Allan Appel Photo
Oaxaca manager Bennett reviews report.
One of Bruce Bennett’s workers was sipping coffee between busy waves of customers. That wouldn’t have bothered city health inspectors — if he weren’t sipping in the kitchen.
But he was — and his employer, Oaxaca Kitchen on College Street, lost two points along the way to failing its most recent inspection.
Health guidelines explicitly state that the eating and drinking cannot take place in food prep areas. Workers in restaurants must take all their sips, noshes, and meals in the dining area or some other non food-prep area.
Inspectors checked up on 32 food establishments between Jan. 29 and Feb. 4. All but two passed. The other one that failed, Black Bear Saloon, also got a demerit for eating being observed in the kitch.
City sanitarians inspect all of New Haven’s restaurants, 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. (Scroll down in this story for results of the latest round of inspections.)
Inspectors stress that a low score doesn’t mean a restaurant is always failing. Nor does a high or even perfect score mean an eatery is always squeaky clean. Rather it means that at the moment of the inspectors’ unannounced visit, they found the conditions they reported. That’s why city Environmental Health Director Paul Kowalski calls each inspection a kind of sanitary “snapshot.”
Oaxaca Kitchen’s Bennett said that while he was disappointed the current score wasn’t similar to the high 80s and low 90s Oaxaca Kitchen has consistently received on previous inspections. He stressed how important the inspections are to keep restaurant operators on their toes.
“We have taken action on every single point,” he said.
That includes making sure customers don’t visit in the food prep area, which was another violation cited.
Black Bear Saloon.
If you want to check out a restaurant, “stick your head in the kitchen,” Kowalski said. But leave your body out.
The regulations prohibit noshing, sampling, or visiting in the kitchen in order to emphasize “these are food services areas,” not relaxed spaces like a home kitchen, said Kowalski.
“Is a visitor properly dressed? Is he clean?” Kowalski asked rhetorically.
If a food worker sips and noshes, or invites in a pal or customer, what’s next? A visitor bringing in medicine bottles? It’s a slippery slope, Kowalski said.
Bruce Bennett said he has no problem with any of this: “We respect it.”
Following are the results of the latest inspections around town.
The Winners
During the Jan.29 to Feb.4 period, 30 passed. The two that did not were ordered to make required changes within two weeks. The following received passing grades:
1/29/2013: Thai Taste Restaurant, 1151 Chapel St., Score: 87; Skappo Merkato, 51 Orange St., Score: 94; Skappo Italian Wine Bar, 59 Crown St., Score: 91; Congress Mini Market LLC, 750 Congress Ave., Score: 85; Wood Dining Services, 18 Tower Lane, Score: 87; Orchard Market, 738 Orchard St., Score: 88; Rudy’s, 1227 Chapel St., Score: 86;
1/30/2013: La Molienda, 113 Grand Ave., Score: 88; CT At Your Convenience LLC, 121 Grand Ave., Score: 86; Victors Mini Mart & Deli, 304 Grand Ave., Score: 86; New Horizons School, 103 Hallock Ave., Score: 93; Brazi’s Restaurant, 201 Food Terminal Pl., Score: 94
1/31/2013: SCSU Adanti Student Center, 501 Crescent St., Score: 82; Ivy Noodle Inc., 316 Elm St., Score: 85; Wok No 1, 376 Lombard St., Score: 87; Caffe Bravo, 794 Orange St., Score: 87; Barnard School, 170 Derby Ave., Score: 87; Sandra’s Next Generation, 636 Congress Ave., Score: 82; The Fat Sandwich, 89 George St., Score: 89; Aramark, 1 Columbus Plaza, Score: 91; Ivy Bistro, 302 Winchester Ave., Score: 86;
2/1/2013: Subway (Shazia & Zamir LLC, 188 Grand Ave., Score: 94; Fair Haven Middle School, 164 Grand Ave., Score: 95; John Daniels School, 569 Congress Ave., Score: 93; Miso, 15 Orange St., Score: 80; Million LLC, 15 Orange St., Score: 80; China Cafe, 15 Orange St., Score: 80
2/4/2013: Domino’s Pizza, 357 Whalley Ave., Score: 90; Dunkin Donuts, 323 Whalley Ave., Score: 92; Shang Hai, 363 Whalley Ave., Score: 83
The 2 Needing Improvement
During the Jan. 29 to Feb. 4 period, the following two failed their inspections:
Black Bear Saloon
124 Temple St.
Score: 76
• Hang up mops and brooms when not in use
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution when not in use
• Minimize bare hand contact with ready to eat foods
• Wipe baffels on hood system
• Don’t use hand sink for any other purpose but hand washing
• Label product out of original containers
• Touch up defective shelves, wipe shelves, clean tracks on sliding doors, fix defective tracks on cooler
• Need thermometer in warmest location in coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Hollow straws on bar not protected
• Fix defective vinyl covers, fix defective flooring, clean floors under and around equipment
• Clean fan cover, clean wall board, fix defective wallboard and ceiling tiles
• Don’t store food or drink on the floor
• Missing light shield on bulb in walk in cooler
• Seal floor/wall junctions
• Wipe inside of coolers and freezers
• Touch up defective exterior on equipment, wipe exterior of equipment
• Fix defective sink basin and urinal in men’s bathroom
• Fix defective gaskets on doors, clean gaskets
• Don’t use small plastic cup as scoop in food
• Invert single serve containers
• Clean can opener blade, holder, frame
• No eating in a food prep area, no drinking from an open uncovered container in food prep area
• Lower hot water in bath hand sink (1st floor) to in between 110 and 115 degrees
• Need soap and paper towels at bath hand sink
• Seal gaps in exterior doors
• Need covered trash can in bath (1st floor) for female hygiene products
Oaxaca Kitchen/Bar & Restaurant
228 College St.
Score: 69
• Hang up mops and brooms when not in use
• Need thermometer in warmest location in coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Fix defective gaskets in doors, clean gaskets
• Label product not in original containers
• Don’t store utensils in standing water
• Cover exposed food product
• Wipe inside coolers and freezers
• Clean wall behind grill, wipe air vents, touch up defective walls, clean walls
• Clean can opener blade, holder, and frame
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution when not in use
• Refill soap dispenser at hand sink
• Don’t line shelves with cloth or plastic wrap
• Wipe shelves, wipe exterior of equipment
• Invert glasses on pre-set tables
• Fix defective ceiling, fix defective seat covers
• No drinking from an open (uncovered) container [container], customer in a food prep area
• Hair restraints
• Clean floors under and around equipment
• Label toxic items in spray bottles
• Liquor bottles with fruit flies in them
• Use approved methods to defrost food products
Average scores should be published either quarterly or annually. By the inspector's own admission, the sporadic visits don't create a realistic picture of a certain restaurant's cleanliness, or lack thereof.
Also, Mr. Kowalski should take it down a notch. The slippery slope argument, from casual visitor of a kitchen to someone smuggling in medicine bottles, it's a bit of a stretch. Was Mr. Kowalski clean when he made the inspection? Did he have any medicine on him at the time? What about chap stick or a used handkerchief in his pocket? Did he wear a biohazard suit or at least a mask and gloves while in the kitchen? It looks like this man is nit picking and trying, just trying to eke out a fine, anything to help fill the city's coffers.