Two food-serving establishments in Darien received a “C” rating, the worst grade in town Health Department’s A/B/C ratings system, in the inspection reports released Thursday by the Darien Health Department.
Town Health Department ratings certificates are supposed to be displayed prominently, like this one at the Frosty Bear Cafe at Darien Library.
The department released health inspection reports for nine food-serving establishments on Thursday for inspections that took place from Aug. 8 to 15 (the recent power outages reduced the number of inspections that could be done). Four inspections resulted in an “A” rating and three others received a “B.”
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.
Here’s an alphabetical list of the most recently released health inspection results (an explanation of how this list is put together is immediately below it):
—Chipotle Mexican Grill — Darien North rest stop, Interstate 95 — Aug. 15 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 95
—Darien Diner — 275 Post Road — Aug. 14 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 95
—Fjord Fish Market — 1015 Post Road — Aug. 12 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 91
—Godgitto — at Fjord Fish Market, 1015 Post Road — Aug. 12 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 89 — Inspector’s remarks: “Sushi in case at 50 degrees (air temperature is 50 degrees), remove black granite plates; no food thermometer; wash produce before cutting (cucumber and avocado); cut cryovac fish from package before thawing; waste water frozen on containers in upright freezer.” — Inspector’s comments: “QFO [qualified food operator] on site, no log for sushi rice. Rice is prepared every two hours, per owner. Salmon from Fjord’s comes in frozen.”
Image from the Darien H.D. website
Part of the Aug. 12 Inspector’s report for Godgitto Inc.
—Little Thai Kitchen — 4 West Ave. — Aug. 12 — Town Rating: C — State Score: 81 — Inspector’s comments: “Walk in fridge at 50 degrees (project temp and air temp); green pepper not being washed; storing small sauce containers in a cardboard box on hand sink; wiping knife after use and put back into storage rack; knives stored unclean, not sanitizing counters after raw chicken prep (food processor); toxic chemicals not labeled; label dry storage bulk items; must cut frozen tilapia from cryovacced bag before thawing (on bag: remove from film before thawing); presence of pests: cockroaches observed, both dead and alive. Ehrich invoice dated Aug. 10 provided; floors unclean under equipment and mop sink is unclean; ceiling tiles unclean, is the water wash hood working correctly? [It’s] black above woks.” — Inspector’s remarks: “Grease trap under line equipment unplugged, hood working correctly? Must reposition tables or chairs to maintain six-foot social distancing. Mask reminder needed in the kitchen and with delivery driver. Glove-use discussion in the kitchen after handling raw chicken and moving to ware-wash area. Training??? Spoke to owner over the phone, Irene. She was given the time frame before 4 p.m. to fix walk-in refrigeration or [restaurant] is subject to closure. Owner on-site to sign inspection.”
Image from H.D. website
Part of the Aug. 12 inspection report for Little Thai Kitchen
—Subway — Darien North rest stop, Interstate 95 — Aug. 15 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 98
—Taco Bell — Darien North rest stop, Interstate 95 — Aug. 14 — Town Rating: A — State Score: 95
—Tengda Asian Bistro— Goodwives Shopping Center, 25 Old Kings Hwy. North — Aug. 8 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 88
—Upper Crust Bakery & Cafe — 980 Post Road — Aug. 14 — Town Rating: B — State Score: 89
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.
Additional information is given for restaurants and other food-serving establishments rated “C,” and for some others of interest to the public (like schools). 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.
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See also:
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.
- Our previous article showing restaurant inspection ratings (Aug. 6)
- STAMFORD online health inspection results
- NORWALK online health inspection ratings (explanation of ratings)
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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.
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.