LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tacos La Carreta is a Dirty Dining repeat offender.
The latest failed inspection came at its location in the Peak Mart car wash on Flamingo Road and El Capitan Way.
It got a 38-demerit “C” grade on July 25. Health inspectors identified a list of violations:
- An employee took cash and touched the register, then handled raw meat without washing hands.
- There was a repeat violation for expired food, including cut cabbage, cooked beans, and cooked pork.
- Green salsas had to be thrown out due to unsafe temperatures.
- There were multiple flies in the kitchen.
- Utensils were stored in lukewarm, standing water.
- Employee medication was stored above the make table.
- Beef tongue and raw bacon were being thawed on a make table cover at room temperature.
- Cut cantaloupe was stored in a plastic grocery bag.
- There was mold in the ice machine.
- Floor drains were dirty and slimy.
The owner, Edgar, who would only give his first name, said the violations were nothing very serious. He said they had to have the door open because their air conditioning wasn’t working, which is why flies came in. He added that everything is being fixed and they have re-inspection scheduled for this week.
Subway (Boulder Highway and Desert Inn)
The Subway sandwich shop on Boulder Highway and Desert Inn Road was shut down July 25 for the imminent health hazard of no hot water.
Inspectors also found a chemical spray bottle next to coffee pods and a sanitizer bucket stored on a cart over bread.
The location was re-inspected later the same day and received a zero-demerit "A" grade.
We were unable to reach anyone for comment.
4D Commissary
4D Commissary is a shared-use commercial kitchen — sometimes referred to as a ghost or cloud kitchen — that provides commercial kitchen space to food truck operators, farmers market vendors, caterers or others looking to start, grow or maintain a business.
The 4D Commissary location on Dean Martin Drive and Aldebaran Avenue was shut down July 28 for a multi-generational cockroach infestation. Health inspectors identified the following violations:
- The kitchen itself was excessively dirty.
- There were roaches on and around sink basins used for both food preparation and washing food equipment.
- Roaches and egg casings were found around cracked wall junctures, and there were both live and dead bugs on glue boards behind the fridge.
- Excessive old food and grease dirtied hood filters and areas under and between cooking equipment, under refrigerators, in floor drains and on shelves storing dry foods.
- There was no person in charge to verify pest records, review the inspection report or oversee food safety operations.
4D was re-inspected on July 29 and received a zero-demerit "A" grade.
The company sent the following statement:
“This facility has supported hundreds of small businesses and their employees in the Las Vegas community since 2012. Although the report was unfortunate, the facility was immediately reopened within hours by the SNHD. There is no prior SNHD history of the findings in this report even after hundreds of inspections over the last decade. In fact, an inspection of the facility was completed just days prior to the one in your article with no violations cited. We take public health seriously. We will continue to support small businesses in our community and hope you will too.”
The Black Pot
The Black Pot is one of the businesses that uses 4D Commissary.
It was shut down July 27 during a farmer’s market at Bruce Trent Park on Vegas Drive and Rampart Boulevard for lack of proper handwashing facilities and excessive demerits. Inspectors noted the following issues:
- Employees were unable to wash their hands for the full 20 seconds because the hand sink kept filling up with gray water and contaminating their hands while they were trying to wash them.
- Four bags of raw catfish and other food in chafing dishes — including mac 'n' cheese, sweet yams, greens, and baked chicken — were all thrown out due to unsafe temperatures.
- Flies were landing on spoons used to scoop ready-to-eat foods such as macaroni and cheese.
- The person in charge was unable to control the risk factors that would prevent critical and major violations pertaining to food storage and hygiene.
Owner Melvin Taylor said his business is only in its second year and they and didn’t think they were in violation, but he acknowledges they made some mistakes that needed correcting. He said inspectors were helpful and respectful during the process, instructing them on how to fix things on the spot. The Black Pot has not scheduled re-inspection yet. Taylor said the closure fee assessed by the Health District is a big one for a small business and they’re trying to figure out how to afford it.
Bella
Also at the Bruce Trent Park farmer’s market, Bella, a juice vendor, was shut down July 27. It got 30 demerits.
Handwashing violations included one employee who didn’t wash after touching a dirty, wet trash can. Owner Elvis Volpatto said, "The employee handwashing issue was because he was trying to ask how to do it but he couldn't. He is trained to do that so he already knows everything."
Wastewater was leaking onto dirt and grass. Volpatto said, "The leaking water was corrected immediately."
Watermelon juice was in the temperature danger zone. Volpatto said, "The watermelon juice was just made and the watermelon was at room temperature. We have four hours to let the juice cool down to 41 degrees and it was before that deadline. It's also important to say that we use only watermelon to make the juice. We don't add any sugar or water."
Open employee drinks sat on a table next to customer drinks.
The person in charge wasn’t knowledgeable about foodborne illness symptoms or the employee health policy. Volpatto said, "The employee doesn't speak English so he didn't understand the questions about illness symptoms but of course he knows. The SNHD has the test for health cards in different languages. He knows them in his language. But I corrected that already."
Volpatto sent an additional statement via text saying:
“We did everything the SNHD suggested, and we have our permit. We are open for business with everything right. We don’t have any demerits about our products. Everything was in perfect condition. The demerits we had were for things that SNHD is very picky about and that were very simple to correct. We also provided a kit with everything our employees need to know about operating our stand and the kit has everything they need to do their best. I'm very sure it's never going to happen again."
"It is very frustrating when things like this happen because we are really trying to take care of everything and we are making a really good product for our customers," he added.
Bella was re-inspected and re-opened on Aug. 4.
Tacos El Tapatio
Food truck Tacos El Tapatio, on Cactus Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, was shut down July 28 for the imminent health hazard of inadequate refrigeration. It also got 31 demerits.
They had to throw out horchata, grilled peppers, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, cooked carnitas and cooked chorizo due to unsafe temperatures.
Peeled onions were stored in a plastic grocery bag.
The person in charge did not have control over risk factors for foodborne illness.
The owner did not respond to either our phone call or follow-up email requesting comment.
For a look at past Dirty Dining reports, visit ktnv.com/dirtydining.
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- Click here to see the health report for Tacos La Carreta.
- Click here to see the health report for Subway #52354.
- Click here to see the health report for 4D Commissary.
- Click here to see the health report for The Black Pot AIHR.
- Click here to see the health report for Bella FMHR #1.
- Click here to see the health report for Tacos El Tapatio.
