LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Singing the blues. That's how it was in July at M & M Soul Food Cafe.
Now, the song remains the same but the owner has no interest in an encore, telling us he has no comment about his restaurant's most recent downgrade.
A combination of highest demerits, imminent health hazards and failed inspections has led to the M & M Soul Food name making its fourth appearance on Dirty Dining.
It's the second time for the location on Las Vegas Boulevard near Sahara Avenue.
It got a 36-demerit C grade on a routine inspection Aug. 22.
But what's different this time is that an employee filed a complaint with the Health District that they found to be valid.
The complainant told the Health District that kitchen workers were not using gloves and were touching raw chicken, cat fish and pork chops without washing hands in between.
The employee also complained of roaches, no person in charge, and said that when the Health District ordered compromised food to be tossed into the trash, employees would later take it out of the garbage and place it back into the fridge.
Inspectors did not validate that portion of the complaint because they didn't see it happen.
But they did see improper handwashing and cockroaches. And there was no manager or person in charge when they arrived, which was also the case when we stopped by.
Inspectors also found spoiled greens, a glove box stored on top of ready-to-eat fried chicken and dirty kitchen wares in clean storage.
There were live multi-generational roaches near the entrance to the dry storage area and inspectors noted a repeat violation for gaps in the exterior kitchen door giving bugs a way in.
Hot water was intentionally turned off at the only hand sink in the kitchen due to a leak.
Fried chicken stored at unsafe temperatures on a shelf below raw chicken had to be thrown out, as did multiple containers of half 'n' half that were sitting out at room temperature.
Utensils sat in standing water and there was no sanitizer solution set up. All sanitizer buckets were empty, including the one at the raw chicken prep station.
M & M was required to set up a meeting by Aug. 13 with a food safety consultant and the Health District, but failed to do so.
The restaurant was back to a zero-demerit A grade on Aug. 27.
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Farther south on the Strip, Ocean One Bar & Grille restaurant in the Miracle Mile shops at Planet Hollywood was shut down Aug. 23 for a multi-generational cockroach infestation.
The Health District received two separate customer complaints about roaches found in food on Aug. 20.
Inspectors also saw an egg sac and dead roaches at the pastry station, server station and warewashing area, plus, dirty drains, walls and cutting boards.
Ocean One was back to a nine-demerit A grade on Aug. 26.
Our message for comment was not returned.
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And just a little off the Strip on Tropicana, more multi-generational roaches caused imminent health hazard closure at Hooters casino hotel's warewashing area on Aug. 21. There were also lots of fruit flies, house flies and heavily soiled walls.
That area at Hooters was back to a zero-demerit A on Aug. 23.
Our message for comment was not returned.
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And there was one more imminent health hazard closure at Full House Filipino BBQ on Maryland Parkway near Silverado Ranch.
It was shut down Aug. 20 for no hot water.
Inspectors also found meat that was 12 days expired and flan that had expired nine days earlier.
That, plus, mold in the ice machine, more mold on the soda nozzle and old food on the dicer.
Full House was back to a zero-demerit A grade the next day.
Chef Alex Irlandes said he didn't know he was supposed to self-close when the hot water went out and that they'd already called a technician when the health inspector showed up.
He described the rest of the violations as routine and nothing major, adding that his small, family restaurant is working hard to stay afloat and they care very much about cleanliness.
Click here to see the health report for M&M Soul Food Cafe
Click here to see the health report for Full House BBQ
