Here’s some good news! This week, no restaurant got enough demerits to meet our new threshold for Dirty Dining.
But that’s not the whole story. There were five places shut down for imminent health hazards.
"I'm not the owner," said the chef at China AAA on Maryland Parkway and Silverado Ranch when Darcy Spears showed up to ask about their recent closure by the Southern Nevada Health District.
But the owner wasn't there and the chef didn't want to answer questions.
Chef: Sorry, I don't have time. I'm busy right now.
Darcy Spears: You don't have time? There are no customers in the restaurant.
Chef: I have my job. I'm chef. I need to do something else.
China AAA is a Dirty Dining three-peat offender. It was shut down June 11 for a multi-generational cockroach infestation.
After deep cleaning and patching holes, it reopened with a zero-demerit A grade on June 15--despite inspectors finding multiple dead roaches during the reinspection.
The day China AAA was closed down, roaches were crawling in and out of boxes in dry storage and under a wood ramp at the back door, which was propped open.
There were also cockroach droppings around an electrical outlet.
We leave a business card, but the owner doesn't call to discuss the roaches or anything else--including repeat violations for dirty dishes being washed next to food and excessive grease and food debris on equipment and floors.
Inspectors also found bulging cans of soy sauce in dry storage. Raw squid was stored over crab, chicken and pork. Cleavers were soiled with dried food debris. And there was no sanitizer on the wiping cloth being used to clean the prep table.
Rubio's on Lake Mead and Tenaya was shut down June 12 for inadequate refrigeration. Inspectors also found dirty dishes stored as clean. Racks for storing clean dishes were also excessively dirty, as were floors and walls. And gray water was being tracked through the kitchen due to a drain backing up.
Rubio's reopened the next day with a zero-demerit A grade. The person in charge said the walk-in cooler wasn't holding a safe temperature and they'd already called for service before the health inspector showed up. He said they had a "cleaning party" after the inspector left, got everything quickly taken care of, and all is well moving forward.
Taqueria El Buen Pastor--a mobile unit on Fremont near 7th--was shut down June 12 for no running water. This is their second location on Dirty Dining.
The one on Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara was shut down for good in October when its health permit was permanently revoked.
The Fremont and 7th location was back to a zero-demrit A grade on June 15.
We left a message with the person in charge who said she needed permission from the boss before speaking to us, but she did not call back.
A-1 Mobile Catering is another repeat offender. This time, their #14 truck was taken off the road on June 13 for inadequate refrigeration.
Cheese, ham, rice and turkey were at unsafe temperatures. And, a food handler was using a counterfeit health card.
John, A-1's owner, said they check their equipment daily but in this case a refrigeration hose broke after the truck hit the road.
He said the high heat contributes to things malfunctioning more than usual but they quickly got the hose fixed and sent a replacement truck to serve their customers.
As for the counterfeit health card, John said he was surprised by that and has never seen such a thing before. He says he's now reviewing all his employees' cards to make sure they're the real deal.
The snack bar at 7-Eleven on Las Vegas Boulevard near Convention Center Drive was shut down June 16 for no hot water.
Inspectors also found cheesy pepper sausage and Cajun sausage on the hot dog roller in the temperature danger zone.
The person in charge said they didn't know the hot water was off when the inspector arrived and they learned a circuit breaker on the electric water heater had been tripped.
A plumber arrived to fix the breaker and 7-Eleven's snack bar was re-opened with an 8-demerit A on June 18.
Documents for this week's Dirty Dining report
Taqueria El Buen Pastor inspection report
Taqueria El Buen Pastor reinspection report
Taqueria El Buen Pastor training
Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill inspection report
