In the latest food inspection reports released by Darien Health Department, two inspections resulted in the poorest rating — “C” — another was rated “B” and nine restaurants were each given an “A,” the best rating.
In a follow-up inspection at one of the “C”-rated establishments, it received a “B.”
Details about the towns rating system for restaurants and other food serving establishments are at the bottom of this article, and you can find an article about the ratings system here.
The most recent inspection results
In the list of health inspection results, below, information is listed by name, address, date of inspection, Darien rating, state score, inspector’s comments that led to the state rating and additional remarks on the inspection report.
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 (Dec. 30)
- Darien Health Department Starts Letter Grades for Food Service Inspections
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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 like this (“;”) separate individual comments, each one with a particular violation that triggers a point deduction from that perfect state score of 100 points.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the most recently released results of Darien health inspections (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):
- Four Forks LLC — 7 Tokeneke Road — Jan. 11 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 98
- Hibachi Sushi Ya (site of former Fuji of Japan restaurant) — 111 Old Kings Hwy. N. — Jan. 3 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 84 — Inspector’s remarks: “Escolar used instead of white tuna for sushi. No disclaimer on menu; using fresh salmon and freezing it but not within the parameters to serve as sushi; scoops with no handles used for dispensing ready-to-eat foods; no hot water at ware wash hand sink; no soap at ware wash hand sink; no soap at cook line hand sink; cook line hand sink unclean; improper thawing of protein on counter; dumpster area severely overloaded; presence of insects. Moths in flour/rice area; floors under cooking equipment unclean; hood filters unclean; chipping paint in multiple areas of ceiling in kitchen.” — Inspector’s additional comments: “Must keep invoices more organized.”
Inspector’s comments and remarks from the Jan. 3 visit to Hibachi Sushi Ya
— Reports from elsewhere about Escolar: from the Boston Globe — from the New York Times — Mother Jones — Canadian government health website —
- Heights Pizza — Noroton Heights Shopping Center, 330 Heights Road — Jan. 3 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 90
- Jennifer’s Kitchen @ White Bridge — 284 Tokeneke Road — Jan. 4 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 88 — Inspector’s remarks: “Two-door upright refrigerator not cold holding: product temperature 50 to 52 degrees in lower half (frozen on the top of unit); unclean prep sink bays; no surface sanitizer set up … made during inspection; sanitizer made from bar tabs in bucket … working while primed … purchase sanitizer; large grill and smaller grill pan unclean, some bowls and hot plates left unclean, sanitize chicken dredging plastic containers, FF slicer on wall unclean; unclean non-food-contact surface … top of range, shelving, under the grill; floors unclean.” — Inspector’s additional comments: “Printed menus do not have the reminder/disclaimer statement on them, hand washing and glove use observed during inspection, address odor in ware wash area … trap?”
Report comments from the Jan. 4 inspection of Jennifer’s Kitchen
- FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION — Jennifer’s Kitchen @ White Bridge — 284 Tokeneke Road — Jan. 12 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 90 — Inspector’s remarks: “Uncovered food in refrigeration … no customers during inspection; produce box (avocados) stored on prep counter; quat sanitizer (made by chef from tablets) in plastic jug not pulling adequately; two rusty can openers; unclean floors.” — Inspector’s additional comments: “Dish [washing] machine sanitizer must be replaced ASAP, two-door upright refrigerator should not be over stocked and food product up against back wall … adequate circulation is required. Slicer must be broken down and sanitized every 4 hours after us. Wiping cloths washed at home with bleach per owner.”
Jennifer’s Kitchen, Jan. 12, 2017 health inspector’s remarks and comments
- Little Bites by Jen Maher Food — 2420 Post Road — Jan. 5 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 96
- Little Thai Kitchen — 4 West Ave. — Jan. 9 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 97
- Penalty Box Pizza at Darien Ice Rink — 55 Old Kings Hwy. N. — Jan. 11 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 94
- Springdale Athletic Club — 2 Camp Ave. — Jan. 11 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 93
- Starbucks Coffee Shop — 815 Post Road — Jan. 9 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 95
- Steam – Darien — 971 Post Road — Jan. 5 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 94
- Sushi by Jay at Stop & Shop — Goodwives Shopping Center, 25 Old Kings Hwy. N. — Jan. 9 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 98
- Unidine at Zotos International — 100 Tokeneke Road — Jan. 6 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 98.
How Darien’s restaurants are now 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 on this website, and now you can also find copies of inspection reports, including state health code scores in the same place.
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.