HOUSTON – One trendy Montrose restaurant has gotten good ink from local food critics, but the most recent critique comes from health inspectors.
When Feast opened at 219 Westheimer three years ago, it garnered rave reviews from GQ and Travel + Leisure magazine. The Houston Chronicle said it was "... the most interesting food in Houston, in Texas, maybe even America." But "interesting" isn't exactly how diners Local 2 spoke with described what health inspectors discovered here.
An inspector said he "observed the chef urinating in the bushes in the back of the establishment."
"I don't know anything about it," said the woman who was at the restaurant when Local 2 consumer investigator Amy Davis stopped by. "I'm not one of the owners."
"You're not?" Davis asked. "You're on the website as one of the owners."
"I mean, I'm married to one of the chefs, but I'm not legally an owner," said the woman.
"To the chef who was caught peeing behind the restaurant?" asked Davis. "The inspector wrote that he was urinating in the bushes behind the restaurant."
"I don't know anything about it," answered Silk.
On their visit to Feast, inspectors said they also found escargot, ribs, game meat and cheeks all stored at improper temperatures and potentially hazardous.
Davis left her number, but the chef never called.
At Viet Hoa International Foods on the Beltway near Beechnut, inspectors said they saw gnats, roaches and rodent droppings in the kitchen of the food store.
The meat slicer at The Counter Restaurant at 4601 Washington Avenue was crusted with food debris, inspectors said.
Inspectors said they found black bugs in the bags of beef jerky at Mario Food Mart at 9705 Telephone Road
A baby roach was seen crawling across the counter of Maria Selma restaurant at 1617 Richmond, inspectors said.
Diners may have been too distracted to notice, but inspectors noted the slime around the ice shoot of the ice machine at Hooters on 249 near Greens Road.
Inspectors found no violations at the Arby's at 12403 Westheimer or Honeybaked Cafe at 5174 Richmond Avenue.
To see a complete list of restaurant violations in the Houston area, visit www.click2houston.com/restaurantinspections.How To File Restaurant ComplaintWe get our information from the city of Houston Health Department, but many of you have complaints about restaurants in other cities and counties.Refer to the following list to find out which agency to contact depending on the location of the restaurant:* For all complaints about restaurants located in the city of Houston, call 311 or file the complaint online.* Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services inspects and permits all retail food establishments in the unincorporated areas of Harris County as well as in the cities of Tomball, Katy, Jacinto City, Galena Park, La Porte, Morgan's Point, South Houston, Seabrook, El Lago, Southside Place, Hunter's Creek, Piney Point, Bunker Hill, Jersey Village, Spring Valley, Deer Park, Humble, Waller, and West University Place. If you believe you have become ill from ingesting food from an establishment in unincorporated Harris County or in a city inspected by Harris County, please file a complaint at http://www.hcphes.org/eph/foodcomplaint.ht or call them at 713-274-6300. If you are concerned about a food establishment's operations such as cleanliness, food handling procedures, etc., please file a complaint at http://www.hcphes.org/eph/complaints.htm.* To file a complaint about a restaurant in Montgomery County, call the Montgomery County Health Department at 936-539-7839.* To file a complaint about a restaurant Galveston County, call the Galveston County Health Department at 409-938-2300. Use this link to speed the process and file your complaint electronically, or send an email to mentringer@gchd.org.* To file a complaint about a restaurant in Brazoria County, contact the Brazoria County Health Department.* To file a complaint about a restaurant Fort Bend County, contact the Fort Bend County Health Department.* To file a complaint about a restaurant in Sugar Land use this link or contact the Senior Sanitarian at 281-275-2278 or email foodinspection@sugarlandtx.gov.If you have a news tip or question for KPRC Local 2 Investigates, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477). Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
