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27 of 29 Eateries Pass; Straw Enigma Solved
by Allan Appel | Oct 23, 2012 8:08 am
Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author
Posted to: Food, Health, Jocelyn Square
Where in all of New Haven was Brian Badamo going to get wrapped, hollow cocktail straws? No one in town sells them. But a health inspector said he needed them.
Badamo washed and bleached the inside of his walk-in cooler. He bought a holder for his mops and brooms. He removed the towel lining the bottom of the beer cooler.
But Badamo, the owner of Carissa’s Cafe, the neighborhood bar and restaurant at East and Humphrey, was still stuck on the straw question. He had to solve it to pass a follow-up inspection.
Carissa’s Cafe was one 29 eateries city health inspectors checked out between Oct. 9 and Oct. 15. Twenty-seven passed; two including Carissa’s, failed to obtain the 80 points out of 100 needed to pass. (Scroll down in this story to see the results.) Carissa’s scored 61.
A first-time restaurateur, Badamo pronounced the process necessary and “educational.”
Especially the lesson about unprotected straws.
City sanitarians inspect all of New Havens restaurant’s, groceries, bars, and other food-serving establishments between one and four times a year. Establishments that score less than 80 usually have two weeks to make the recommended corrections. The health department can also close a restaurant regardless of its score if the sanitarians suspect an immediate danger to public health.
The inspector, Brian Wnek, said that Carissa’s had opened back in June and had passed what is known as the “pre-op” inspection.
That’s required of a new establishment or any older one that changes hands, as was the case with Carissa’s Cafe. (Read about its reopening plans here.) The eatery used to be Humphrey’s, a popular spot in the heart of Jocelyn Square.
Badamo said he wants to bring back the eatery to the Humphrey’s of the 1990s, which he described as diverse, safe, and fun.
He named the joint after his 5-year-old daughter and invested in gleaming tiles, granite bar top, spiffy multiple screens and a TouchTunes back-to-the-future jukebox that plays everything from Roy Orbison to Gotye.
Badamo called many of the violations cited in his failing 61 score on Oct. 11 “maintenance stuff.”
There was also a learning curve at work because Badamo is a first-time operator, Wnek said.
Badamo added that many of the conditions inspector Wnek cited, like the towels lining the bottom of the beer cooler to sop up water, had been unchanged since the initial inspection.
Wnek said he and the owner discussed the violations after the Oct. 11 visit and determined “a week would be appropriate. It’s my decision that the issues be rectified sooner.”
Wnek reinspected Carissa’s this past Thursday. This time Badamo sailed through. Score: 91.
Even the pesky straw problem had been solved.
Badamo said he visited Advance Paper at the Food Terminal and requested wrapped cocktail straws.
We don’t have them, the folks at Advance Paper told him. They further told him they didn’t know of any outlet that could provide covered or “protected” hollow cocktail straws.
One Brian called the other. “I told Brian they didn’t even make wrapped straws,” said Badamo.
The inspector told him the matter could be resolved if the dispenser of the straws were moved from the bar where customers could have at them with their potentially germ-infested fingers to a position behind the bar. There only the employees could touch them. And they always wash their hands, Badamo said.
“It’s my first restaurant, dealing with the health issues. Educational,” he said.
The Winners
The following received passing grades: spanning the period Oct. 9 to Oct. 15:
10/9/2012: Mediterranea Cafe, 140 Orange St., Score: 87; Conte/West Hills School, 511 Chapel, Score: 86; McDonald’s Restaurant, 1094 Whalley Ave., Score: 83; Luck and Levity Brewing, 118 Court St., Score: 98; Fuel Coffee Shop, 516 Chapel St., Score: 90
10/10/2012: St. Martin de Porres Academy, 208 Columbus Ave., Score: 80; Marchegian Club, 226 Cedar St., Score: 84; Consiglio’s Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., Score: 85; R&L Grocery, 151 Portsea St., Score: 80
10/11/2012: Columbus Market & Deli, 307 Columbus, Score: 85; Super Star Market, 96 Sylvan Ave., Score: 84; La Cayeyana Donis Bakery, 188 Lamberton St., Score: 88; Walgreens #06474, 82 York St., Score: 96; Sadaf Market Deli, 275 Edgewood Ave., Score: 88
10/12/2012: Yale Rep Theater, 1120 Chapel St., Score: 93; Insomnia Cookies, 1143 Chapel St., Score: 91; J&B Deli, 1147 Chapel St., Score: 85; Heirloom, 1157 Chapel St., Score: 90; Jokers Wild, 232 Wooster St., Score: 86; Yolande’s Bistro and Creperie, 99 Orange St., Score: 84
10/15-2012: King/Robinson School, 150 Fournier St., Score: 93; Shoppers Haven, 147 Fitch St., Score: 92; Valley Mart, 589 Valley St., Score: 85; Walgreen Eastern Co., #3579, 1471 Whallevy Ave., Score: 95; Hess 06513, 1159 Whalley Ave., Score: 98; Sam Food/DB Mart, 287 Blake St., Score: 82; Lincoln Bassett School, 130 Bassett St., Score: 94
2 Need Improvement
During the Oct. 9 to Oct. 15 period, the following two failed their inspections and were given two and one week respectively to make improvements:
Golden Rock
823 Chapel St.
Score: 73
• Fix defective ceiling and wall tiles, clean walls, fix defective ceiling
• Label products not in original containers
• No use of small cups as scoops in food products
• Cover exposed food products
• Clean can opener blade, holder, frame, clean tracks on slide doors
• Touch up defective exterior on equipment, wipe exterior of equipment
• Clean baffles on hood system
• Refill soap and paper towel dispenser at hand sink
• Need thermometers in warmest location in coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Hang up mops and brooms
• Clean interior of coolers and freezers
• Invert single serve plates
• Hair restraints needed
• Fix defective gaskets on doors, clean gaskets on doors
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution
• Don’t cover equipment or shelves with tin foil
• Keep front door closed or install screens, seal gaps around doors
• Clean air vents, fix defective light switch/fixture on wall, fix defective wall board
• Insects present, exterminate
• Don’t store food or drink on the floor
• Fix defective flooring, clean floors under and around equipment
• Seal wall/floor junctions
• Follow label instructions on products that say “refrigerate after opening,” discarded products on site
• Wipe metal wall cover, touch up defective building structure
• Don’t store knives “sheath” style
• Touch up and wipe defective shelves
Carissa’s Cafe
175 Humphrey St.
Score: 61
• Invert single serve containers, hollow straws on bar not protected
• Clean metal wall cover, clean fan cover, clean air vents
• Label products not in original containers
• Hang up mops and brooms
• Seal floor/wall junctions
• Don’t line shelves with towels, fix walk-in freezer door so it shuts firmly
• Fix defective tracks on slide doors, clean tracks on slide doors
• Need thermometers in warmest location in coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Drain water from inside cooler
• Need soap and paper towel at hand sink downstairs
• Seal gaps on exterior doors, if front door is kept open, a screen is needed
• Cover exposed food products, don’t store food or drink on the floor
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution
• Don’t use cardboard as mats
• Fix defective wall tiles (basement area), clean air vent cover (walk in cooler)
• Fix defective flooring, clean floors under and around equipment
• Clean walls and ceiling on walk in cooler, fix defective walls and ceiling
• Don’t use a plastic cup as a scoop in food products
• Don’t line bottom of beer cooler with towels
• If windows kept open in both bathrooms, need mesh screens
• Don’t wrap equipment with tin foil, touch up defective exterior on equipment, wipe exterior equipment
• Hair restraints
• Follow label instructions on products “refrigerate after opening,” - corrected on site
• Fruit flies on liquor bottles - products destroyed on site
• Eliminate fruit flies in bar area
• Clean interior of coolers, freezers, beer coolers, etc
• Don’t use hand sinks for any other purpose but hand washing
• Empty mop water bucket when not in use
• Replace missing baffles on hood system, fix and clean defective gaskets on doors
• Before putting on a new pair of gloves employees must wash hands
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