Restaurant inspections

[voodoochil3]

Sort of a spin off of the bad restaurant thread...

I've been sorely unimpressed with the restaurants in the area since we moved to 'Dorf. And the service even more so, but I'm getting used to it.

Which leads to my real question. If the service staff is so terrible, are the restaurants really clean? I wonder how much effort is put into cleaning the restaurant. We ate at Longhorn a few months ago and when I went to the ladies room, there was not a single bit of toilet paper in any stalls except the handicap stall and that particular stall had an overflowing toilet with a small swamp on the floor...and the trashcan was overflowing to the point the entire floor was ankle high with garbage. To make matters worse, employees were using that restroom and doing nothing about the situation.

Why does MD not post inspection results online? Is there anywhere they can be found? I would love to see how many critical violations a restaurant has before I go eat there. Any thoughts?

 

[Danzig]

Starting in Jan of 2013 you will see one news site starting to post health department documents from Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's.

 

[Danzig]

We are also going to be putting up planning and zoning docs

 

[Restless]

The dumb thing about the health department inspections is that they let the restaurant owner know when they are coming. Obviously the owners are going to clean up for the inspection, but what are they like the other 364 days of the year? If a restaurant is dirty you can call the health dept. about it and they will send someone out to check it out.

 

[dachsom]

The dumb thing about the health department inspections is that they let the restaurant owner know when they are coming. Obviously the owners are going to clean up for the inspection, but what are they like the other 364 days of the year? If a restaurant is dirty you can call the health dept. about it and they will send someone out to check it out.

In 25 years of managing restaurants, in 3 states, I was never told when an inspection was coming. I think in Maryland they are done every 6 months but it was never an issue with me. If you kept it clean everyday and followed food safety protocol, there wasn't a problem passing a surprise inspection. Sometimes there was something that the franchise was going to take care of, like a plumbing issue or a crack in the wall for example, but never a food safety issue.

 

[tipsymcgee]

The dumb thing about the health department inspections is that they let the restaurant owner know when they are coming. Obviously the owners are going to clean up for the inspection, but what are they like the other 364 days of the year? If a restaurant is dirty you can call the health dept. about it and they will send someone out to check it out.

Um, no, there are quarterly unannounced inspections for any place. Notice of health department closures are reported in the Thursday Washington Post Local Living section, just have to look for them. If they find problems at your establishment, they give you a list and they will return to inspect those problems within 30 days. I believe it's 30 days.

The health department is mainly concerned with food and food service, though. I've had some come and never went in the bathroom. They check for thermometers and temps in all fridges/freezers, food handling procedures, food holding temps for soup, etc., and check for mold in places like fridge fans and ice makers, making sure things aren't stored on floor. And the health department always finds something you can fix.

 

[Danzig]

And the health department always finds something you can fix.

Yep, When I owned a bar and knew they were coming I would leave the the dumpster door open, and the lids off the trash cans behind the bar. Two simple violations. If not they would always find some other pain in the azz problem, like a closet that needed painted.

 

[tipsymcgee]

Yeah, I guess lids off dumpsters attract vermin, raccoons, etc. Yes, any bare wood or rusting has to be painted. If nothing else they'll find something that just needs a "spring cleaning," he says.

 

[GWguy]

Yep, When I owned a bar and knew they were coming I would leave the the dumpster door open, and the lids off the trash cans behind the bar. Two simple violations. If not they would always find some other pain in the azz problem, like a closet that needed painted.

Preemptive strike. Love it...

 

[GURPS]

In 25 years of managing restaurants, in 3 states, I was never told when an inspection was coming. I think in Maryland they are done every 6 months but it was never an issue with me.

PG County recently paid a visit to the Church / School Kitchen where my wife works 3 days a week

the county inspector had not been there since the kitchen was in the other end of the building off the Main Church Hall [when they used to convert the church for dinners and such] - 25 yrs ago.

 

[dachsom]

PG County recently paid a visit to the Church / School Kitchen where my wife works 3 days a week

the county inspector had not been there since the kitchen was in the other end of the building off the Main Church Hall [when they used to convert the church for dinners and such] - 25 yrs ago.

Wow!! I think the longest I went without an inspection was 1 year. That was here in St. Mary's.

 

[edinsomd]

Yep, When I owned a bar and knew they were coming I would leave the the dumpster door open, and the lids off the trash cans behind the bar. Two simple violations. If not they would always find some other pain in the azz problem, like a closet that needed painted.

In my Navy days we would always leave the fan dusty for the inspecting officer to "find". Worked every time!

 

[sm8]

Sort of a spin off of the bad restaurant thread...

I've been sorely unimpressed with the restaurants in the area since we moved to 'Dorf. And the service even more so, but I'm getting used to it.

Which leads to my real question. If the service staff is so terrible, are the restaurants really clean? I wonder how much effort is put into cleaning the restaurant. We ate at Longhorn a few months ago and when I went to the ladies room, there was not a single bit of toilet paper in any stalls except the handicap stall and that particular stall had an overflowing toilet with a small swamp on the floor...and the trashcan was overflowing to the point the entire floor was ankle high with garbage. To make matters worse, employees were using that restroom and doing nothing about the situation.

Why does MD not post inspection results online? Is there anywhere they can be found? I would love to see how many critical violations a restaurant has before I go eat there. Any thoughts?

We went there last night and it was very similar. My first time going and I was not impressed (will not go back). 2 of the regular stalls had flooded toilets and the floor was soaked in the third. Handicapped was the only one useable. Only one of the flooded stalls had toilet paper and none of the other ones did.

We had one of the worst waitresses you could imagine. I ordered cheese fries for the kids and not knowing what was on them when you got them with everything I specifically asked for just bacon and cheese. They came with Chilli on them and the waitress said "well cant you just eat around it". Every ones food was wrong. I ordered my steak medium and it came out beyond well done. I ate it anyway because at that point we were already 2 hours in and I did not want to be a bother. A lady that was dining with us also tried to not be picky. She was planning on just eating hers as to not make a fuss either. She had several bites and rather enjoyed it when all of a sudden the waitress walks over and jerks the plate from her and walks away without explanation. When she came back she said she had given her the wrong steak and it was a 20 some dollar steak instead of the 18 dollar one. All of the adults got their food and the kids food was no where to be seen. When her son got his steak it was like a charcoal briquet. He told the waitress and she brought him back a raw one???? How does that make it better? The third one looked and tasted terrible and at that point the poor kid did not want to eat anything. When my kids meals finally came out they were ice cold and unedible and they forgot one of the kids.

To add insult to injury when the check finally came after waiting for it for two hours they were trying to double charge us for most of the meals. I finally got the extra meals off but they could only put it in as I used coupons so it still added on for the gratuity. I can not believe hubby paid the bill and paid the full tip. He paid with cash and they took the reciept and would not give it back. I wanted to contact corporate and tell them about it but with no reciept I feel as though I have no proof.

 

[Catman2]

Shouda stuck the check up her ssa.

 

[struggler44]

Shouda stuck the check up her ssa.

Sounds like that stall may have been the only thing working

 

[Roman]

We went there last night and it was very similar. My first time going and I was not impressed (will not go back). 2 of the regular stalls had flooded toilets and the floor was soaked in the third. Handicapped was the only one useable. Only one of the flooded stalls had toilet paper and none of the other ones did.

We had one of the worst waitresses you could imagine. I ordered cheese fries for the kids and not knowing what was on them when you got them with everything I specifically asked for just bacon and cheese. They came with Chilli on them and the waitress said "well cant you just eat around it". Every ones food was wrong. I ordered my steak medium and it came out beyond well done. I ate it anyway because at that point we were already 2 hours in and I did not want to be a bother. A lady that was dining with us also tried to not be picky. She was planning on just eating hers as to not make a fuss either. She had several bites and rather enjoyed it when all of a sudden the waitress walks over and jerks the plate from her and walks away without explanation. When she came back she said she had given her the wrong steak and it was a 20 some dollar steak instead of the 18 dollar one. All of the adults got their food and the kids food was no where to be seen. When her son got his steak it was like a charcoal briquet. He told the waitress and she brought him back a raw one???? How does that make it better? The third one looked and tasted terrible and at that point the poor kid did not want to eat anything. When my kids meals finally came out they were ice cold and unedible and they forgot one of the kids.

To add insult to injury when the check finally came after waiting for it for two hours they were trying to double charge us for most of the meals. I finally got the extra meals off but they could only put it in as I used coupons so it still added on for the gratuity. I can not believe hubby paid the bill and paid the full tip. He paid with cash and they took the reciept and would not give it back. I wanted to contact corporate and tell them about it but with no reciept I feel as though I have no proof.

What a night mare! Reciept, or nor reciept..I would still contact them, and even go a step forward by contacting the Health Department.

 

[abcxyz]

You will never catch me at Carabaas in Waldorf. The owner is a jackwagon on top of it.

 

[voodoochil3]

We went there last night and it was very similar. My first time going and I was not impressed (will not go back). 2 of the regular stalls had flooded toilets and the floor was soaked in the third. Handicapped was the only one useable. Only one of the flooded stalls had toilet paper and none of the other ones did.

We had one of the worst waitresses you could imagine. I ordered cheese fries for the kids and not knowing what was on them when you got them with everything I specifically asked for just bacon and cheese. They came with Chilli on them and the waitress said "well cant you just eat around it". Every ones food was wrong. I ordered my steak medium and it came out beyond well done. I ate it anyway because at that point we were already 2 hours in and I did not want to be a bother. A lady that was dining with us also tried to not be picky. She was planning on just eating hers as to not make a fuss either. She had several bites and rather enjoyed it when all of a sudden the waitress walks over and jerks the plate from her and walks away without explanation. When she came back she said she had given her the wrong steak and it was a 20 some dollar steak instead of the 18 dollar one. All of the adults got their food and the kids food was no where to be seen. When her son got his steak it was like a charcoal briquet. He told the waitress and she brought him back a raw one???? How does that make it better? The third one looked and tasted terrible and at that point the poor kid did not want to eat anything. When my kids meals finally came out they were ice cold and unedible and they forgot one of the kids.

To add insult to injury when the check finally came after waiting for it for two hours they were trying to double charge us for most of the meals. I finally got the extra meals off but they could only put it in as I used coupons so it still added on for the gratuity. I can not believe hubby paid the bill and paid the full tip. He paid with cash and they took the reciept and would not give it back. I wanted to contact corporate and tell them about it but with no reciept I feel as though I have no proof.

That just sucks!!! We've had issues there with steaks not being properly cooked as well....For reals, though, write a letter or email corporate. I guarantee they can track down your ticket especially if you can describe the server and provide the time you were there.

 

[Cheeky1]

We went there last night and it was very similar. My first time going and I was not impressed (will not go back). 2 of the regular stalls had flooded toilets and the floor was soaked in the third. Handicapped was the only one useable. Only one of the flooded stalls had toilet paper and none of the other ones did.

We had one of the worst waitresses you could imagine. I ordered cheese fries for the kids and not knowing what was on them when you got them with everything I specifically asked for just bacon and cheese. They came with Chilli on them and the waitress said "well cant you just eat around it". Every ones food was wrong. I ordered my steak medium and it came out beyond well done. I ate it anyway because at that point we were already 2 hours in and I did not want to be a bother. A lady that was dining with us also tried to not be picky. She was planning on just eating hers as to not make a fuss either. She had several bites and rather enjoyed it when all of a sudden the waitress walks over and jerks the plate from her and walks away without explanation. When she came back she said she had given her the wrong steak and it was a 20 some dollar steak instead of the 18 dollar one. All of the adults got their food and the kids food was no where to be seen. When her son got his steak it was like a charcoal briquet. He told the waitress and she brought him back a raw one???? How does that make it better? The third one looked and tasted terrible and at that point the poor kid did not want to eat anything. When my kids meals finally came out they were ice cold and unedible and they forgot one of the kids.

To add insult to injury when the check finally came after waiting for it for two hours they were trying to double charge us for most of the meals. I finally got the extra meals off but they could only put it in as I used coupons so it still added on for the gratuity. I can not believe hubby paid the bill and paid the full tip. He paid with cash and they took the reciept and would not give it back. I wanted to contact corporate and tell them about it but with no reciept I feel as though I have no proof.

There is a time and place to simply get up, inform the hostess/cashier or your experience, gather everyone together, and leave (without paying for anything). Then, go get some pizza as a fallback.

I don't have a problem never returning to a restaurant.

 

[sm8]

Trust me, I wanted to but would of had to leave hubby. It is times like these I really miss the half cocked slightly psychopath I married 13 years ago. Over time he has become more of a "deep thinker" and has really mellowed out. It is like we have changed places. He pointed that out to me the other day. My response was "I guess that is what happens after years of being pushed down and stepped on, Every one wants to always make me the bad guy so I have started playing the bad guy role."