by Uma Ramiah | Jan 20, 2011 3:13 pm

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Posted to: Food, Health

IKEA’s “bistro”? Clean. Romeo and Cesare’s? It didn’t fail—but a health inspector gave it two weeks to clean the walls and floors, fix that refrigerator gasket, and hang up those mops.

Those were the highest and lowest scorers in a week of routine restaurant inspections.

Sanitarians at the city’s Environmental Health Department inspect all New Haven’s restaurants—from upscale bistros to the food carts at Long Wharf—once a year. Restaurants with a grade of 80 or below are given two weeks to improve before a second inspection visit. The department can close a restaurant regardless of score in the face of immediate dangers to public health.

The restaurants below were inspected by New Haven’s Environmental Health Department in the first week of January. None had egregious conditions that posed immediate dangers to public health. All had room to improve.

Jan. 3, 2011

Mediterranea Café, 140 Orange St.

Score: 81/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Fix defective walls/water stained ceiling tiles/missing ceiling tiles.

• Clean air vent/clean walls & ceilings/fix defective chair top.

• Secure hand sink firmly to wall/refill paper towel dispensers at both hand sinks.

• Need covered trash can in bathroom .

• Seal floor/wall junctions.

• Seal external openings against rodent entry.

• Touch up exterior of defective equipment/clean exterior of equipment.

• Don’t use small cup as scoop.

• Touch up defective shelves/clean shelves.

• Touch up top on defective “prep” table/clean top of “prep table”

• Hang up mops and brooms.

• Label produce not in original container.

• Invert single serve containers/store single serve utensils in a sanitary manner.

• Hair restraints.

• Cover exposed food.

• Wipe interior of coolers.

• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution.

Bru Café, 141 Orange St.

Score: 81/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Invert single serve containers, store utensils in a sanitary manner.

• Hang up mops and brooms.

• Clean walls behind equipment, clean air vents, fix defective walls and ceilings.

• Touch up interior of cooler, clean interior of coolers and freezers.

• Fix defective handles on cooler and freezers.

• Water stained ceiling tiles in basement.

• Hair restraint for food prep/cook/employees.

• Fix hot water main on hand sinks – corrected onsite.

• Touch up defective shelves and clean shelves.

Jan. 4

Soul de Cuba, 283 Crown St.

Score: 83/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Fix defective flooring/clean floors under and around equipment

• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution

• Clean wallboard/ceiling/touch up defective walls and ceilings

• Touch up and clean shelves

• Lower hot water in hand sinks to between 110 and 115 F (both at 150 now)

• Clean tracks on beer cooler/fix damaged tracks in beer cooler

• Fix defective floor/wall junction

• Touch up ext of defective equipment/clean ext of equipment

• Clean air vents/clean A.C. vents

• Add paper towel to basement hand sink

• Fix ceiling in basement area

• Defective plastic interior lid on chest freezer

• Label produce not in original containers

• Clean interiors of coolers and freezers, hang mops and brooms

• Don’t store knives and utensils “sheath” style

Yale Library Café, Bass Library

Score: 96/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Replace broken refrigerator gasket.

• Eliminate cup as scoops, provide scoop with handles.

• Clean ceiling around overhead vent.

Jan. 5

Ikea CT LLC Restaurant, 450 Sargent Dr.

Score: 90/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Clean air vents in dish room.

• Damaged floor/wall tiles.

• Refill paper towel dispenser at dishwasher station.

• Label produce not stored in original containers.

• Invert single serve plates and containers.

• Clean air vents.

• Clean floors under and around equipment.

Ikea CT LLC Bistro, 450 Sargent Dr.

Score: 96/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Clean air vents, walls and touch up damaged walls.

• Fix laminate on counter.

• Clean floors under and around equipment.

• Clean shelves.

Romeo and Cesare’s, 771 Orange St.

Owner: Romeo Simone

Score: 77/100

Corrections due: 2 weeks

• Clear hand sink of unnecessary articles, must be used for hand washing only.

• Provide paper towels at hand sinks.

• Clean walls, repair damaged walls.

• Clean and sanitize faucets and spray nozzle.

• Eliminate soiled/damaged faucets and spray nozzle.

• Clean overhead light fixture and pipes.

• Store utensil handles facing up.

• Clean shelves under stainless tables.

• Properly label food product out of original containers.

• Lean stand-up refrigerator/freezer.

• Eliminate damaged plastic bins.

• Clean floor and shelves in walk-in.

• Replace broken refrigerator gasket.

• Hang mops and brooms.

• Clean walls in stairway to basement, clean walls in basement.

• Provide a covered trash in toilet room.

• Clean shelves in basement.

• Provide light shields on overhead bulbs in basement.

• Provide complete separation of food service articles/product and non-food service articles.

• Clean basement thoroughly.

• Rodent droppings (found in a corner of the basement, nowhere near food).

• Clean shelves above grill.

• Clean floors under and behind equipment.

• Clean storage bins.

• Properly label toxic items.

• Paint or shellac bare wood surfaces.

Jan. 6

Cappuccinos and More, 307 Cedar St.

Score: 80/100

Corrections due: ASAP

• Clean floors around and under equipment.

• Fix defective exterior on equipment (i.e. display case)/clean exterior of equipment.

• Fix defective handle on cooler.

• Clean shelves and tracks in slide cooler.

• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution.

• Label produce not in original containers.

• Clean air vents and ceiling tiles: water stained ceiling tiles.

• Don’t store food or drink directly on the floor.

• Clean soda and juice racks in coolers.

• Clean interior of coolers and freezers.

• Seal gap on exterior door.

• Touch up defective walls/clean wall board.

• Cover exposed food products.

• Hang up mops and brooms.

Wok #1, 326 Lombard St.

Owner: Yang Dong Li

Score: 79/100

Corrections due: 1/20/11

• Cooked rice at 55 degrees, 3 large pans of cooked meat at 55 degrees.

• Missing thermometers in coolers.

• Shell eggs and raw chicken stored in walk in over ready to eat foods.

• Containers of food stored on floor.

• Pans of food nesting inside each other.

• Plastic liquid containers and plastic bowls used as scoops without handles.

• Exteriors of equipment covered in grease.

• Knives placed in storage wedged between wall and equipment.

• Wok cooking area with waste water and grease.

• Floor around equipment – not clean; cardboard used to line floor over broken floor tiles.

• Stained ceiling tiles.

• No paper towels at hand sinks.

• Re-using egg cartons.

• Replace cutting board: not clean.

Sage American Grille, 50 Water St.

Owner: Dave McCoart

Score: 86/100

Corrections due: 4/6/11

• Shaker containers of granular and plastic containers of liquid missing labels.

• Shell eggs stored in walk-in over ready to eat food.

• Rubber gaskets on several reach-in refrigerators in disrepair.

• Low white freezer in disrepair – replace.

• Inside tall dessert cooler – not clean.

• Easting utensils stored face up.

• Utensil drawer in kitchen – jumbled.

• Leaky pipe under dishwasher.

• Missing hand towels (paper) in dessert prep hand sink dispenser.

• Cardboard under floor mats lining floor – not clean.

• Stained ceiling tiles, attached fan in walk-in and reach in – not clean.

• Brooms stored on color.

• Unnecessary items stored throughout – remove.

• Shelves in dry storage room not clean.

• Shelves in walk in refrigerator not clean.

• Foil lined shelves.

Jan. 7

State Garden II Restaurant, 1452 Whalley Ave.

Owner: Renai Chen

Score: 96/100

Corrections due: “OK to License”

• Complete setup of equipment, remove dust from inside of equipment, and remove dust from outside of equipment.

• “Beautiful, all Stainless! Ok to License and Open!”

Ixtapa Mexican Tacos, 46 Dallas St, Hamden (Long Wharf Food Cart)

Score: 85/100

Corrections due: 3-7-11

• Cilantro in box uncovered.

• Cooked meat not at proper temperature: 101-103, not 140.

• Missing thermometers.

• Hand sink not functioning.

• 1 freezer to hold meat – not on.

• Cardboard on floor.