are separated by semicolons (“;”). Occasionally an inspector will make general comments at the end of the report that may not be related to a violation. Those are listed separately under “additional comments.”

Sometimes an inspector’s handwriting is too hard to read or a note is otherwise unclear. In those cases, when the information can’t be clarified before publication, ellipses (“[...]”) are used (and they may be used here for other reasons). Words within brackets (“[ ]”) were not in the inspection reports.

Here are the most recent reports released by the Darien Health Department (there were only two last week, largely because the Health Department was busy with a health-related workshop for restaurant workers):

Understanding Darien Health Inspections of Food-Serving Establishments

Darien’s rating system is meant to reflect not just the facts at a food-serving establishment at the time of the inspection (as the state health-code rating does) but a broader understanding of the establishment’s health safety practices: For instance, a restaurant that repeatedly violates a state health-code measure and doesn’t fix the problem over time will have that taken into account when the Darien rating is given; an identical health-code violation found for the first time at a restaurant where violations are soon fixed is more likely to get a better overall rating.

If a food-serving establishment’s health-safety situation is poor enough, the town Health Department has the authority to shut it down immediately (that hasn’t happened in Darien in years) or demand that something be fixed immediately or issue an order which, if the restaurant doesn’t follow it, may result in a shutdown. A restaurant may appeal that order, resulting in an administrative hearing at the Health Department.

If a Darien restaurant is open, town Health Director David Knauf says, it means the Health Department knows of no danger to the public, even after an inspection in which the restaurant was given a low rating.