Each month the Harford County Health Department conducts routine inspections of 1,893 food service facilities. Some pass, some fail. These are their stories…
Below are all the critical health inspection violations for Harford County in August, 2008. We are focusing on the restaurants and eating establishments, so we are conveniently leaving the convenience and grocery stores off of our list.
Aberdeen Eagle Diner
527 S. Philadelphia Blvd.
Aberdeen, MD 21001
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Ball Park Restaurant
3420 Conowingo Road
Street, MD 21154
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration.
Bill Bateman’s – HdG
2021 H Pulaski Highway
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Bill Bateman’s Express
3101 Emmorton Road, Suite A-6
Abingdon, MD 21009
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Bliss Wine and Coffee Bar
1402 Handlir Drive
Bel Air, MD 21015
Violation: Food must be properly cooled. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Bull on the Beach
2306 Churchville Road
Bel Air, MD 21015
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature. Food must be adequately cooked and reheated.
Bulle Rock (Snack Shack)
320 Blenheim Lane
Hvre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be properly cooled.
Charcoal Grill Edgewood
1401 B Pulaski Highway
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Charley’s Grilled Subs
1709 Edgewood Road
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
China Haste
2464 Churchville Road
Bel Air, MD 21015
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration.
China Kitchen
1020 Pulaski Highway
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Coakley’s Pub
406 St. John Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Dairy Queen
1510 Conowingo Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Duck’s Family Restaurant
1531 Pulaski Highway
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be properly cooled. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Fallston Seafood Restaurant
2108 Fallston Road
Fallston, MD 21047
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature. Food must be adequately cooked and reheated.
Fortunatos Brothers of Woodbridge
1401 Pulaski Highway
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be properly cooled.
Friendly’s – Edgewood
1407 Pulaski Highway
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Gene’s Bar & Restaurant, Inc.
1368 W. Jarrettsville Road
Forest Hill, MD 21050
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Giovanni’s Restaurant
2101 Pulaski Highway
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Havre de Grace Food Mart/Season’s Pizza
866 Otsego Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration.
Italian Sensations – Fallston
2316 Bel Air Road
Fallston, MD 21047
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
King’s Chinese Food, Inc. II
1020 B Beards Hill Road
Aberdeen, MD 21001
Violation: Food must be properly cooled.
Lighthouse Diner Restaurant
913 Pulaski Highway
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
MacGregor’s
331 St. John Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Mama Maria’s
300 Edgewood Road
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
McDonald’s #18290
404 Constant Friendship Blvd
Abingdon, MD 21009
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Moore’s Pizza & Subs, Inc.
756 #2 Town Center Drive
Joppa, MD 21085
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
New Ideal Diner
104 S. Phila. Blvd.
Aberdeen, MD 21001
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration.
Nonnie’s Brick Oven
801 Otsego Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Open Door Café
528 Baltimore Pike
Bel Air, MD 21014
Violation: Food must be adequately cooked and reheated.
Outback Steakhouse
615 Bel Air Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Pat’s Pizzeria Havre de Grace
1201 Revolution Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Pizza Hut #714
1009 Edgewood Road, Edgewood
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Promenade Grille, The
352 Commerce Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Season’s Pizza
1401 A Conowingo Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
Silver Spring Mining Company
705 Belair Road
Bel Air, MD 21014
Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.
St. John Gourmet
209 North Washington Street
Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be held at proper temperature.
The Shed
2723 Pulaski Highway
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be properly cooled. Food must be held at proper temperature.
Waffle House – Edgewood
1806 Edgewood Road
Edgewood, MD 21040
Violation: Food must be protected from contamination, spoilage and adulteration. Food must be properly cooled. Food must be held at proper temperature.
HdG Citizen says
Well, as a Hdg citizen, it kinda sucks to see just about every single food establishment in my town get cited for a violation. Not good publicity for aspiring restaurant owners who seek more business and tourism. Off the top of my head I did not see Laurapin Grill or the Billiards club on the citation list. Maybe others can learn from them… 🙂
jj says
Does anyone know if “Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.” is due to the inspector actually finding cold food warm or hot food cold? Or is it a finding that temperature logs or recordings were not monitored or a thermostat was past calibration due requirements?
There seems to be a lot of these,and if it is the direct finding of cold or warm food, then there needs to be some serious re-education at these businesses. If it is a matter of poor paperwork, it is just a matter of sloppy recordkeeping.
former server says
i worked in restaurants for 10 years. the proper temperature violation is the easiest and least serious one to get. they check the temp of everything on the prep line. for example, (and i apologize for not knowing the numbers–its been awhile) soup is kept in a hot well and must be kept at X degrees. the food inspector will come around with a laser thermometer and check it, and if its off at all–they issue a violation. same thing with other things on the line. if its cold, it has to be X degrees, if its off at all–violation. it USUALLY (maybe in some cases) is only off by a small amount–and generally is not because cold food is hot or hot food is cold. usually its only a measure of the degrees. that said, i’m not making excuses for the restaurants with violations, just saying you may not want to stop eating at your faves just yet.
restaurant managers are required to take courses for the health department and be licensed for this type of thing. plus, its not a cool thing, especially in a corporation, for your restaurant to get cited. so many corporations hire a company as an inernal “checker.” they have the company visit their restaurants at random and score them as the health department would. the idea, ovbiously, is to educate the staff and lower the incidence of violations.
a sketchier violation is the one where they aren’t protecting the food from spoilage and adulteration. that usually means that things aren’t covered properly or stored properly overnight at the correct temps. and this screams stomach cramps for days.
Steve says
A question came to mind while looking at all the violations. I’m sure the answer is obvious, but how are Sushi restaurants evaluated when it comes to the violation “Food must be adequately cooked and reheated”.
Dave Yensan says
I know nothing about the subject, but it looks to me as though the inspectors justify their existence with “Violation: Food must be held at proper temperature.” Is it even possible that every single restaurant is in violation of this? What is this? Former Server points out how easy it is. I can see this “public official” coming back to the office at the end of the day and saying to his or her boss: “look at me, look at me. I got a ton of violations today, ain’t I great?”
jj says
Who checks the accuracy and calibration of the health department’s measurements? BTW, IR temperature measurement can be impacted greatly by what is being measured (color, shape, reflectivity) and how teh measurement is made.