Restaurant Inspections: 10 McLean Eateries with Critical Violations
Patch publishes the latest round of health department restaurant inspection reports from restaurants in McLean and Tysons Corner.
In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.
That said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation.
In Fairfax County, inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations.
A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.
"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.
The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long term cleanliness of an establishment."
Since our last round-up, the following McLean restaurants have been inspected by the Virginia Department of Health. The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.
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How this works: Click on the date or on 'see details here' to get the detailed report of inspection violations for each restaurant listed below. These are the most recent reports available for restaurants in the greater McLean and Tysons Corner areas.
La Sandia, 7852-L Tysons Corner Center, Feb. 5
3 critical violations, 5 non-critical violations, 4 violations corrected during inspection.
Thai Pilin Restaurant, 8385 Leesburg Pike, Feb. 4
5 critical violations, 5 non-critical violations, 6 violations corrected during inspection.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop, 1577 Spring Hill Road, Feb. 4
1 critical violation that was corrected during inspection.
Balducci’s, 6655 Old Dominion Dr., Feb. 4
5 critical violations, 3 non-critical violations, 7 violations corrected during inspection.
Ledo Pizza, 7510 Leesburg Pike, Feb. 1
2 critical violations, 2 non-critical violations, 3 violations corrected during inspection.
Panera Bread, 7939L Tysons Corner Center, Feb. 1
1 critical violation, 2 non-critical violations, 1 violations corrected during inspection.
Old Peking Restaurant, 2952C Chain Bridge Road, Jan. 31
4 critical violations, 4 non-critical violations, 4 violations corrected during inspection.
Starbucks Coffee, 2930 Chain Bridge Road, Jan. 30
1 critical violation, 3 non-critical violations.
Hunan Tasty, 2912 Chain Bridge Road, Jan. 30
4 critical violations, 8 non-critical violations, 7 violations corrected during inspection.
The Sylvestry, 1728 Kirby Road, Jan. 30
1 violation, 4 non-critical violations, 1 violation corrected during inspection.
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Dave Webster
9:38 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
What percentage of restaurants inspected end up with no violations? In other words, if the inspectors from the Virginia Deparment of Health visit 10 restaurants, how many restaurants would end up not having a violation of some sort based upon past inspection numbers?
Beth Lawton
2:10 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
As the note from the VDOH in the article indicates, it's actually very rare. "Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website."
Potbelly this time around is about as close as you get -- one violation that was corrected during the inspection.
Dave Webster
3:15 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Thanks Beth. I applaud these reports and read them whenever the Patch publishes them. My only concern is that if we have a system where there is a 100% failure rate on the inspections, maybe we've gone too far.