I’m suspicious about a local barbecue restaurant. It used to be one of the best in the city for decades. They even had the concession at our local arena. Long lines at lunch.
It’s gone downhill since the older relatives retired. Even at lunch it’s not packed. I’ve had a few upset stomachs after eating there. It’s hard to pinpoint for sure they were the culprit but barbecue has never bothered me before. Barbecue sauce could cover up meat that was a “little off”. It worries me.
Are State restaurant inspections considered public records and available for anyone to see?
Can I look this place up and see it’s inspection history and whether they’ve been cited for anything recently?
I’ve been eating at this place for thirty years. I’ve cut back from five times a month to about once a month. It’s just not as good, the meat is tougher and more fat, but still the best I’ve found local. They use a vinegar based sauce instead of a tomato base.
Without knowing which state, I doubt anybody can give you a factual answer.
I doubt details of the inspection would be public, but the final result probably is.
If a restaurant is cited for health code violation I think it would certainly be public information. I know it is here in RI. If there were no violations any information other than the fact that the restaurant was inspected may not be available to the public. A state’s Freedom of Information policy may require that details be made public, but I doubt the inspectors record much information if they don’t find violations.
My wife has been urging me to call in a report to the health dept. If I get tore up again then maybe it is time to call them.
I know they buy their coleslaw already made. It should be ok unless they are leaving it out too long. The beans and barbecue are thoroughly cooked. I’m just not sure what could be the problem. I stopped ordering their coleslaw a few months ago. Just to see if that’s the culprit.
If you become ill again you can see a doctor and if he feels that food poisoning of some kind is the cause of your problem he should contact the Health Dept. himself. As a former restaurant owner I hate the thought of a surprise inspection because of someone’s coincidental illness, but if the place is maintaining standards they should be able to survive an inspection without serious consequences. You certainly have a right to inform the Health Dept. if you feel you’ve been sickened by food you were served.
I’m a little gun shy. Back in 2004 the health dept closed our Western Sizzler. A place that I ate almost weekly. :eek: No hint of trouble either. I heard the report on my local news one night and nearly fell off the sofa.
It never reopened either. The location was bulldozed about a year later and something else built there.
I’ve seen documentaries on tv of dirty restaurants. It’s pretty stomach churning. For the health dept to completely close a restaurant means the business must have ignored prior warnings. It’s not that hard to clean up a dirty kitchen or do whatever is needed to satisfy the health codes.
A local rotisserie chicken chain had a store near us. They always had a 100 posted.
Loved the place.
Then, after selling that store to an individual, it went downhill. We stopped going, and eventually, they closed. A new owner opened up an “authentic Mexican” restaurant.
They got a 13 on their first inspection and never opened again. Been 5 years, and the place sits empty!
I like the recently adopted NY City practice (used in other places as well IIRC): A big, bold letter grade posted right in the front window, with a lookup site address to see what were the infractions.
Of course, said town being the world capital of chutzpah, one NY restaurateur who got a “B” proceeded to adhere, right next to it, his own sticker that said “EST”. The Bloombots were not amused and even busted them down to “C” next go-around. When finally everyone made nice, stopped acting hissy and complied, they could not resist doing something about the much-coveted “A”.
In some places (Milwaukee for example), you can find them online. Based on that, I’d guess you could just walk into the health inspector’s office and ask for them. If it’s a small city, that might be all you need to do, if it’s larger city with lots going on, it might take a Freedom Of Information Act request.
The health department would be glad to talk to you about it in most towns.
After a friend wound up in the hospital due to food poisoning from Papa Bears Italian Restaurant in Canton, Ohio the health department actually raided the place.
This, however, was after my (fasting) friend wound up in the hospital for 3 days…
Here in Victoria, Texas, the local newspaper publishes the results of all the local restaurant inspections, naming the restaurants and listing the demerits. We have one famous restaurant that everybody loves, that gets a whole column of demerits every time.
I can only speak for Washington state, that being the only state I’ve ever worked in. Here, health inspections are handled at the county level, not the state level.
I couldn’t find anything for my county, but it looks like you can look up the inspection records for King County (the county that includes Seattle):
I’m happy to report that no restaurant I’ve worked in has ever failed an inspection while I worked there, and nobody has reported food poisoning anywhere I’ve worked while I was there. The most serious violation I ever saw cited was a completely random, unintentional violation. A customer had brought in a fresh bone from an animal he’d butchered (I live in a rural farming community), and gave it to the bartender to take to his dog. The bartender tossed the bone (which was in a Zip-loc bag) into the walk-in cooler, intending to take it home at the end of his shift. Unfortunately, it landed on top of some pre-cooked deli meat for cold sandwiches. The health inspector showed up for a normal, random inspection a couple hours later, and nailed us for it. You simply don’t mix “uncooked meat” (which that fresh bone qualified as) with “ready-to-eat” food (which is what that pre-cooked deli meat counted as). Obviously, that problem was easy to fix: “Hey, bartender! Don’t do that again!”
