Restaurant Inspections: Espresso Bar, 2 Restaurants Inspected

Health Department 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.

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.

• Learn more about the differences between critical and a non-critical violations here, as well as the differences between types of inspections.

Since our last round-up, the following McLean restaurants and schools have been inspected by the Virginia Department of Health. The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

How this works: Click on the name of the school or restaurant listed below to access full details on the inspection. These are the most recent reports available for restaurants in the greater McLean and Tysons Corner areas.

The Most Recently Available Reports

Lost Dog Cafe, 1690A Anderson Rd., May 7,

4 critical, 3 non-critical violations; 6 corrected during inspection.

Noodles & Company, 7511 Leesburg Pike, May 6

1 critical violation, corrected during inspection.

Nordstrom Espresso Bar, Tysons Corner Center, May 3

2 critical violations, 2 non-critical violations; all corrected during inspection.

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"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."