I was surfing around looking for information on health department reports on restaurants and stumbled across this PDF which shows the grades of restaurants located in Texarkana-Bowie County in Texarkana, Texas. Intrigued, I did some deep searching of the Minnesota Department of Health’s website and came up empty handed. I ended up contacting the MDH directly and got a response that while the reports are public, they do not have an online database of them and as such I was told to request them through e-mail and they would fill my request.
So, I e-mailed in a list of a handful of locally owned restaurants. I didn’t bother with the chains being that I’d be here all fucking day looking up the information to send to the MDH and the fact that I just generally don’t choose to patronize them anyway. While I really wish this information was available online, I was told that they just don’t have the budget money to do it and it’s a lot more difficult than I understand (oddly enough, I had the time to compile, host, and post this information so I guess that excuse doesn’t work too well anymore, eh?). Personally I feel that if the MDH published these online, as should be the case, it would be in the absolute best interests of the restaurants to comply with the suggested corrections immediately so as not to lose business.
Because of the way the MDH handles these (different inspectors for different regions), I am breaking this topic into three sections. The first will be from Apple Valley and Farmington. The second will be Burnsville, Lakeville, and Eagan. The third will encompass Hastings, Rosemount, and Savage. Each of the posts will include a list of the restaurants I requested information on, including any relevant reviews I have already posted here, and their most recent health inspection report as provided by the individual MDH inspector. All of the reports will be made available in PDF for you to view as well as text converted versions. While I do have more bandwidth than I did in the past, I ask that you not hammer the site with requests to download the PDF versions. If you’re just planning to look over the data please utilize the text versions until you know exactly what restaurants you’re most interested in before you pull down the full PDF versions.
PLEASE NOTE:
The information provided in the documents below is created, compiled, and disseminated by the Minnesota Department of Health. This information is public record and anyone may obtain it, just as I did, by asking. I have not altered the original content in any way other than to provide text converted copies of the PDF to save me some bandwidth.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE:
The information provided in the documents below shows an on-going history of inspections and you will need to pay careful attention to the dates listed in order to know which are the most recent.
Apple Valley and Farmington Restaurant Inspection Reports:
| Egg Roll King | TXT | |
| El Azteca | TXT | |
| Enjoy! | TXT | |
| Grizzly’s Grill N’ Saloon | TXT | |
| House of Wing | TXT | |
| Jade Island | TXT | |
| Kami Japanese Steakhouse | TXT | |
| Lai Wah | TXT | |
| Linwood Pizza | TXT | |
| Mei Fun | TXT | |
| Osaka Japanese Steakhouse | TXT | |
| Panino Brothers | TXT | |
| Rascal’s | TXT | |
| Taste of Thaiyai | TXT | |
| World Buffet | TXT TXT TXT |
PDF |
| The Ugly Mug | TXT | |
| Longbranch | TXT | |
| Mei Wei | TXT | |
| Farmington Steak House | TXT | |
| Beans and Bakery | TXT |
After receiving these and giving them a quick read through, I let everyone on Twitter know that I can’t eat out ever again knowing what I know now. I’m especially concerned with a restaurant that was visited three times in seven days, making very little noticeable progress and yet remained open while violations continued. When I asked about how enforcement was determined, I was sent a 23 page manual provided by the MDH which went over how an inspector handles that entire process from inspection up to possible hearings, fines, etc. After reading the manual, I got the impression that the MDH is more on the side of restaurants than the people.
Of the 20 establishments listed, only one came out without a single critical issue on their last report (Beans and Bakery in Farmington). Most establishments only had one but Rascal’s, Grizzly’s and World Buffet all had 5 or more on their last inspection with World Buffet having 10 on December 18th and 19th, 2008 and 8 on December 23rd!
Some of my favorite quotes included:
CLEAN WALK IN COOLER SHELVES OF MOLD AND FOOD RESIDUE.
DISCONTINUE USING GARBAGE CAN TO SET RICE COOKER AND TABLE TOP ON.
CLEAN AND SANITIZE ICE MACHINE BIN. MOLD GROWTH FOUND ON PLASTIC.
Personally I’m disappointed in all aspects of the inspections including the difficulty in obtaining the reports, the frequency that issues that are found, and the enforcement process. I look forward to seeing how the other South Metro cities fare when I finally get to read their inspection reports.
What do you think about what’s listed above? Does it make you think twice before you eat out at a restaurant in the future? Perhaps you already knew that problems like those listed in the documents provided existed but it just doesn’t bother you much. What inspection issues did you like the best? Go ahead and comment on and let us know what’s on your mind!
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March 5th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I also want to note that I played no favorites here. You might notice that I do not have a listing for Satay 2 Go, one of my most highly recommended restaurants in the South Metro. I was informed by the inspector that the last inspection she had on file was from 2007 and that it wasn’t in PDF. She was willing to send a paper copy to me and I said that I didn’t need it that bad. If you would like to see it, feel free to request it (and pay any copying fee that might be required) and feel free to scan it and send it to me. I’d be happy to post it alongside the rest.
March 5th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
My favorite quote:
DO NOT USE “GROCERY” BAGS TO STORE COOKED FOODS
(Repeat violation)
From World Buffet 12/23
Nice.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Channel 5 used to do a weekly segment on these reports.
http://soeck.blogspot.com/2004/10/restaurant-watch.html
Conveniently they played it during the lunch broadcast that played in the cafeteria at my old job. Awesome.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
You are on a roll. Where do you find the time to be such a force of nature? Is your public interest leading somewhere down the line? Thanks for getting involved.
Cheers-
March 6th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Anyone who thinks their local restaurants are clean due to the MDH inspections, really has been given a false sense of security. Thanks for publishing these Bill.
I really enjoyed this one for the Ugly Mug, “REMOVE CLUTTER AND ITEMS NOT NEEDED FOR THE DAY TO DAY OPERATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT.”
I know some of you know what that’s about.
It was also nice to see that no handwashing was observed at El Azteca. Great!
March 6th, 2009 at 9:01 am
A friend of mine who read this that resides just outside of Charleston, SC said that all of their restaurants have a notice on the outside of the establishment that shows their grade in “A”, “B”, or “C” with the “C” plaques being displayed in red.
I’m surprised that we reside in a state where the government feels that they need to care for our every need but yet they don’t make it easy to determine which restaurants are safer than others.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I was in Chiang Rai Thailand in early Feb and stopped and had a bowl of soupy noodles at a small streetfront kitchen. The kind where the guy ladling has a dirty white tank top t shirt and is sweating profusely. the Soup was excellent and I survived with no damage. I looked at Osaka’s report and found really minor infractions which wouldnt trouble me at all. Even the mold and food residue thing at Taste of Thaiyai (which i think is a great little place) wouldnt cause me to pause, one suspects they have cleaned it up and enough hot sauce and vinegar and none of the bad microbes will survive anyway.
This is small beer and maybe sells well on KSTP 5, I am going to either Hoban or Osaka tonight for dinner. Maybe I will have an aperitif of Pepto Bismol just in case… but my guess is kim-chee and wasabi are natural protectors.
the real damage in food safety is at the big corporate meat processors, or like the peanut company… where cutting corners on food and worker safety and conditions improves profit margins.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Mold in the pop dispensers…that is an abomination unto the Lord (if it is Coca Cola…it probably improves the taste of Pepsi).
March 6th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Ah yes…one of the aspects of life around me that I blissfully choose to ignore.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Hard to ignore food poisoning lol
March 6th, 2009 at 11:10 am
I choose to completely ignore this idea. If I even start to think about it, I’d never be able to eat out again. Probably not in anyone else’s home either. I’m a total germophobe, and I really don’t want to know what goes on behind closed doors at restaurants.
Just the thought…. yech.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:27 am
You eat at a lot of buffets, Kelly? lol I’m with you though, sometimes I don’t want to know.
I know I’m completely in the minority in my ‘love’ for corporate run chain restaurants, but cleanliness is something that most chains do well compared to ‘mom & pop’ type places. Corporate standards are in place across the board to deal with things like covered garbage cans in employee restrooms and where to store food items (i.e. NOT in grocery type bags). I’ve worked in both type of restaurants and there is a huge difference in the behind the scenes workings of these establishments. Obviously I’m NOT stating that there aren’t ever any issues at chain restaurants, I’m just saying this is one area where a lot of chains do a better job than individually owned/operated restaurants.
Go ahead, flame away.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:40 am
I too, don’t wanna read any of these. I like that someone’s checking up on them, but unless it’s bad enough to shut them down, or have warnings posted, I’d rather live in ignorance.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Chickenshits ;-)
March 6th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Correction – hungry Chickenshits that like to eat out! ;)
March 6th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
There’s a few troubling things in those reports, no question. But it’s not going to keep me from eating out around here. Unless restaurants are violating health codes in particularly nasty ways, the odds of me getting sick any random time I go out are very very low anyway. But then, I also wish we had more street food vendors here like they do in other countries. I blame watching No Reservations so much. :)
March 6th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Good friend married a health inspector. They haven’t eaten out in 12 years.
My favorite, from Enjoy! “REMOVE WOODEN BAT FROM BEHIND BAR”
Enjoy has a wooden bat behind the bar? Didn’t see that coming. Modern bars use aluminum bats, less of a health hazard as the skull fragments don’t embed as easily.
March 6th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
More like lazyshits. I’d rather go out than cook for myself.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
“I let everyone on Twitter know that I can’t eat out ever again knowing what I know now.”
That’s a silly comment. You stand a greater chance of being run over by a car or dropping dead of a heart attack than food poisoning in a restaurant.
But I do agree that the reports should be easier to obtain.
April 7th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
I think if Bill gets run over by a car we can all safely assume one of the Mayors or restaurant owners finally got their revenge.
October 7th, 2010 at 7:42 am
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