HOUSTON – Vindication is what's on the menu in this week's Restaurant Report Card.
Marty Garcia called Local 2 after he bit into a pumpkin empanada that he purchased at the La Michoacana Meat Market at 3902 South Shaver. He said there was more than pumpkin filling inside. There was white mold, he said.
When Garcia and his girlfriend took the pastry back inside to tell the store manager, Garcia said the manager insisted that the pastry was cooked that same morning.
Garcia called the city of Houston Health Department to report the mold. A health inspector stopped by the very next day and found mold inside the other pumpkin empanadas on the bakery shelves.
"For over 25 years we have served the Houston community," a statement from La Michoacana's legal department read. "We take quality very seriously and have an excellent record of providing quality baked pastries, meat and produce to the community. We are investigating what happened with this particular batch of dough and would note there have been no other incidents involving turnovers (empanadas) at this store or any other. We look forward to demonstrating our quality again to this customer."
At Dimassi's Mediterranean Buffet at 8236 Kirby, inspectors deemed 40 pounds of raw ground beef "not safe for human consumption" because it was a warm 75 degrees inside the restaurant's cooler.
There were dead roaches in the food preparation and storage areas of First Shot Hot Wok at 7271 Brompton Road.
Inspectors said they saw one small roach on the wall in the kitchen of Italy Pizza at 2945 Walnut Bend.
Inspectors said there were dead and live roaches in the unused meat saw of the China Star Chinese Buffet at 11120 Gulf Freeway.
It was slime-a-palooza all over Houston.
It was pink in the ice machine of Outback Steakhouse at 12130 Dickinson Road.
The slime was clear and tan at Texas Road House at 23750 Eastex Freeway in Kingwood.
There was black mildew inside the ice machine of Candelari's at 2617 West Holcombe. There was slime and mold in the machine at Bon Baguette at 2518 West Holcombe.
Both Subway at 2993 Bingle and The Yard House at 800 West Sam Houston Parkway North earn A's this week for spotless inspections.
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.
