Restaurant inspections: Old lamb & soup, roaches, expired meds, bugs in booze in Wichita KS

Eleven Wichita-area restaurants and other businesses were deemed out of compliance during Kansas Department of Agriculture food safety and lodging inspections conducted Nov. 27 to Dec. 3.

Information about the Sedgwick County businesses and their violations, compiled Dec. 9, appears below with a summary of the problems inspectors noted on their reports. More details are posted in The Eagle’s searchable database of non-compliant restaurant and hotel inspections at www.kansas.com/databases.

Business owners who want to clarify or comment on out-of-compliance inspection results can contact Eagle reporter Amy Renee Leiker at 316-268-6644 or aleiker@wichitaeagle.com. Comments will be added to online stories. Businesses are listed alphabetically at the end of this article.

More than 50 businesses surveyed Nov. 27 to Dec. 3 passed their inspections with few or no violations. You can see those at www.foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.

Failing an inspection doesn’t necessarily mean a business has to close; that’s rare. Most violations are minor and are corrected immediately during an inspection.

Businesses fall out of compliance with state rules when they have too many violations or certain types of problems that can increase the risk of a customer contracting a food-borne illness and also when a problem can’t be fixed right away, such as pest and plumbing issues.

When a business fails, it’s usually inspected again within 10 days.

To complain about conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email kda.fsl@ks.gov or call 785-564-6767.

Recent out-of-compliance inspections

Burger King, 2150 W. 21st St. N. in Wichita — Four violations during a Nov. 29 routine inspection. Cited for leaving liquid pasteurized eggs out at room temperature, sandwich-making ingredients including ham and produce weren’t labeled with their discard times, lettuce allowed to be out four hours wasn’t thrown away soon enough, food thermometer didn’t work. Next inspection: Dec. 8.

Chili’s Grill and Bar, 7887 E. Central in Wichita — Six violations during a Dec. 2 follow-up inspection. Cited for leaving pan of shredded cheese out of refrigeration for longer than four hours, dirty pans, hole in wall where pests can get in, cockroaches, chemicals weren’t labeled. Next inspection: Dec. 12.

El Fogon #2, 2604 N. Arkansas in Wichita — Seven violations during a Nov. 29 routine inspection. Cited for storing raw hamburger patties over open package of French fries in cooler, employee didn’t wash hands after handling raw meat, tripe wasn’t hot enough, sweetened condensed milk wasn’t kept cold enough, rice and several other foods weren’t labeled with preparation dates, issue with spindle pork preparation, no testing kit to measure concentration of sanitizer used for washing dishes. Next inspection: Dec. 9.

Kwik Shop, 4811 S. Seneca in Wichita — Eight violations during a Nov. 30 routine inspection. Cited over an employee who washed hands at a sink dedicated to food preparation, ham and milk weren’t labeled with package opening dates, raw eggs and bacon stored above sandwiches and bottled drinks in cooler, pizzas weren’t marked with their discard times, build up of powder on cappuccino machine, food on wall by microwave, trash can and spray bottles blocking hand-washing sink, no soap at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: Dec. 10.

Larkspur Bistro & Bar, 904 E. Douglas in Wichita — Ten violations during a Nov. 28 routine inspection. Cited over unlabeled chemical bottles, mashed potatoes weren’t kept hot enough, old tomatoes and cabbage, old pork and chicken, old lamb and creme brulee, old sauces, no sanitizer in dishwasher, bread loaf covered with terry cloth instead of food-grade covering, no paper towels at hand-washing sink, milk and squash weren’t labeled with preparation or package opening date, bread and baskets stored beneath hand-towel dispenser, lettuce wasn’t kept cold enough, ham and turkey weren’t labeled with package opening dates. Next inspection: Dec. 8.

N&J Cafe & Bakery, 5600 E. Lincoln in Wichita — Seven violations during a Nov. 30 routine inspection. Cited for using too much sanitizer which can make customers ill, yogurt wasn’t labeled with preparation date, testing strips for measuring concentration of sanitizer were damaged or expired, no sanitizer in dishwasher, no hot water in bathrooms, missing part on dishwasher, missing fermentation records. Next inspection: Dec. 30.

P P Station, 2601 N. Broadway in Wichita — Eight violations during a Dec. 1 routine inspection. Cited over refrigerated foods including milk that weren’t kept cold enough, no ambient air thermometer in drink cooler, no probe-style food thermometer on site, “build up of drink mix” in cappuccino machine nozzles, dirty microwave, no soap at bathroom sink, sugar spilled in storage area, expired aspirin for sale. Next inspection: Dec. 11.

San Salvador Cafe, 5518 W. Central in Wichita — Eleven violations during a joint inspection conducted on Dec. 1. Cited over an employee who didn’t wash hands after handling raw eggs, employee cut cheese that was ready to serve to a customer with their bare hands, raw chicken and beef were stored above produce and raw eggs in coolers, foods that need refrigeration including shrimp mix and cheese mix weren’t kept cold enough, corn drink and milk and cream mix weren’t labeled with preparation dates, old beef mix and cream mix, items left out at room temperature weren’t labeled with the time they were removed from heat or refrigeration, peppers and cassava stored in non-food-grade plastic T-shirt sacks, chipped and cracked spatulas, employee didn’t leave washed dishes in sanitizer long enough. Next inspection: Dec. 11.

Taqueria La Autentica, 1929 S. Seneca in Wichita — Five violations during a Dec. 2 follow-up inspection. Cited for storing raw bacon over cooked beef in cooler, storing raw chicken above raw hamburgers and raw cow’s feet in cooler, cooked rice wasn’t labeled with preparation date, no testing kit for measuring concentration of sanitizer used for washing dishes, motion-activated soap dispenser is hanging over sink where clean dishes dry. Next inspection: Feb. 2.

U.S. Gas, 2601 N. Hillside in Wichita — Seven violations during a Nov. 29 licensing inspection. Cited over ice cream for sale that had no package labels, yogurt was too warm in cooler, no ambient air thermometer in cooler, no probe-style food thermometer on site, no sanitizer or sanitizer testing strips on site, “black-ish backup of water” around three inches deep at hand-washing sink, no soap at bathroom sink. Next inspection: Dec. 9.

Wine Dive, 4714 E. Douglas in Wichita — Twelve violations during a Nov. 30 routine inspection. Cited over an employee who didn’t wash hands or change gloves after handling dirty dishes, thawing sea bass fillets improperly, “winged insects” in whiskey bottles, raw bacon stored over raw peppers, raw shrimp stored above container of cooked crab, Caesar dressing left out at room temperature overnight, several old food items including enchiladas and mushroom soup, old creme brulee mix and garlic jam, dirty produce slicers, “unknown black substance” inside soda gun nozzles, plumbing issue, milk crate on hand-washing sink, bottles of sanitizer weren’t labeled, bucket of sanitizer was stored next to bacon and marshmallows. Next inspection: Dec. 9.