Roaches in soy sauce & moldy fruit: The worst Triangle restaurant inspections this year
All year long, The News & Observer has published a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up to date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.
Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.
You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.
Here are the worst sanitation scores in Triangle counties this year, including restaurants that received a score of at least 85% or lower.
Wake County sanitation scores
The Wake County inspection management system shows that at least 1,200 restaurant inspections were completed since Jan 1. Of those, four restaurants received a score of 85% or lower.
Chengdu 7 Sichuan Cuisine (748 E Chatham St. Suite E in Cary) received a score of 81% during an inspection on Wednesday, Nov. 27.
The restaurant was in violation of 17 standards, which included food stored on the floor at room temperature, pans of cooked chicken stacked on top of each other and mold on the walk-in freezer door.
Another Broken Egg Cafe (160 Park at N. Hills St Ste 127 in Raleigh) received a score of 81.5% during an inspection on Friday, Oct. 25.
The restaurant was in violation of 14 standards, which included pumpkin waffle batter, ranch dressing, low country sauce, Veloute sauce, chicken and chorizo all found to be held beyond seven days.
Mezeh (1286 W Williams St. in Apex) received a score of 85% during an inspection on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The restaurant was in violation of 14 standards, which included finding multiple foods held above necessary temperature in the glass display cooler, along with black lentils and falafel colder than necessary temperature.
StarBar (1731 Trawick Rd. in Raleigh) received a score of 85% during an inspection on Thursday, Feb. 8.
The restaurant was in violation of 18 standards, which included finding raw shell eggs stored above produce and cleaned metal bowls and cook pans stored food-side up with debris.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at http://bit.ly/4dGbJN3.
Durham County sanitation scores
The Durham County inspection management system shows at least 700 restaurant inspections were completed since Jan. 1. Of those, nine received scores of 85% or lower — and one earned a C grade.
Chopstix Chinese (2000 Avondale Dr Suite B in Durham) received a score of 79% during an inspection on Tuesday, Nov. 26 with 24 violations.
Violations included two live cockroaches in the kitchen, numerous single service items, like styrofoam trays and boxes, being reused and plastic grocery bags being used as food storage bags in the freezer unit in the back storage area.
The restaurant also received a score of 83% during an inspection on Thursday, Dec. 5.
The restaurant was in violation of 15 standards, which included finding numerous plastic grocery bags being used as food storage bags in the walk-in cooler, plus buckets of chicken wings and a pan of raw shrimp on the floor of the walk -in cooler.
El Mariachi Restaurante (2000 Avondale Dr. in Durham) received a score of 82% during an inspection on Friday, Dec. 13.
The restaurant was in violation of 25 standards, which included repackaged raw beef above cooked meats and vegetables in a freezer, a staff member mixing masa without gloves and a large pot of beans under prep table cooling since the night before at room temperature.
Kickback Jack’s (918 W Club Blvd. in Durham) received a score of 84% during an inspection on Monday, Nov. 18.
The restaurant was in violation of 20 standards, which included raw chicken above beef in walk-in cooler and above cooked chicken in the reach-in, plus pans, orange juice, can opener and cutting boards found soiled.
Mexico Lindo Y Querido (2103 N Roxboro St. in Durham) received a score of 85% during an inspection on Monday, Nov. 4.
The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards, which included repackaged raw meats above ready to eat foods, plus moldy watermelon.
Pure Vegan Cafe (2812 Erwin Rd #104 in Durham) received a score of 82% during an inspection on Wednesday, Nov. 13.
The restaurant was in violation of 16 standards, which included multiple food items in the freezer and coolers stored with no lids and plates and equipment stored on the clean dish rack with food debris on them.
Quickly Tea House (2604A Hillsborough Rd. in Durham) received a score of 82.5% during an inspection on Wednesday, Jan. 24.
The restaurant was in violation of 18 standards, which included an employee handling foods without a hair restraint and items stored in walk-in cooler and make-line cooler that had exceeded date marking guidelines by multiple days.
Taqueria HWY 98 (2003 Holloway St. in Durham) received a score of 81.5% during an inspection on Friday, April 5.
The restaurant was in violation of 18 standards, which included raw chicken stored above onions in the refrigerator and numerous foods on buffet, including shrimp and chicharones, colder than necessary temperature.
The Goat (5600 Primary Dr. in Durham) received a score of 82.5% during an inspection on Tuesday, June 4.
The restaurant was in violation of 20 standards, which included dishes, utensils and food equipment throughout the kitchen stored as clean with visible residue build up, plus flies observed throughout the facility.
Wang’s Garden (826 Fayetteville St. in Durham) received a score of 81% during an inspection on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
The restaurant was in violation of 19 violations, which included “clean” plastic lids stored above the compartment sink with roach droppings on them and sliced broccoli stored in a mislabeled reused cardboard box.
The restaurant also received a score of 82% on Monday, June 3 with 16 violations, which included dead roaches in a bulk container of soy sauce and a dead roach in the bulk container of sugar.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.
Orange County sanitation scores
The Orange County inspection management system shows that at least 290 restaurant inspections were completed since Jan. 1. None received a score of 85% or below.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.
Johnston County sanitation scores
The Johnston County inspection management system shows that at least 120 restaurant inspections were completed Jan. 1-Dec. 31. One restaurant received a score of 85% or below.
La Quinta Inn & Suites (1695 Outlet Center Dr. in Selma) received a score of 81.5% during an inspection on Dec. 23.
The restaurant was in violation of nine standards, which included a glass reach-in cooler holding cheese, cream cheese, butter and milk 13-15 degrees warmer than necessary temperature.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at bit.ly/4eEDuGr.
Chatham County sanitation scores
The Chatham County inspections management system shows at least 110 restaurant inspections were completed since Jan. 1. One received a score of 85% or below.
Jordan Dam Mini Mart (8036 Moncure Pittsboro Rd. in Moncure) received a score of 84.5% during an inspection on Sept. 17.
The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards, which included moldy cheese found in a cooler, hot dogs and chicken wings at least 10 degrees colder than appropriate temperature and multiple opened foods, including salsa verde, tater tots, and cheese, found with no date mark.
You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.
This story was originally published December 27, 2024 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Roaches in soy sauce & moldy fruit: The worst Triangle restaurant inspections this year."
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