One Darien food-serving establishment received a “C” rating, the worst in the town A-B-C ratings system, and then a second “C” in in the four most recently released town Health Department inspection reports.
Another establishment was rated “A,” and a third was rated “B.”
The reports, all released Friday, were based on four visits by inspectors from June 26 to July 3.
Most Recent Inspection Results
Town Health Department ratings certificates are supposed to be displayed prominently, like this one at the Frosty Bear Cafe at Darien Library.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the most recently released health inspection results (an explanation for each part of the list, including links, is just below the list).
Keep in mind that a food-serving establishment with a history of good ratings may occasionally get a poor inspection rating, occasionally the best do, and every restaurant normally gets a few things wrong (an explanation of how this list is put together is immediately below it):
—Convent of St. Birgita — 4 Runkenhage Road — July 2 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 98
—Mama Carmella’s — 1981 Post Road — June 28 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 91
—Tokeneke Club Snack Bar — 4 Butlers Island Road — June 26 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 83 — Inspector’s Remarks: “Training for line employees not available for review (specifically cooking temperatures, etc.); grilled chicken holding in a water bath at 116 to 117 degrees (that side of the grill was turned off); two different batches of soup at 58 to 62 degrees in lowboy unit; no food thermometer on the line; some thermometers missing in lowboy units; blocked hand sink upon entry to kitchen; employees entering the kitchen without washing hands, only grabbing gloves; washing in prep sink (no sanitizer used); unclean wiping cloths on prep counters all around the kitchen; no paper towels at bar hand sink and paper towel dispenseer not working at another hand sink; labeling granular food items not in original containers.” — Inspector’s Comments: “No disclosure/reminder statement on the menu (burger and Caesar [salad] dressing). One glove on, one glove off discussion with chef? Two new ovens/HH [hot-holding?] units in kitchen. Panini press is new this year. Cutter [brand] bug spray on the counter next to candy. Paint chipping on the floor in bar area. Left cooking-temperature USDA [from the U.S. Department of Agriculture] magnet [in the kitchen] for quick reference for line employees. You must provide some level of training in this kitchen.”
Inspector’s Remarks and Inspector’s Comments section of the June 26 inspection of Tokeneke Club Snack Bar.
—Tokeneke Club Snack Bar — 4 Butlers Island Road — July 3 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 91 — Inspector’s Remarks: “Staff needs documented training; product temperature in line fridge was 49 to 51 (will empty fridge and executive chef called for repair during inspection); undercooking chicken during inspection and trying to hold in a water bath; sanit[ary] buckets must be set up during prep and cooking; label items not in original containers.” — Inspector’s Comments: “Hand washing and glove use observed. Requested an invoice for refrigeration repair prior to holiday. Justin will email. Fly strip/Raid discussion with chef. Ordered a new set up with three-bay chemical dispensing. Will be automated.”
Image from town Health Dept. website
Part of the July 3 health inspection report of the Tokeneke Club Snack Bar
Dates link to the food establishment’s inspection report referenced here (when available, sometimes it takes a while to get posted online), and Darien’s own A/B/C ratings link to a Web page showing several of the restaurant’s recent inspection ratings.
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See also:
- Our previous article showing restaurant inspection ratings (June 28)
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For restaurants and other food-serving establishments rated “C,” and for some others of interest to the public (like schools) additional information is given. When we provide that information here, then words within brackets (“[ ]”) have been added for clarity by Darienite.com; semicolons (“;”) separate individual comments by the inspectors. Each comment separated by semicolons is about a particular violation that triggers a deduction of one or more points from a perfect state score of 100.
How Darien’s Food-Serving Places Are Rated
Restaurants in town are rated under the Darien Health Department’s own A/B/C ratings system. Health inspectors also use the state health code regulations to score restaurants, with a perfect score set at 100, and demerits (of 1 to 4 points each) for various code violations.
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The Darien system takes into account problems that are ongoing, so a restaurant scoring higher than others on the state scale may actually get a lower score on the Darien scale.
The “A”, “B” and “C” letter grades a restaurant gets in its last inspection will be prominent on these certificates, which must be posted where customers can see them, and you can use your phone and the “QR” code to the right of the letter grade to get to the department’s ratings website for more information.
You can find the past several inspection ratings under the Darien ratings system for food-serving establishments along with copies of inspection reports, including state health code scores on this website.
Any establishment actually deemed unsafe can be closed by the town Health Department until violations are fixed. Town Health Director David Knauf says that has never happened in the time he’s been with the department.
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