Phoenix Food Blog

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If you want to see something scary, click on this transparency by awesome.good.is. It's a representation of the percentages of people in certain countries who are overweight, and surprise, surprise, the U.S. represents with the highest percent at 66.3 percent.

We have to be number one in everything else, right, so obesity may as well be a priority, too. 

The Rainforest Cafe at Arizona Mills Mall failed its most recent county restaurant inspection -- with violiations including one complaint we hadn't seen before:

Hospital cafeterias are renowned for serving food that's not so tasty, but we thought such a place would at least follow the rules.

And yet the Arizona Heart Hospital near 19th Street and Thomas hasn't passed a county restaurant inspection since February 2007! The cafeteria has received failing marks five times since then.

Maybe you should call it Red, White & EEEEWWWW.

The Chandler restaurant on Gilbert Road had some issues regarding old meat (and we're not talking about aged in a good way) during its last (failing) county restaurant inspection.

A Februrary 23 inspection of the restaurant at the San Carlos Hotel in downtown Phoenix revealed, among other things, "white sauce containing cooked chicken and vegetables...date marked 2/11/09."

The manager discarded the mystery sauce. Good. We figure most things that are white have a much shorter shelf life.

Speaking of aging white foodstuffs....

We remember when Hob Nobs, a coffee shop at McDowell Road and 3rd Avenue in Phoenix, used to be Willow House.

Not a particularly clean joint. But we hear good things about the new place, which is why we were dismayed to see that Hob Nobs failed its recent county restaurant inspection.

Then we read the report. It could have been a lot worse. True, the chicken cooling in tightly sealed Ziploc bags is not the most appetizing image. And there was one true gross out: "Observed employee handling raw chicken and then handling cleaned and sanitized plastic containers."

But one thing in that report really made us laugh, more than gag.

Of the last five restaurant inspections completed at Tomaso's Italian restaurant on East Camelback Road in Phoenix, five resulted in a failing grade.

At the most recent inspection, in early March, the inspector noted dried food debris on the interior of the microwave and surfaces of the slicer. The meat bandsaw for cutting steaks contained "excessive dried raw meat residue".

And so on.

But the worst thing on the inspection report?

We gotta hand it to restaurant inspectors for the first "theme report" we've seen since starting Gross Out.

A recent inspection, which earned Saddle Ranch Chop House in Glendale a "No Award" from Maricopa County, is all about hands. And fingers.

From the report:

If you want to schmooze with local political types, go to El Portal, County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox's restaurant just south of downtown Phoenix.

But you might not want to order anything to eat.

We suppose it's good to know that the county restaurant inspectors aren't mincing words with a member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Three times in approximately the past year, El Portal's earned a "No Award" rating from Maricopa County's inspectors.

In fact, after the most recent inspection -- conducted in late February -- the inspector recommended that El Portal work with the county to come up with a "risk plan".

Among the latest litany of complaints:

Shangri La? Not the first image that comes to mind when you read the recent county restaurant inspection report for the so-named Chinese restaurant on Alma School Road in Mesa.

Raw sprouts were too warm. There was no hand soap in the employee restroom. Opened cans of food were stored too long. Boxes of raw duck were in the wrong place, as was a bag of carrots. There were soiled sponges at the hand sink, cooked chicken without a date, and the sink on the cook line was starting to back up.

And only a direct quote will do here:

At Wright on Main (on Main Street in Mesa), Maricopa County restaurant inspectors recently found something rare -- at least, it hasn't turned up in dozens of inspection reports reviewed in the last few months.

Mice.

And roaches. Also "excessive" droppings from both. (What would qualify as non-excessive, one wonders?)

Food pans were dusty, some had dried food on them. There were no "use by" dates for open containers of sour cream, cottage cheese and gravy. There was excessive trash on the grounds by the dumpster.

And did we mention the roaches and mice?

If you eat at Efes Turkish Cuisine in Tempe (in the same strip mall as Changing Hands Bookstore, southwest corner of Guadalupe and McClintock), chances are, you'll be doing some naval gazing. The restaurant often features belly dancing.

But you might be better off checking out the cooks' fingernails. A recent Maricopa County restaurant inspection resulted in a failing grade for Efes, and along with other problems -- including broken pans, lids and spatulas; a soiled catch basket in the dishwasher; and "unlabeled white food" -- the inspector took interest in the handwashing set up.

With good cause. There was no trash can at the kitchen handwashing station, and the light shields above the station were broken and the light burned out. Two employees were witnessed washing their hands for ust three and eight seconds, respectively, and the proof was, um, in the pudding when it came to two cooks with "dirt under fingernails". 

Now, that's a belly full.  

Food poisoning isn't always the unfortunate result of eating at dives.

The recent closure of England's famed Michelin-starred restaurant The Fat Duck, run by cutting-edge chef Heston Blumenthal, shows that even the world's poshest dining destinations can have a really bad bout of bad luck.

According to CNN, possibly 400 customers suffered vomiting and diarrhea after eating there, so the chef closed his restaurant to facilitate a thorough investigation by England's Health Protection Agency.

Not so sure I'm craving those legendary Fat Duck frites anymore...

Look, if you're going to name a business "Dirty Drummer" and serve food at it, better make sure it's clean, that's all we're sayin'.

The DD on Beck Avenue in Chandler failed a recent county restaurant inspection. Now, it's not the worst report we've ever seen, but again, given the name, we see no room for error -- or errant dirt. And since Dirty Drummer failed, we'll share the results:

"OOOOH!" a colleague said, after learning that a recent inspection at the Washington Street outpost of the famed Los Dos Molinos restaurant revealed reused chip bowls. "That's always my worst fear -- that you'll get that bowl with someone else's cuticle pieces and other stuff from their fingers in it."

Yeah, that's a bummer. No stars for Los Dos on this visit -- the Maricopa County restaurant inspector also noticed Comet and Off stored near red pepper, and organic debris on soda nozzles at the bar as well as on "many knives and other utensils".

Calabria Italian Grocery and Deli at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Roosevelt in Phoenix sure looks cool -- but that was apparently not enough for county restaurant inspectors, who gave the deli a "No Award" rating (the lowest possible) last month.

Without the health violations, this is the kind of place we'd like to see more of around here: funky, big-city style deli food and groceries. But inspectors indicated they're starting legal proceedings -- that's how bad their review was, including:

Please excuse our absence. Gross Out got food poisoning and was out of commission for a while.

But we're back! And this time with news of the "No Award" given last month by county restaurant inspectors to Urban Campfire, the Tempe restaurant in the spot that once housed Greasy Tony's on University, just east of Rural.

By Amy Silverman
A bottle of Excedrin was improperly stored at Sluggo's Sports Grill in Mesa -- one of many things the restaurant inspectors noted after a recent visit. I'm guessing Sluggo had some headache when he read the inspection report.

The raw eggs were stored above the watermelon. Dishwashing tongs weren't sanitized. That kind of thing, no biggie. But several items -- opened hot dogs, cooked rice and "large amount" of baked potatoes were stored without dates. And

DATE ON LARGE AMOUNT OF CHICKEN WINGS NOT LEGIBLE.

Not good. But the biggest gross out:

REACH IN COOLER AT BAR AREA HAS ODOR AND IS SOILED.

By Amy Silverman
If you really want to quell your appetite, read "no award" inspection reports for meat markets.

From the most recent report for Lam's Market on West Indian School Road:

THE DUNGESS KRABS OBSERVED STORED IN MURKY/TURBID WATER INSIDE TANK.

Turbid water? Can't be good.

By Amy Silverman
The Quilted Bear on Scottsdale Road has had its share of run-ins with Maricopa County restaurant inspectors lately. Several recent reports reflect a "No Award" rating, and the most recent was pretty bad. The worst of the litany of complaints:

OBSERVED CHEF ENTER EMPLOYEE RESTROOM WITH GLOVES ON AND RETURN TO COOK LINE TO HANDLE READY TO EAT FOOD WITH SAME GLOVES. INSTRUCTED CHEF TO WASH HANDS AND CHANGE GLOVES.

'Nuff said.

By Amy Silverman

One of my gripes with The Phoenician -- the tony resort with the Phoenix name, the Scottsdale address (I think they changed the city boundaries to accomodate themselves) and the dangerous past (TP was opened by Charlie Keating, John McCain's former BFF) -- is that the place feels too clean. All spit-shined and polished; you can see yourself in the marble floor. There's nothing about the place that says, Hey, take off your shoes and put your feet up! You're on vacay!

But things have been a little too casual in the catering kitchen. In July and again this month, Maricopa County restaurant inspectors have given the catering kitchen "No Award" ratings. Must be humiliating for a resort with so many stars hanging off its belt. And for what?! The usual complaints about food temps and the like.

And a complaint I hadn't come across before: employees dropping food on the floor, picking it up, and putting in a container intended for serving:

OBSERVED EMPLOYEE DROP ARUGULA ON THE GROUND, PICK IT UP AND CONTINUE FILLING BLANCHING BASKET, DROP MORE, PICK UP AND PLACE IN BASKET AND CONTINUE AGAIN.

Five second rule, anyone?

By Amy Silverman

I know sex is supposed to be dirty. Call me a prude, but the concept just doesn't translate when it comes to food, even at a place called the Better Than Sex Cake Cafe.

I admit I found the name of the Chandler restaurant intriguing, when I heard it a while back, but now I'm glad I didn't drive out there. Among the complaints in the cafe's recent inspection:

By Amy Silverman

Like Chelsea's Kitchen a couple blocks away, Fenix Eatery & Bar on Camelback Road recently received back-to-back "no award" ratings.

By Amy Silverman
Sure, everyone has a bad day now and then. But back to back "no award" inspection reports for a restaurant as tony as Chelsea's Kitchen -- the fun and funky casual dining spot on the north bank of the Arizona Canal? Yuck.

And even after the inspectors supposedly cleaned things up? Still yuck.

There are a couple lists in the inspection reports including repeated instances of dirty equipment -- at one point, a long list: "slicer, potato slicer, pans and ice machine" all with "an accumulation of food debris."

By Amy Silverman

A late September inspection at Coach & Willie's -- a bar/restaurant not far from the ballpark in downtown Phoenix -- revealed a litany of concerns.

The report is pretty straightforward: The cooled chicken wings weren't cool enough; the bar sink was out of paper towels; the sweet onions on the dry storage were "severely blighted" and the caesar salad dressing had expired. A ceiling light in the kitchen was burned out; and there was "severe food and soil buildup underneath equipment in kitchen".

Oh, and flies in the kitchen. Yuck.

But get this: There were also FLIES IN SEVERAL LIQUOR BOTTLES.

Huh???

I am dying to know how the flies got into that particular ointment! But not enough to belly up to the bar at Coach & Willie's.

By Amy Silverman
I'll be honest: Raw fish does not pass these lips. But I know enough to know that if you're going to eat it, you want it to come from a very, very clean place. The Maricopa County restaurant inspectors apparently understand that, too, because they seem to be particularly tough on sushi joints. Good.

I've certainly seen worse reports, but one bit in the recent inspection of Masa Sushi on Gilbert Road really turned my seaweed.

The sushi chef used his bare hands; the sushi chef did not wash his hands before he did put gloves on; the sushi rice was kept for longer than four hours.

All bad.

Worse:

SOFT BOWL USED FOR SUSHI RICE FOUND MOLDY AND NOT EASILY CLEANABLE.

Eeeeeeeeeew.

By Amy Silverman

I have always believed that diners should have a separate rating system, when it comes to cleanliness. C'mon, haven't you ever heard the term "greasy spoon"? But apparently the Maricopa County health inspectors don't share my nostalgia for a time when waitresses smacked gum and no one wore plastic gloves to make a grilled cheese and a malted.

The 5 & Diner on 16th Street in Phoenix got a "no award" during their last inspection. I suppose I could still eat there after reading about the barehanded tomato cutting, uncovered trash can in the women's room, lack of handwashing signs and even the "deeply scored" cutting boards and knives with "food debris".

But this one got me:

SLICED BEEF, TURKEY & RAW MEAT INCORRECTLY LABELED (8/3/08). FOOD SHOULD HAVE BEEN LABELED 9/3/08.

The inspector simply advised 5 & Diner to relabel the meat 9/3.

Gross!

By Amy Silverman
At this point, I've gotten accustomed to seeing news of cockroaches and soda guns with "bacterial slime" -- both of which afflicted the Texas Roadhouse on Stapley Drive, during a recent inspection.

But there was something about the litany of complaints involving hands that got me:

A food service worker was observed washing hands without soap.

A food service worker (the same one?) was observed using bare hands to put lemon wedges in iced tea.

There was no hot water at the bakery handwashing sink, and no soap at the wait station handwashing sink.

It reminded me of an old PSA that used to run on TV when I was a kid:

Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
Wash your hands after changing baby, too.
Cuz we don't want to get hepatitis....
And we don't want hepatitis to get you.
Who? You!

So you -- yes, you! Please wash your hands before you stick that lemon in my Diet Coke!

By Amy Silverman
Is there a curse at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix? I'm starting to wonder. I've had more bad Asian meals than I can count from a grouping of businesses that should be the best in town, given the billing.

I'd about sworn off the CCC entirely --after a particularly bad meal at a now-defunct Japanese buffet -- when someone mentioned Golden Buddha. This was years ago, and it's true, I had some great dim sum and other dishes at GB, during several visits. But lately it's slipped, and now that I've read about the restaurant's last couple county inspections, it's off my radar entirely.

All it takes is one roach, and the inspector found it -- along with undated food in the cooler, debris on the utensils, raw fish and raw beef stored above vegetables and rice stored next to chemicals.

Panda Express, anyone? (Before you squawk, that was a joke -- sort of.)

By Amy Silverman

There seem to be some storage problems at Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara in Chandler.

A recent inspection revealed a first aid kit stored on top of tortillas, and a hat on top of the potatoes. Raw chicken was stored above "ready to eat items" -- a big "no no".

But the part of the report that stopped me cold involved the fact that many foods that day were not heated to the proper temperature, including pork and pork stomach. And others -- sour cream, ham, chorizo, tacos frijoles and Canadian bacon were not cold enough.

Considering the report on the shelves in the walk in cooler ("abundance of food debris stuck on them") I'm not sure I wouldn't rather have warm sour cream.