Nando's Peri Peri, Quinn's, Safeway, Meda: NoVA Restaurants Cited

Some signs of a restaurant with problems are easy to spot: Nasty smells, grimy tables or unkempt employees are all red flags. But sometimes the problem is harder to pin down, such as food stored at improper temperatures or unclean kitchen equipment. Then there are commercial kitchens that are immaculately clean, surpass all safety standards and dish up delicious food.

Do you know how clean your favorite coffee shop, go-to restaurant or school kitchen is? Look through these recent food safety inspections from around northern Virginia courtesy of Patch.

Click on the links below to see recent inspection reports for area restaurants:

• Arlington Restaurant Inspections: 12 Violations At 5 Locations
• Ashburn Restaurant Inspections: WOW Diner, Pazzo Pomodoro, More
• Leesburg Restaurant Inspections: Bowling Alley Snack Bar, 5 Tara
• Arlington Restaurant Inspections: 24 Violations At 9 Locations
• Alexandria Restaurant Inspections: Mold-Like Substance Found

"In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

(Editor's note: The Virginia Department of Health recently launched a new restaurant inspections database. When Patch was notified, some local officials cautioned that since the system is still new, errors and incomplete inspections are possible. Should you see an error, please bring it to our attention so we can confirm with local officials and correct this report.)

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