Undercooked chicken & unclean hands: Wake Co. restaurant sanitation scores (July 26)

The News & Observer publishes a weekly round-up of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle spots.

Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of foodborne illnesses.

You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.

Here are sanitation scores in Wake County for the week of July 20-26.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 85 restaurants were inspected between July 20-26.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.

▪ Five restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Cook Out (3930 Western Blv., Raleigh) received a score of 81.5% during an inspection on July 20.

• The restaurant was in violation of 18 state standards, with point deductions ranging from 0 to 3 points.

• Violations included food employees touching foods without properly washing their hands and/or not having access to a hand-washing sink, foods (including ground beef, hot dogs, chili and cheese) held at incorrect temperatures, and a general uncleanliness inside the restaurant.

• Violations regarding meat and cheese not being properly cooled were noted on a previous inspection, the report said.

• The restaurant previously scored a 93.5% in December 2021 and a 90% in June 2021.

Hickory Tavern (3201 Village Market Place, Morrisville) received a score of 88.5% during an inspection on July 21.

• The restaurant was in violation of 9 state standards, with point deductions ranging from 0 to 3 points.

• Violations included some cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods, undercooked chicken, dirty dishes stored as clean, ham stored 7 days past preparation date and some foods being held at incorrect temperatures.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 92.5% in February and a 99% in August 2021.

Knights Play Golf Center (2512 Ten Ten Road, Apex) received a score of 87.5% during an inspection on July 25.

• The restaurant was in violation of 12 state standards, with point deductions ranging from 0 to 3 points.

• Violations included food preparation items having old food residue (a repeat violation, the report stated), several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and cleaning supplies stored without labels.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 97% in February and a 98% in October 2021.

Naga’s South Indian Cuisine (1000 Lower Shiloh Way, Suite 106, Morrisville) received a score of 83% during an inspection on July 21.

• The restaurant was in violation of 27 state standards, with point deductions ranging from 0 to 2 points.

• Violations included food-handling employees not washing hands when returning from tasks such as taking out garbage, inaccessible hand-washing sinks, utensils not sanitized, some foods being stored at incorrect temperatures, partially cooked chicken and raw tuna stored above or near ready-to-eat vegetables, dirty pans and dishes stored as clean, and some foods not being date marked.
  
  

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• Previous inspections for this restaurant were not available online.

Rudy’s Pub & Grill (780 W Williams St., Apex) received a score of 88.5% during an inspection on July 21.

• The restaurant was in violation of 14 state standards,with point deductions ranging from zero to three points.

• Violations included employees touching ready-to-eat foods with bare hands, foods being held at incorrect temperatures (including large pot of chili left out overnight) and meats stored without date markings or with incorrect dates.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 96.5% in April and a 97.5 in October 2021.

▪ No restaurants in Wake County received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County by using the county’s inspection grades database at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.