21 Violations Found In Area Restaurant Kitchen

DAVIDSON, NC — Recent health inspections found numerous infractions in area kitchens, including 21 violations at one Charlotte restaurant where an inspection found dirty kitchen gear stored as clean and that the eatery was reusing chopsticks, according to a recent report by county health officials.

Do you truly know how clean your favorite coffee shop or restaurant is? Find out with the most recent restaurant and food service inspections in Charlotte, Huntersville, Davidson, and elsewhere in Mecklenburg County, performed by the Mecklenburg County Health Department.

Here are scores for Davidson and Cornelius restaurants inspected this past week:

• Restaurant X, 408 S. Main St., Davidson — 98/A
• Boatyard Eats, 18418 Statesville Rd., Cornelius — 97.5/A

Some of the lowest health inspection ratings for recently inspected Charlotte-area restaurants were given to the following restaurants, include four area kitchens that saw their ratings drop to a "B."

Those restaurants with downgraded scores are listed below with links to inspection reports, and include:

• Luciano’s Italy, 1910 South Blvd., Charlotte — 86.5/B
• Zada Jane’s, 1601 Central Ave., Charlotte — 85.5/ B
• Chin Gardens, 4420 The Plaza, Charlotte — 83.5/B
• El Tropico Restaurant, 4335 N. Tryon St., Charlotte — 82.5/B

At Luciano’s Italy, an inspection found 17 violations, including pasta that was two weeks past its expiration date, cooking utensils left out overnight without being washed, as well as sauces left out overnight without any temperature control.

A dozen violations were found in Zada Jane’s kitchen, including queso and chicken salad that were passed their date and had to be thrown out, employees not washing their hands properly, and raw chorizo stored above cooked potatoes and onions.

At Chin Garden, an inspection found 21 violations, including dirty containers stored as clean, that the restaurant was reusing chopsticks, cooked food with no record of when it was prepared, small flies near kitchen drains, employee drinks sitting on a food prep table and employees not washing their hands properly.

An Aug. 28 inspection at El Tropico Restaurant found 18 violations, including a container of spoiled, curdled heavy cream sitting in the prep unit on the cook line, improperly dated shellstock, raw meat stored above and with ready-to-eat food and produce, a dishwasher that wasn’t sanitizing properly, food kept at improper temperatures and flies throughout the facility.

Results from the Mecklenburg County Health Department inspections done Aug. 22 - Aug. 28, 2018 are listed below. You may look up your favorite restaurant or find more detailed information about this latest batch of inspections here.

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