Recent Darien Restaurant Inspections: Three Rated 'Good,' One 'Poor'

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

• Meatball & Co., 23 Tokeneke Rd. -- April 21

State rating: 95
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “Meatballs left uncovered during storage; wiping cloths not kept in sanitizer between use; paper towl dispenser not properly working; utensils not properly stored between use.”

• Darien Doughnut, 370 Heights Rd. -- April 21

State rating: 96
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: ”Light bulbs not protected in food storage area; no waste receptacle at hand sink (prep and ware wash); mop not stored properly (handle side down).”

Additional comments: “No hot holding. Establishment very clean.”

• Estia’s American Kitchen, 1020 Post Rd. -- April 23

State rating: 93
Darien rating: Good
Inspector’s remarks: “No visible thermometer in small cooling unit; foods left unprotected during storage; light bulb not protected in reach-in cooling unit; granular not labeled; storage cart unclean; knife stored unclean in knife rack.”

Additional remarks: “No hot holding; proper cooling observed; many violations from previous inspections now in compliance.”

• Tengda, 25 Old Kings Hwy. N. (Goodwives Shopping Plaza) -- April 28

State rating: 85
Darien rating: Poor
Inspector’s remarks: “Floors throughout unclean; foods left uncovered during storage; no training records; chicken at 54 degrees, put in walk-in refrigerator on arrival; wiping cloths not kept in sanitizer between use; item stored in hand sink (ware wash); coriander not labeled; utensils not stored properly between use; egg rolls/spring rolls at 110 degrees ([at the] cook line); back door open.”

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).

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.