LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — See something, say something. That's becoming quite common for people eating out as complaints to the Health District are on the rise.
In this week's Dirty Dining, one restaurant had to be shut down after a customer complaint, and another restaurant learns how a bunch of little violations can add up to big demerits.
We begin at Tang Tang Tang 2 on Rainbow Boulevard and Wigwam Avenue, where the music is loud but it can't drown out the sound of demerits racking up. 36 of them, to be exact.
The Korean restaurant specializes in soups, but on Oct. 7, many soups, including brisket, red soup and white soup, had to be thrown out due to unsafe temperatures.
Same with white and brown rice, cooked potatoes and sprouts.
There were uncovered soups and a bag of onions on the floor, pink mold in the ice machine, and a container of uncovered pork subject to contamination because it was thawing near the floor in a walkway.
When the boss arrived, she told us she's a silent partner. She wouldn't go on camera but did say, "The reason for the lower rating is because of two machines that were not working properly."
There was a dish machine red tagged due to not sanitizing. But that's hardly the only reason for the C grade.
In addition to the violations we've already mentioned, there was a dirty pot and bowl stored as clean, some peeling material inside the make table lid, no person in charge, and an employee's cell phone on a shelf next to clean bowls.
You can understand why that's a health violation when you consider the average mobile phone carries 18 times more bacteria than a toilet handle.
The boss tells us they feel the violations were nothing major.
Tang Tang Tang 2 got it's A grade back with zero demerits on Oct. 23.
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The only imminent health hazard closure came at Tacos El Compita #2 on Westcliff and Buffalo drives.
It was shut down on Oct. 11.
The Health District received a complaint about dirty air vents, filthy floor, filthy tables and a filthy bathroom with a clogged toilet.
The complaint was validated when the inspector saw dusty air vents above the food prep area, graffiti in the restroom and a hand sink detaching from the wall.
On top of that, when inspectors arrived to investigate the complaint, they walked into an imminent health hazard as employees were preparing food and washing hands and dishes without hot water.
Tacos El Compita reopened Oct. 12 with a zero-demerit A grade.
No one returned our call for comment.
To get a little perspective on the number of complaints vs. number of permitted restaurants, we asked the Health District to run some numbers.
Here's what they found:
- 2,447 total complaints in 2018 for 20,905 permitted establishments
- 1,880 complaints submitted so far in 2019 for 21,497 permitted establishments
Click here to see the health report for Tang Tang Tang 2.
Click here to see the health report for Tacos El Compita #2.
Click here to see the health report for Sweetspot Nitrogen Ice Cream & Boba Tea.
