LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Dirty Dining hits a brand new restaurant at a high-end property on the Las Vegas Strip.
The X Pot at the Grand Canal Shoppes in the Venetian Resort opened its lounge in August and just announced phase two of its opening plan.
The Asian fusion restaurant boasts an ultra-modern dinner experience: hot pots served by robots and “top tier immersive dining” with high definition projections, thematic soundscapes, and interactive light shows right on your dinner plate.
Unfortunately, a 35-demerit C grade for The X Pot’s prep and storage area on its Aug. 31 inspection cast a shadow over the much-anticipated eatery.
David Zhao, one of The X Pot's managing partners, emphasized that the restaurant was not yet open to the public.
On Aug. 31, health inspectors left The X Pot with an alphabet soup of grade cards on its first series of health inspections: an A for the bar and to-go area, two B's for the butcher prep and restaurant, and that 35-demerit C grade for the area where food is prepared and stored--an area Zhao says was not in use for public service.
Zhao says all the issues were resolved within 24 hours of the initial inspection and The X Pot opened to the public on Sept. 2.
Health District records show as of Sept. 3, all of The X Pot’s health permits were back to A grades with zero demerits, except for the Bar and To Go area, which has a 3-demerit A grade.
During the Aug. 31 inspection, The X Pot was ordered to cease and desist preparing food in a storage area where there was no hand sink. Zhao says no food was served from the storage area.
Beef in the fridge had to be thrown out due to unsafe temperatures and improper cooling.
Multiple large containers of tripe were stored unattended and at room temperature. Zhao says the meat was awaiting disposal.
The juicer, noodle maker, and vacuum sealer were all "soiled indicating prior use," according to the inspector.
Open containers of raw meat were stored directly over ready-to-eat desserts and garnishes in the fridge.
And there were stains from drippage on a box of Pellegrino sitting under raw meat. Zhao objected to the word "drippage," saying the stains could have been "markings" but that he wasn't sure. Zhao added that the meat was "awaiting discard."
Although Zhao says it was only one closed water bottle, the health report says inspectors "observed multiple food handler beverages stored on prep surfaces and commingled with clean wares used within the facility."
Also, the inspector found food stored in the hand sink.
Another violation on the health report reads, "Fruits and vegetables not washed prior to being cooked, prepared, processed, served, or dispensed." The inspectors added, "Sticker labels observed on multiple cut/prepared fruits (ready-to-eat) in reach-in cooler," which is reflected in the Health District's photos. Zhao says, "No food was prepared on that day for customers and there’s no evidence of 'no washing' and there's 'no prepping' in the pictures."
A spokesperson for The X Pot said, "The day this happened, The X Pot was not open to the public. We ran into a storage issue a couple of days prior and this particular day we had been moving machines and boxes into additional purchased storage from the casino. The food pictured was never served to customers, and was overflow from the storage issue previously mentioned. All listed issues have been resolved within 24 hours. We rescheduled the earliest possible visit from health inspections and passed with flying colors. We now have a full A and will keep it that way. We take full accountability for the state of our kitchen that day and have gone above and beyond since then, ensuring everything served to customers has been perfect."
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Click here to see the health inspection report for The X Pot Prep & Storage.
Click here to see the health re-inspection report The X Pot Prep & Storage.
