Dead rodent, live roaches & more. Worst August restaurant inspections for Beaufort, Jasper counties
12 Beaufort and Jasper County food businesses were cited with “B” and “C” grades in August health inspections by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture.
Here is a rundown of the restaurants that received the lowest ratings:
Panda China: 860 Parris Island Gateway, Beaufort
Panda China scored 68% (C) on Aug. 19 during a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Observed employees handling money, cell phones, raw products, and entering from outside without washing their hands.
- The inspector did not observe any employee washing hands during the inspection.
- Both hand sinks were filled with cleaning items.
- Raw fish in the deep freezer was not from an approved source.
- Ready-to-eat foods were stored in contact with cardboard boxes that were originally used to hold raw chicken.
- Dishes on a drying shelf had a buildup of food debris.
- The facility does not have a date marking system in place for ready-to-eat and temperature-controlled foods.
- Cooked chicken, shrimp, cabbage, chicken wings, cooked frozen chicken, and frozen beef did not have a proper discard date.
- An open bag of pesticide was stored in the kitchen.
- Shrimp and chicken were thawing in still water.
- Ready-to-eat foods were in contact with a buildup of ice in the freezer.
- Scoops without handles were stored in contact with dried goods.
- Plastic bins were stacked while wet, not allowing for proper air drying.
- Shelves in the walk-in cooler had a major buildup of rust.
- Employee thawed food in the sink, then washed dishes without cleaning the sink.
- The inside of the deep freezers had a buildup of ice.
- All shelving in the kitchen had a buildup of food debris and grease.
- A leak was found in the hand sink drain near the cash register.
- There was a buildup of debris and grease on the floor under the cooking equipment and coolers.
Panda China was reinspected on Aug. 20 and scored 97% (A).
Savannah Pizza Company: 7228 Main Street, Ridgeland
Savanah Pizza Company scored 70% (C) during a routine inspection on Aug. 11. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The facility does not have a written employee health policy.
- Food in the walk-in cooler had a buildup of black organic matter.
- Water was leaking onto cardboard boxes holding food in the walk-in cooler.
- The facility did not have any sanitizer for food contact equipment.
- Raw chicken, cut tomatoes, and deli meat were held at incorrect cold holding temperatures.
- Observed stored cooked steak, chicken wings, and chicken did not have labels identifying the proper discard date.
- The main walk-in cooler is not holding food at the required minimum temperature.
- A probe thermometer to take the temperature of both hot and cold foods was not available.
- There was a large gap on the bottom of the door leading outside.
- Multiple flies were seen inside the facility.
- Food was stored under the drain line of the hand sink.
- Single-use items were stored in boxes on the floor.
- Spray foam used to fill gaps was stored next to the pizza oven and above the prep table.
- The door frame and ceiling of the walk-in cooler were in poor repair.
Savannah Pizza Company was reinspected on Aug. 18 and scored 97% (A).
Maria’s Mexican Kitchen: 330 Robert Smalls Parkway, Beaufort
Maria’s Mexican Kitchen scored 95% with a C letter grade for repeated infractions during a follow-up inspection on Aug. 8. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Observed multiple roaches in the kitchen area near the dish machine and ice machine.
- The walk-in cooler door gasket was in poor repair.
- Water was seen inside a light fixture near the dish machine.
Maria’s Mexican Kitchen was reinspected on Aug. 18 and scored a 98% (A).
Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q: 872 Fording Island Road, Bluffton
Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q scored 81% (B) in a routine inspection on Aug. 12. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- A kitchen employee changed gloves without washing their hands.
- Condensation from the air unit was dripping onto uncovered cooked chicken in the walk-in meat cooler.
- The kitchen and bar ice machine had a build-up of orange sludge and black sludge.
- Salad prep cooler, potato salad, coleslaw, tomatoes, raw chicken breast, and cooked chicken were held at incorrect cold temperatures.
- A vast number of flies were seen in the kitchen area, and fruit flies in the bar area.
- The drive-through prep station cutting board was badly scored and unable to be cleaned effectively.
- The kitchen area tiles were water-damaged, missing, and/or in poor repair.
- Kitchen area vent covers and surrounding tiles had a buildup of dust.
Jim N’ Nick’s Bar-B-Q was reinspected on Aug. 22 and scored 100% (A).
Kenny B’s French Quarter Cafe: 1534 Fording Island Road, Hilton Head
Kenny B’s French Quarter Cafe scored a 94% with a B letter grade for repeated infractions during a follow-up inspection on Aug. 14. Issues included:
- Slicer had dried food debris that was left from the previous day.
- The facility was offering undercooked eggs on the breakfast menu, and there was no reminder symbol to identify which items were affected on the menu.
- The exterior of spice containers was encrusted with food debris.
- The floor behind the hot line equipment had a buildup of grease and food debris.
Kenny B’s French Quarter Cafe was reinspected on Aug. 15 and scored a 100% (A).
Longhorn Steakhouse #5610: 192 Robert Smalls Parkway, Beaufort
Longhorn Steakhouse scored an 85% (B) during a routine inspection on Aug. 6. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Pans and plates were stored as clean, but were not clean to sight or touch.
- Raw chicken, cooked chicken wings, cooked rice, and heat-treated spinach were held at the wrong cold temperatures.
- The facility’s main walk-in cooler and draw cooler were not holding food at the required minimum temperature.
- Flies were seen in the bar and kitchen areas.
- Metal pans and plates were stored in a way that would not allow them to air dry.
- Cutting boards had dark stains.
- The clean side of the drain boards was not clean to the sight or touch.
- The gaskets and inside the kitchen coolers were not clean to the sight or touch.
- A buildup of debris was seen on the floor and parts of the kitchen walls.
Longhorn Steakhouse was reinspected on Aug. 12 and scored a 98% (A).
Papaya Thai & Sushi: 1001 Boundary Street, Beaufort
Papaya Thai & Sushi scored an 80% (B) during a routine inspection on Aug. 5. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- An employee’s drink was not covered and was left on a food prep table.
- The chemical dish machine was not properly sanitizing dishes.
- Raw shrimp, cooked chicken and raw beef were held at incorrect cold temperatures.
- The facility does not have a date marking system in place for ready-to-eat and temperature-controlled foods.
- Beef stock, cooked chicken, cooked rice, heat-treated sauce, and frozen cooked chicken did not have labels identifying a proper discard date.
- Cans of RAID were stored on the same shelf as food equipment.
- Live roaches and rodent droppings were seen in the kitchen.
- A dead rodent was seen under the cook line.
- Observed scoops without handles stored in dried goods, and knives stored in gaps between the cooler and prep table.
- Prep cooler is in poor repair and cannot hold food at the required minimum temperature.
Papaya Thai & Sushi was reinspected on Aug. 12 and scored a 99% (A).
Etang Asian Bistro: 101-A Commerce Place W, Okatie
Etang Asian Bistro scored a 79% (B) on Aug. 5 during a routine inspection. Issues included:
- Ready-to-eat foods were stored in a raw chicken box in the walk-in cooler and freezer.
- Black organic matter was seen inside soda nozzles at the server station.
- An unlabeled chemical spray bottle was left at the 3-compartment sink.
- Burn spray was stored over and with single-use items and ready-to-eat foods.
- The facility does not have a probe thermometer.
- Fly traps with dead flies were stored on drink boxes and bulk food bags.
- Multiple bins and buckets of food were stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer.
- Spoons at the rice station were stored in standing water.
- Ready-to-eat foods were stored in Walmart plastic bags.
- The reach-in freezer had a leak.
- There was a heavy buildup of grime inside the mechanical dish machine.
- There was a heavy buildup of ice inside the reach-in freezer.
- Observed a heavy buildup of white and black organic matter on wire racks inside the walk-in cooler.
- The women’s restroom door was not self-closing.
Etang Asian Bistro was reinspected on Aug. 13 and scored 96% (A).
El Potrero Restaurant: 1 Mathews Court, Suite E, Hilton Head
El Potrero Restaurant scored a 78% (B) on Aug. 4 during a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- A food handler was drinking from an open-top cup at the food prep table.
- Homemade flan was listed for sale.
- Unwrapped and unprotected pork chops were in contact with the walls of the chest freezer.
- The three-compartment sink failed to meet proper sanitization requirements.
- Unpasteurized shell eggs were stored at ambient temperatures.
- Multiple chlorine solution buckets were unlabeled.
- Flex paste was stored over the beverage storage area.
- Bagged rice was stored on the storage room floor.
- Wet and soiled drying cloths were stored on prep surfaces throughout the kitchen.
- There was an excessive ice buildup in the chest freezer.
- The kitchen and storage floors had an excess of food debris.
El Potrero Restaurant was reinspected on Aug. 14 and scored 100% (A).
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila: 51 Riverwalk Boulevard, Ridgeland
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila scored 81% (B) on Aug. 5 in a routine inspection. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- The chemical dish machine was not properly sanitizing dishes.
- The facility did not have chlorine test strips.
- Cooked pork was held at incorrect hot holding temperatures
- Mozzarella, shrimp, scallops, raw chicken, raw beef, and chorizo were held at incorrect cold temperatures.
- The facility does not have an asterisk next to menu items that are prepared undercooked.
- There was an unlabeled chemical spray bottle.
- A scoop without a handle was stored in a bulk food bin.
- The walk-in cooler and the low-boy cooler are not able to maintain the correct cold temperatures.
- The reach-in table-top prep cooler is leaking from the inside, and the walk-in cooler had a condenser leak.
- There was a grease buildup on the hood vents over the hot line.
Agave Azul Tacos and Tequila was reinspected on Aug. 13 and scored 98% (A).
El Comal Chiapaneco LLC: 3522 South Okatie Highway, Hardeeville
El Comal Chiapaneco LLC scored a 94% with a B letter grade during a follow-up inspection on Aug. 28 for repeated infractions. Issues noted by inspectors included:
- Cooked beef and ground beef in the crock pot were held at incorrect hot temperatures.
- Unpasteurized whole shell eggs were stored at ambient temperature.
El Comal Chiapaneco LLC has not been reinspected as of Sept. 2, but one is required within 10 days.
Taco Go LLC: 4 Oliver Court, Suite 103, Bluffton
Taco Go LLC scored a 99% with a B letter grade on Aug. 8 in a follow-up inspection for repeated infractions. Issues included:
- The facility did not have a small-diameter probe thermometer to measure the temperature of food.
Taco Go LLC was reinspected on Aug. 9 and scored a 100% (A).
What the grades mean
Inspectors give restaurants a grade of A, B or C, depending on the conditions found at the time. Points are docked for various infractions, and restaurants have a chance to correct the problems and improve their score in a reinspection.
The grade scale is as follows:
- A: 88% to 100%
- B: 78% to 87%
- C: 77% or less
In Aug., the SCDA recorded 277 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.
How to request an inspection
If there is an establishment for which you wish to request an inspection, you can submit a concern to the SCDA by filling out this Food Safety Complaint Form.
To learn more about how the grading system and inspections work, click here.
