HOUSTON – Rats, roaches and old food. It's not what's on the menu, but it's what health inspectors found at restaurants across Houston.
Do you use a smell test? Or how do you know when it's time to toss food in your fridge? The health code says seven days is the maximum time allowed to keep prepared food before it must be discarded at restaurants. But at Ousie's Table at 3939 San Felipe, inspectors said employees were keeping prepared food for eight days.
At Lenny's Sub Shop at 9150 South Main, inspectors said there was not any hot water and there was a dead roach on the floor in the food prep area.
Joy's Cafe is inside the office building at 6633 Hillcroft. It's where inspectors said they found sewage backed up in the kitchen. The owner said she didn't think the backup was sewage, but she had the slow drain in the floor repaired.
There were rat droppings on the floor of the storage area in the Parisian Bakery & Cafe at 8200 Wilcrest, according to inspectors.
Inspectors said there was an actual rat sighting at the Citgo at 3902 Bellfort. An inspector said he saw a rodent run into the wall behind the beverage counter.
Speaking of beverages, inspectors said they found mildew inside the ice machine of El Rey on the Katy Freeway at Bunker Hill.
We're serving up A's this week for perfect inspections at Buon Appetito at 2231 West Holcombe and Home Style at 5808 Cullen.
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.
