Fruit flies. Gray water dripping on lettuce. Worst Greenville area restaurant inspections for March

Improper handwashing, food stored on the floor and at improper temperatures and gray water dripping into salad lettuce were among the violations health inspectors found in Upstate restaurants in March.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control scored about 20 restaurants B or C from more than 300 routine and follow up inspections completed.

Among them:

One scored lower in its follow-up than the original inspection, Wing Crave on Augusta Street, which underwent a routine hour-long inspection on March 18. Inspectors gave it an 86, B, and cited such infractions as roaches and fruit flies in the kitchen and didn’t see any employee washing their hands.

Also, an employee used a stainless steel bowl to prepare ready to eat foods without properly washing, rinsing and sanitizing the surface. Fresh-cut potatoes were stored in one section of a three-compartment sink where bowls were rinsed. There was also grease and grime on a waffle press, shelving, hood filters and casement.

When an inspector went back 10 days later they found fries in a bucket, more fries in the sink near bowls to be rinsed and shelving in such poor condition they could not be properly cleaned. The grime was still on various pieces of equipment, the report says.

The inspector ordered another inspection for April after giving the business a C.

Orient on Main/Sushi Murasaki scored the worst with a 70, C. The inspector spent two hours there and saw an employee drink from a beverage while on the line, not using gloves to cut up green onions and something red on the ice bin.

Various foods, including chicken were stored at improper temperature, food not labeled with dates, and spices not labeled at all.

Pre-made salads were stored on sheet pans and stacked one on another with no protective barrier between layers.

Grease, grime and food debris littered equipment surfaces and the floor of the walk-in cooler was not smooth and cleanable. The floor had deep gouges and soft material. There was a hole in the ceiling in the dish machine area.

Also, wiping cloths were stored improperly, a scoop for the rice warmer was stored in standing water and a scoop for ice was in the bar area stored between liquor bottles.

Food was stored in grocery store style plastic bags.

At the Warehouse at Midtown, inspectors on March 13 found employees were not washing hands as required when changing tasks or donning new single-use gloves. The kitchen hand sink didn’t have paper towels.

Leftover food was stored improperly and some foods such as pulled pork, pimento cheese spread and bacon jam were not kept at the right temperature. Several ready to eat foods were not thrown out after seven days.

Chemical spray bottles were near food and the floor, walls and ceiling did an accumulation of debris.

The restaurant scored 75, C.

Applebees on Grandview Drive in Simpsonville score 90, a B. It was cited for gray water dripping into a container of salad lettuce, food such as cooked ribs and riblets, cilantro rice, shredded cheese, raw beef patties, raw shrimp, raw steak kept at improper temperatures.

The doors and gaskets of a low boy cooler did not seal and the floor tiles behind the charbroiler were missing.

Bocca Pure Italian Ristorante on Poinsett Highway in Greenville scored 93, a B, after a follow up found food not properly cooled , oil left overnight and uncovered in a fryer and water leaking from the roof through an exhaust hood system in the kitchen. Rainwater was dripping onto the food preparation and food storage area.

The restaurant scored an A a week later.

Bojangles on Laurens Road in Greenville received a B, 86 points during an inspection on March 11. An inspector saw a batch of grilled chicken breasts cooked to 134 F and 127 F at thickest part instead of the required 165 F.. Various foods on the prep line were at incorrect temperatures and an accumulation of ice formed in the walk -in freezer due to the door not closing properly.

Dirt, food residues, and litter was seen underneath sinks, service lines, dry storage room shelving.

The Ginza Buffet on Wade Hampton Boulevard in Taylors received a 78, B, on March 12.

They were cited for storing a spatula used for hibachi in a sink, pink substance in an ice machine, and food not hot enough in the hot buffet.

The cold buffet was too warm.

Ready to eat food had been kept for more than seven days.

L’Incanto on East Poinsett in Greer was also inspected on March 12 and cited for employees not washing hands, touching ready to eat food with bare hands, and a sink not being maintained for handwashing.

The marinara sauce, chicken and beef stock were found to be stored at improper temperatures.

The score was 87, B.

Logan’s Roadhouse on Beacon Drive in Greenville was rated 78, B, during a routine inspection on March 26.

The inspector wrote they saw an employee not washing their hands after changing gloves and handling raw chicken and ready-to-eat food. Sinks in the restroom tested 67 F to 89 F.when rules say the water is supposed to be 100.

Dry food buildup was seen around the blade of the meat slicer and a soda nozzle at the bar had a build up of something brown. substance buildup.

Cooked ribs were improperly stored, food such as wings and potatoes were kept longer than seven days and an employee was wearing dirty clothing while cooking.

“Observed organic matters buildup throughout the kitchen floor and behind cooking equipments,” the inspector wrote.

At New Hibachi Cafe on Verdae Boulevard in Greenville, the inspector found knives and scissors had residual food on the blades, food in a cooler was not being kept cool enough and scoops used in the rice containers did not have handles.

Several bottles of cleaners did not have product labels and wiping cloths were not stored in sanitizer solution.

Score: 84-B.

OJ’S Diner on Pendleton Street in Greenville received a score on 85, B.

Food debris and grime was seen on the blade of a manual can opener, turkey in the buffet line was not being kept at the proper temperature and no temperature measuring devices were on hand.

Washed pans were wet stacked on shelving and cement cinder blocks served as shelving support for the prep table. Grime and grease were seen in the washer and other equipment such as the walk-in cooler shelving and walls, cooking equipment sides and backs, shelving on cook line, hot holding cabinet doors, gaskets and handles, gaskets of refrigeration units, portable hot holding cabinets and walls of facility and on the floor of cook line under equipment.

Poke Bros on Pelham Road in Greenville score 80, B. They were cited for not providing hand cleanser, food kept too long or not dated, and food containers and to-go bowls on the floor,

Thai Cuisine in Simpsonville, received an 84, B, and was cited for lacking paper towels, storing a bowl of crab rangoon in the walk-in cooler for more than 24-hours without a start, use by, sell by, or discard date and for having Aleve and personal health supplements stored on shelf over the processing area and not separated from food handling areas.

Also, a package of eel was thawing at room temperature, no thermometer or chlorine test strips for the dish machine were available and plastic containers of salt and sugar lacked labels.

The Farehouse in Taylors received an 85, B. on March 20.

They were cited for a black substance on soda nozzles, walk-in cooler not at proper temperature where food such as homemade salad dressings, pasta, rice, feta cheese, pimiento cheese, marinara sauce and tomato soup was stored.

“Kitchen / observed food employees with long beards with beard restraint,” the report said.

The Lost Cajun on Pelham Road in Greenville scored 86, B. The inspector said they saw an employee handling a mixture of rice, beans, and sausage with their bare hands, various foods in reach-in coolers at improper temperature or without discard date labels.