LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Seven is supposed to be a lucky number in Las Vegas, but not when it comes to Dirty Dining.
This week, there were seven places operating on the wrong side of the health code, including two imminent health hazard closures at major hotel-casinos on the Strip.
The highest demerits went to Cinnamon’s restaurant on Washington Boulevard and Buffalo Drives.
It got a 38-demerit C grade on its Aug. 12 inspection.
They were holding food in the temperature danger zone for more than four hours, including buttermilk-based batters, eggs, bacon, ham, cut tomatoes, and cheese. All of it had to be thrown out.
Food handlers were not properly washing their hands.
The cut pork belly had to be thrown out due to improper cooling.
More food that had been left out at room temperature also had to be tossed, including cream cheese-based toppings, fried onions, and hollandaise sauce.
Raw eggs were stored over vegetables.
There were dangling grease and dust hanging over food being cooked on the griddle, making it subject to contamination.
Utensils were stored in standing, lukewarm water and the cutting board was stained and grooved to the point where it was no longer sanitary.
The ice machine was moldy with both pink and black growth at the chute.
Equipment was heavily greasy and dirty with old food, the floor drain was filthy and there was standing water and old food on the floor.
Food was mislabeled to extend its shelf-life including spam, ham, and ribeye.
Due to consecutive C downgrades during routine inspections, Cinnamon’s was required to have intervention training with the health district.
As of Wednesday, it has not been re-inspected and still has a C grade.
A message left for the manager was not immediately returned.
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Art Café on Nellis and Bonanza boulevards was shut down for an imminent health hazard on Aug. 10. The issue? Inadequate refrigeration.
Other violations included improper handwashing by a food handler who failed to wash after handling a raw hamburger patty.
Eight containers of cooked rice, four containers of refried beans, and a container of hard-boiled eggs all had to be thrown out due to improper cooling.
More food went into the trash due to unsafe temperatures including multiple gallons of milk, two containers of gravy, eight containers of heavy whipping cream, as well as breakfast potatoes and cooked chorizo.
There was a repeat violation for storing a crepe ladle in lukewarm standing water and the inspector found old food dirtying the blender and blender cup.
Art Café reopened Aug. 12 with a zero-demerit A grade.
There was no answer at the restaurant and a voicemail message left at the number listed on the health report was not returned.
Almost two weeks after this report was initially published, Ana from Art Cafe sent a Facebook message asking for an update to the story.
She wrote, "I saw the article on Dirty Dining about the place. I know it's all about transparency when it comes to reporting, but in the Dirty Dining report in the news, the information that was relayed to the public was poorly constructed leaving the restaurant with a bad reputation. My cook was wearing gloves while handling the raw ground beef and didn't wash his hands in between putting new gloves on. That very hot summer day I had a problem with my walk-in cooler where all the cream, chorizo, breakfast potatoes, beans and rice had to be thrown away because my cooler went up to 47 degrees and for that reason everything inside it will have the same temperature."
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99 Ranch Market is a Dirty Dining repeat offender.
This time, the seafood section of the location in Chinatown Plaza on Spring Mountain and Wynn roads was shut down Aug. 11 for the imminent health hazard of no hot water.
The person in charge told the inspector the hot water had been out since the previous day and they were waiting on a part, but they kept operating, which is not allowed.
The inspector also found an open packet of half-eaten croissants on the food scale, flies in the facility, and a person in charge who wasn’t knowledgeable about employee health and proper handwashing procedures.
Cutting boards were no longer cleanable, floor drains were clogged, tongs were hanging off equipment handles, and doors, handles, covers, and panels were missing, dirty or broken.
Water dripped from the walk-in fridge condenser and the ceiling, floors, and walls were wet, as were multiple cardboard boxes.
The seafood section reopened Aug. 12 with a 3-demerit A grade.
The manager said they worked quickly to fix what was broken and were happy to be able to reopen the next day.
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The Palm restaurant at Caesars Palace had its lounge shut down Aug. 11 for operating without hot water.
As a result, the bartender was unable to properly wash hands, according to the inspection.
The bar was shut down but drink service was moved inside the kitchen until repairs could be made.
The inspector also found bleu cheese-stuffed olives at an unsafe temperature and no sanitizer in the sanitizer bucket or glass washing machine.
The Palm lounge was re-inspected on Aug. 12 and reopened with a zero-demerit A grade.
A public relations representative responded to our call for comment. She asked for more information, but did not provide a statement.
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The pot washing area at the Flamingo hotel-casino on the Strip was shut down Aug. 12 due to a cockroach infestation.
The inspector found live roaches inside the dish machine.
Other unsanitary conditions included scale deposits and wet areas on the floor, which was generally in disrepair.
The Flamingo was instructed to repair the floor and wall tiles, tile grout, and ceiling tiles.
It reopened Aug. 15 with a 3-demerit A grade.
An email sent to Caesars Entertainment public relations was not immediately returned.
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Best Mobile Food Service, which operates a fleet of food trucks, is a Dirty Dining repeat offender.
The Aug. 14 inspection of truck No. 4 started with a complaint.
The complainant told the health district that the woman who prepared food on the truck does not wash the vegetables, and when veggies fell on the floor, she cooked them without washing them.
The complaint went to say, “She also let the blood from red meat run onto the vegetables. And after counting money, she cooked without washing her hands. She went to the bathroom and didn’t wash her hands and that’s how she prepared food for the rest of the day. She cooked food with dirty water that she was using to keep the food hot.”
When the inspector arrived to investigate, he was unable to validate the complaint as he did not witness any cross-contamination or improper handwashing.
However, a full inspection resulted in the closure of the truck due to a sewage leak. The wastewater valve was leaking gray water onto the ground near Town Center and Flamingo drives.
Other documented violations included a food handler touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands and food at unsafe temperatures including deli ham, chorizo, and raw hamburger. All that food was thrown out.
An employee’s face mask was stored in direct contact with clean equipment, the only sanitizer bucket was extremely dirty and had no chlorine in it, and the refrigerator was red-tagged.
The truck was allowed back on the road on Aug. 17 with a zero-demerit A grade.
Best Mobile Food Service declined to comment.
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The snack bar at Kwiky Mini Mart on Stewart Avenue and Lamb Boulevard was shut down Aug. 14 due to no hot water.
That’s an imminent health hazard that requires self-closure and a report to the health district.
The inspection says there were no food items in danger at the time of inspection and the owner had suspended all self-serve beverage stations due to COVID-19.
The snack bar reopened Aug. 17 with a zero-demerit A grade.
The manager said their water heater temperature was set at 120 degrees but the 3-compartment sink is far away, so the water wasn’t holding at a safe temperature. They turned the heat up on the heater to resolve the issue.
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Click here to see the health report for Cinnamons.
Click here to see the health report for Art Cafe.
Click here to see the health report for 99 Ranch Market Seafood.
Click here to see the health report for Flamingo Production Pot Wash.
Click here to see the health report for Palm Lounge @ Caesars.
Click here to see the health report for Best Mobile Food Service #4.
Click here to see the health report for Kwiky Mini Mart #1 Snack Bar.
