How Darien's Country Clubs Fared in Recent Health Inspections

In the most recently released health code inspection reports by the Darien Health Department, here’s how country clubs in town were rated and what inspectors had to say:

• Wee Burn Country Club, 410 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. -- April 2

State rating: 94
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: ”Fries left uncovered during storage in walk-in [freezer?]; food containers stored in walk-in cooler; light shield missing in kitchen; ice scoop not properly stored; dish baskets stored on floor.”

• Wee Burn Country Club -- satellite location, 410 Hollow Tree Ridge Rd. -- April 2

State rating: 94
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “No thermometer visible in reach-in cooler; food containers stored on floor in walk-in [cooler?]; undershelf of pretp table unclean; mixing bowls not stored inverted.”

Additional comments: “This kitchen used for prep only, today. No hot holding, no cooking. Establishment clean.”

• Woodway Country Club, 540 Hoyt St. -- April 7

State rating: 95
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: ”Items stored in hand sink (ware-wash); granular [food] container not labeled, not in original container; knives not stored properly when not in use; dish baskets stored on floor.”

Additional comments: “No activity at time of inspection -- no hot holding.”

• Country Club of Darien, 300 Mansfield Ave. -- April 7

State rating: 94
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “Blade on can opener unclean, food spillage in reach-in freezer; sanitizer bucket not labeled; knives not properly stored between use; hotel pans stored on floor floor in walk-in freezer unclean.“

• Country Club of Darien -- satellite kitchen, 300 Mansfield Ave. -- April 7

State rating: 95
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “Produce not washed before cutting; granular [food container] not labeled, not in original container; fan on ice machine -- dust buildup; dish baskets stored on floor.“

Additional comments: “Good ... no activity other than [food] preparation. No hot-holding. Kitchen clean and organized.”

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 Health Inspections: One Restaurant Rated ‘Fair,’ Three ‘Good’ (April 16)
• 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.

Darien Patch file photo