San Antonio restaurant inspections: June 30, 2017

Taqueria Gunajuato: 407 Vine St., San Antonio, TX 78210

Date: 06/26/2017 Score: 68

Highlights: Ants found at the front counter; food not held at correct temperature; food not protected from contamination (raw meats below ready-to-eat foods; food debris seen on top of refrigerator; “Consumer Advisory Consumption of animal foods that are raw, undercooked or not otherwise processed to eliminate pathogens”; accurate thermometers not found in coolers; employees seen not wearing effective hair restraints; non food-grade bags used for food items; holes seen in walls and ceilings less Taqueria Gunajuato: 407 Vine St., San Antonio, TX 78210

Date: 06/26/2017 Score: 68

Highlights: Ants found at the front counter; food not held at correct temperature; food not protected from contamination (raw ... more Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 48 Caption Close San Antonio restaurant inspections: June 30, 2017 1 / 48 Back to Gallery

Despite efforts to rid its premises of creepy crawlers, a San Antonio restaurant's attempt backfired when an inspector found a live mouse caught in a trap during a random health inspection.

Las Minas Cafe on Blanco Road is among the 31 restaurants that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in the Alamo City.

An inspector also observed rodent droppings in a food storage area and outside the restroom, as well as gnats and garbage cans that emitted a "very bad odor" in the kitchen.

To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below — or anything less than an "A" — during a random city health inspection.

See the violations at other San Antonio restaurants in the gallery above.

One spot, El Manatial Mexican Restaurant, was told that more ventilation in the kitchen was needed so that "food handlers may not excessively sweat."

At J. Anthony's Seafood Cafe on South Presa Street, an inspector saw a purple knife with purple paint coming off it and sauces labeled as salad dressing in the walk-in cooler.

SEE LAST WEEK'S INSPECTION SCORES: San Antonio restaurant inspections: June 23, 2017

The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below.

Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division.

Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and are surveyed at random.

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