HOUSTON – When you open a new restaurant, buzz is good. But health inspectors said what they found flying around several eateries is actually more of a buzz-kill for your appetite.
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Flies are making their rounds, buzzing around the food preparation area of Grotto's at 4715 Westheimer, hovering over the beverage area at Beck's Prime in Memorial City Mall and in the kitchen of the Kentucky Fried Chicken at 611 West Little York.
Employees at the China Star Chinese Buffet at 4414 North Freeway caught some on fly strips. It's too bad they were dangling above the table where the chef prepares your food.
At Raffa's American Bistro at 1660 West Lake Houston Parkway, inspectors said the devices used to trap insects were also too close to the food-prep table.
It was the same story at Nit Noi in the 2000 block of Louisiana, but there were other issues too. Inspectors condemned 182 pounds of food deemed "not for for human consumption" because it was stored at the wrong temperature.
The chicken was a warm 59 degrees at Shawarma King at 3121 Hillcroft Ave.
On the court, former Houston Rockets center Yao Ming knew how to turn up the heat, but at his self-named restaurant and bar on Main Street, inspectors wanted him to chill down the salmon, crab meat and tuna that were all stored too warm and potentially hazardous to your health.
Inspectors found two black bugs on a table at the Denny's on Bay Area Boulevard.
It's what they didn't find at the Welcome Cafe at 9180 Bellaire Blvd. that was a problem. They said there was no soap or towels for employees to wash their hands.
Good grades this week go to Subway at 1438 Kingwood Drive, La Vista at 12665 Memorial Drive and Panda Express at 7670 Katy Freeway.
We get our information from the city of Houston Health Department, but many of you have complaints about restaurants in other cities and counties.
Refer to this list to find out which agency to contact depending on the location of the restaurant:
- For all complaints about restaurants located in the city of Houston, call 311 or file the complaint online.
- Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services inspects and permits all retail food establishments in the unincorporated areas of Harris County as well as in the cities of Tomball, Katy, Jacinto City, Galena Park, La Porte, Morgan's Point, South Houston, Seabrook, El Lago, Southside Place, Hunter's Creek, Piney Point, Bunker Hill, Jersey Village, Spring Valley, Deer Park, Humble, Waller, and West University Place. If you believe you have become ill from ingesting food from an establishment in unincorporated Harris County or in a city inspected by Harris County, please file a complaint at http://www.hcphes.org/eph/foodcomplaint.ht or call them at 713-274-6300. If you are concerned about a food establishment's operations such as cleanliness, food handling procedures, etc., please file a complaint at http://www.hcphes.org/eph/complaints.htm.
- To file a complaint about a restaurant in Montgomery County, call the Montgomery County Health Department at 936-539-7839.
- To file a complaint about a restaurant Galveston County, call the Galveston County Health Department at 409-938-2300. Use this link to speed the process and file your complaint electronically, or send an email to mentringer@gchd.org.
- To file a complaint about a restaurant in Brazoria County, contact the Brazoria County Health Department.
- To file a complaint about a restaurant Fort Bend County, contact the Fort Bend County Health Department.
- To file a complaint about a restaurant in Sugar Land use this link or contact the Senior Sanitarian at 281-275-2278 or email foodinspection@sugarlandtx.gov.