No soap in employee restroom + roaches on walls. What inspectors saw at HHI restaurants
Seven Beaufort County food businesses were cited with “B” grades — one of them twice — and two restaurants were cited with “C” grades — one of them twice — in May health inspections by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control:
Asian Bistro, 51 New Orleans Road #3 on Hilton Head, scored an 86% (B) on May 30 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Lack of chlorine in the mechanical dish machine; hand-held sauce mixer with dried food debris and rust stored as clean; butane fuel stored above the prep line and personal medication and burn cream stored above the prep cooler; multiple gaps and tears in the screen door on the rear employee entry and a gap in the door frame; ready-to-eat food stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler and freezer; dirty, soiled wiping cloths stored outside of the sanitizer bucket; the walk-in cooler fan not cleaned at an adequate frequency to prevent build up of grime; and the dry storage walls not constructed or installed to be smooth or easily cleanable.
- The restaurant was scheduled for a followup inspection within 10 days. That report had not been posted at press time.
Blue Lagoon Mexican Grill, 841 William Hilton Parkway on Hilton Head, scored a 78% (B) on May 15 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: The person in charge did not have a food handlers certificate; no soap, paper towels or a receptacle cover in the employee restroom; raw shrimp stored in same container as raw chicken, and raw chicken stored in same container as raw beef strips; lack of chlorine in the dish machine; cold food not at the correct temperature and problems with the walk-in cooler; rodent droppings behind the ice machine and soda dispenser, along baseboards in the dish area, and on top of mechanical dish machine; wet and soiled wiping cloths on food contact surfaces throughout the kitchen; plates stored subject to contamination from cutting board and steam table; and the mop sink in poor repair.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 20 and scored a 100% (A).
Ela’s, 1 Shelter Cove Lane on Hilton Head, scored an 85% (B) on May 17 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: A food handler touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands; lack of chlorine in the chemical dish machine; cold food not at the correct temperature; offering undercooked animal proteins on the brunch menu without a consumer advisory as required; soiled utensils stored between uses in standing water; and leakage at the three-compartment sink.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 21 and scored a 100% (A).
House of Tang, 1211 Ribaut Road in Beaufort, scored an 83% (B) on May 6 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Unprotected meat exposed to condensation in the reach-in freezer; cold food not at the correct temperature and the prep unit in poor repair; chicken thawing in standing water in the three-compartment sink; a large bag of onions and open containers of soy sauce stored on the kitchen floor; several wet, soiled wiping cloths held on the three-compartment sink and food prep table; heavy accumulation of ice in both reach-in freezers; grill hood filters with an accumulation of sticky, yellow grease and grime; lack of a service sink for dumping dirty mop water; and fluorescent light bulbs without covers in the kitchen prep area.
- In a follow-up inspection on May 8, the restaurant scored a 93% (B). This percentage normally would merit an A, but the restaurant’s grade was kept at a B because of continuing violations. Issues noted by inspectors included the prep unit unable to hold food at the required temperature and the lack of a service sink for dumping dirty mop water. The DHEC report says the person in charge told the inspector the power had gone out for 30 minutes and the restaurant was out of compliance as a result of the power loss.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 9 and scored a 98% (A).
Lager Head Tavern, 155 High Bluff Road on Hilton Head, scored an 80% (B) on May 29 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Facility does not have a certified food protection manager; facility is not maintaining shellstock tags as required; lack of chlorine in the chemical dish machine, and lime and debris buildup on the interior and exterior of the dish machine; soda guns at bar with heavy accumulation of black organic matter; cold food not at the correct temperature and hot food not at the correct temperature; problems with the facility’s food-cooling procedures; and drain flies swarming at drain in the service station.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 31 and scored a 98% (A).
New York City Pizza, 81 Heritage Plaza on Hilton Head, scored a 76% (C) on May 16 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: No soap or paper towels at the kitchen hand-washing sink; lack of chlorine in the mechanical ware washing machine and chlorine test strips not provided; soda nozzle at downstairs bar with an accumulation of grime; cold food not at the correct temperature and a walk-in cooler unable to hold foods at the required temperature; multiple gaskets on prep units torn and in poor condition; cooked wings, pasta, open deli turkey and crab meat in the walk-in cooler without date marks; chemical spray bottles stored on the same shelf as food items and cooking utensils; working spray bottles without a common name label throughout the facility; fruit flies at the upstairs bar; house flies and cockroaches in the dish room area; shrimp and lobster stored in standing water in the prep unit and the walk-in cooler; raw chicken, sliced onions and mushrooms subject to condensation splash in the walk-in cooler; single-service pizza boxes stored on the floor; mobile cutting boards in poor condition; cardboard-lined shelves throughout kitchen areas and walk-in coolers; and multiple ceiling tiles missing in the ware washing area and dough prep room.
- In a followup inspection, the restaurant scored an 91% (C) on May 21. This percentage normally would merit an A, but the restaurant’s grade was kept at a C because of continuing violations. Issues noted by inspectors included: Pasta, cooked wings and open deli turkey without date marking in the walk-in cooler; cockroaches on the walls surrounding the three-compartment sink; fruit flies at the soda nozzle in upstairs bar; onions, mushrooms and peppers subject to splash from a condensation leak in the walk-in cooler; single-use pizza boxes stored on the floor; and missing ceiling tiles throughout the dish pit area.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 29 and scored a 99% (A).
Okko, 95 Mathews Drive, Suite C, on Hilton Head, scored an 83% (B) on May 9 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Person in charge did not have a food handlers certificate; an employee was eating over the dish machine’s clean drainboard; a food handler washed cutting boards and food contact utensils and stored them as clean without performing a sanitizing step; interior of soda guns and soda saddle with a buildup of grime and organic matter; probe thermometer not in working order and unable to accurately measure the temperature of food; facility is offering “white tuna” on the sushi menu but is serving escolar, a non-tuna species, in its place; back door does not form a good seal when closed, allowing potential entry of pests; food handlers were cutting raw vegetables without washing prior as required; knives stored between equipment.; ice scoop stored on soiled ledge of ice machine; in-use utensils stored in standing water at ambient temperature; cutting surfaces in poor repair, deeply scored and stained; gaskets of sushi coolers with accumulation of food debris; and unisex restroom does not have a covered receptacle as required.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 17 and scored a 98% (A).
Olde Beaufort Bar and Eatery, 139 Francis Marion Circle on Lady’s Island, scored a 72% (C) on May 8 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: One of two handwashing sinks did not have soap and neither had hand drying provisions; rotten limes in the kitchen reach-in cooler and molded cheese and vegetables in the walk-in cooler; raw ground beef log stored in the reach-in cooler above uncovered ready-to-eat celery and cheese; knives and plates stored as clean with a heavy accumulation of food debris on them and on storing unit; cold food not at the correct temperature and the walk-in cooler unable to keep food at the required temperature; food held longer than seven days; several cans of residential pesticides stored in the kitchen and bar areas; back door propped open without an insect barrier; several flies in the kitchen area; food stored on the floor of dry storage and walk-in coolers; cardboard used as shelf lining in walk-in cooler; rusted shelving racks in the reach-in cooler and freezers, freezer gaskets are in poor repair, and a heavy accumulation of black organic matter and food debris on shelving in coolers; and cook prep table cutting boards in poor repair and not easily cleanable.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 9 and scored a 97% (A).
Piggly Wiggly #286 deli and kitchen, 1347 Ribaut Road in Port Royal, scored an 85% (B) on May 1 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Water not hot enough at the deli kitchen hand-washing sink; raw dripping hamburger stored above ready-to-eat hash, sausage gravy and brown gravy in the one-door reach-in cooler; live cockroaches in the deli area; more than four tongs stored on the handle of the oven door; tops of fry crumbs containers with a heavy accumulation of organic matter and the deck of the wrapping station soiled with black organic matter; gray water rose up out of the drain in the deli case area while a food employee was washing dishes in the kitchen and the area around the drain has a thick layer of scum; and bagged garbage stored on the floor of the back shelving area of the kitchen.
- The store’s deli and kitchen were reinspected on May 9 and scored a 99% (A).
- The Piggly Wiggly #286 market at the same address was inspected on May 1 and scored a 96% (A) and on May 9 and scored a 100% (A).
Jasper County
Two Jasper County food businesses were cited with “B” grades during the same time period:
Alchile Mexican Grill, 8084 E. Main St., Unit C&D, in Ridgeland, scored an 85% (B) on May 20 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: a food handler moved a ready-to-eat fully constructed tostada from a prep surface to a plate with bare hands; knives with dried food debris stored as clean; cold food not at the correct temperature, and a drawer refrigerator on the hot line in poor adjustment; facility does not have a suitable probe thermometer to measure the temperature of food; and an ice scoop stored between uses in a bin of unclean equipment.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 30 and scored a 100% (A).
Caracol Para El Mundo, 15448 Whyte Hardee Blvd. in Hardeeville, scored an 81% (B) on May 13 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included: Facility is offering products for retail sale that are not labeled as specified in the law; beef and fish comingled in a tub of water; a worker handled raw chicken then ready-to-eat tomatoes without changing gloves; hot food not at the correct temperature; cold food not at the correct temperature; unpasteurized shell eggs held at ambient temperature; problems with the facility’s date-marking procedures; food held past the seven-day date mark for disposition; raw beef and fish thawing in standing water; facility does not have a suitable probe thermometer to measure the temperature of food; and food being prepared in an unclean three-compartment sink.
- The restaurant was reinspected on May 20 and scored a 100% (A).
- The Caracol Food Truck was inspected on May 20 and scored a 99% (A) and on May 30 and scored a 100% (A).
What the grades mean
Inspectors hand out a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for a variety of infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.
- A: 88% to 100%
- B: 78% to 87%
- C: 77% or less
During May, DHEC recorded 209 inspections of restaurants, schools, stores and other food establishments in Beaufort County and 44 in Jasper County. The agency publishes the results of these health inspections on its website.
Newer food grade decals include a QR code that customers can scan with their phones to see a food establishment’s latest report.
