Allan Appel Photo
A scorecard for commuters gobbling on the run: Of the train station’s four hot food outlets, one passed a city health inspection with a decent score, one failed, and two squeaked by.
Those grades emerged in the most recent round of health department inspections that spanned the period Oct. 2 to Oct. 5. Of the 31 eateries inspected citywide, 28 passed and three failed. (Scroll down in this story for specific results from the latest inspections.)
City sanitarians inspect all of New Haven’s restaurants, groceries, bars, and any establishment that serves food between one and four times a year. Establishments that score less than 80 usually have two weeks to make the recommended corrections. The health department can also close a restaurant regardless of its score if the sanitarians suspect an immediate danger to public health.
Inspectors don’t “target” Union Station or other areas. Rather, for the sake of efficiency, they make their unannounced visits to all due eateries in any given precinct they are visiting.
Recently that included Union Sation’s upstairs and downstairs Dunkin Donuts, the upstairs Subway, and the downstairs Sbarro Pizza, whose aromas often greet travelers emerging from the transfer tube and up the elevator into the airy lobby.
Sbarro was the one that scored below 80, 76 to be exact.
Its neighbor across the passageway in the basement, Dunkin Donuts, did the best of the four, with an 88. Upstairs, the first-floor Dunkin dunked to an 81.
The adjacent Subway also just got by with a mark of 81.
If you score below 80 you must fix your violations within two weeks; if above, as soon as possible.
One of the Subway’s violations was on the spot. It was an odd one too, rarely marked by inspectors: “Employees cannot use cell phones while engaging in food preparation.”
When the health department inspector, Brian Wnek, came by, a Subway employee was using the phone. She simply didn’t know about the rule or hadn’t been informed.
“They corrected her on the spot. You’re touching a phone and you’re touching a food item, that’s a no-no,” Wnek said.
He said he could not comment on the popular notion that keyboards of all kinds are one of the most popular hang-outs for germs.
Although it doesn’t come up too often, he said the cell-phone violation has been on the list for a long time and wasn’t occasioned by recent technology.
“From now on, no more cell phones,” declared Derrick Williams, the manager of the Subway.
As he spoke, the employee came out from the wings of the store to clarify a point with the Independent. “I wasn’t calling. I was texting,” she said.
The Winners
The following received passing grades:
10/2/2012: Sahara Middle Eastern Cuisine, 170 Temple St., Score: 83; Prime 16, 172 Temple St., Score: 82; Denny’s Restaurant, 1467 Whalley Ave., Score: 92; Blessings II Go, 898 State St., score: 85; Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant, 176 State St., Score: 82; Barcelona Wine Bar, 155 Temple St., Score: 80
10/3/2012: Davenport Foods, 253 Davenport Ave., Score: 86; Walter Brooks House, 690 Howard Ave., Score: 82; New Haven Pizza, 798 George St., Score: 82; Anna’s Catering, 488 Orange St., Score: 83; Wagon Wheel Cafe, 20 Farren Ave., Score: 84; Fireside Restaurant, 810 Woodward Ave., Score: 92; D. P. Deli Grocery, 90 Farren Ave., Score: 85; Porky’s Cafe, 303 Grand Ave., Score: 96; Oriental Pantry, 486 Orange St., Score: 88; Salvation Army Center, 301 George St., Score: 85
10/4/2012: California Grocery, 846 Congress Ave., Score: 81; Dunkin Donuts, 51 York St., Score: 81; Casa Otonal, 235 Sylvan Ave., Score: 90;
10/5/2012: Ayometla Grocery, 368 Lombard St., Score: 94; Los Maestros De Servicio Nutr, 337 Lombard St., Score: 92; Napos Grocery, 554 Ferry St., Score: 97; Edson Travel and Grocery, 543 Ferry St., Score: 86; Life Haven, 447 Ferry St., Score: 89; Dunkin Donuts (1st floor), 50 Union Ave., Score: 81; Dunkin Donuts (basement), 50 Union Ave., Score: 88; Eddie’s Market, 58 Sylvan Ave., Score: 82; Subway, 50 Union Ave., Score: 81
3 Need Improvement
Subway — EJSubs Inc
926 Chapel St.
Score: 77
Due: 2 weeks
• Fix defective flooring, clean floors and around equipment
• Don’t store food or drink under sewage lines
• Don’t line shelves with paper
• Label product not in original container
• Clean inside cabinet
• Don’t use hand sink for any other purpose but hand washing
• Touch up defective walls, fix defective wall board junctions
• Employees must follow proper hand washing procedures including using soap between putting on a new pair of gloves
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solutions
• Clean gaskets on doors
• Fix defective window pane glass
• Hang up mops and brooms
• Touch up and fix defective shelves
• Don’t line inside microwave with paper
• Wipe inside bread case
• Move thermometer to warmest location inside coolers holding prepared hot foods
Pizza Corner of New Haven
45 York St.
Score: 63
Due: 2 weeks
• Fix defective wall and ceilings, clean behind store
• Fix defective shelves, wipe shelves, clean inside cabinets
• Don’t use small cups as scoops in food products
• Cover exposed food products
• Touch up defective exterior of equipment, wipe exterior of equipment
• Keep door closed or install screen
• Use approved methods to defrost food products
• Need thermometer in warmest location of coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Drain water inside cooler
• Clean gaskets on coolers, clean tracks on slide doors
• Don’t store toxic items with food products
• Don’t store food products under sewage lines
• Store single serve containers in a sanitary manner
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solution
• Clean fan cover in walk-in
• Clean inside coolers and freezers, clean sink, juice racks in coolers, inside ice-maker
• Clean wall board, water stained ceiling tiles, fix defective wall board
• Seal floor/wall junctions, remove all unused and unneeded items in establishment
• Lower hot water in bathroom to in between 110 and 115 degrees
• Hang up mops and brooms
• Clean can opener blade, holder, and frame
• Clean air vents, window sills
• Follow proper hand washing procedure, don’t rinse hands under faucet w/o using soap
• Eliminate flies in establishment
• Fix defective flooring, clean floors under and around equipment
• Fix defective covered trash can in bathroom
• Label products not in original containers
• Touch up defective bldg structure (door case, jamb, doors, etc)
Union Pizza LLC — Sbarro Pizza
50 Union Ave.
Score: 76
• Fix defective wall board, fix defective walls, fix defective wall tiles
• Empty mop bucket when done with
• Fix defective gaskets on doors, clean gaskets and coolers
• Don’t store toxic items with food products
• Label products not in original containers
• Store wipe cloths in sanitary solutions
• Hang up mops and brooms
• Seal floor/wall junctions
• Fix defective exterior on equipment, wipe exterior of equipment
• Fix defective flooring, clean floors under and around equipment
• Clean air vents, ceiling tiles, touch up defective bldg structure
• Need thermometer in warmest location of coolers holding prepared hot foods
• Clean interior of coolers and freezers
• Clean baffles in hood system, clean vents on equipment
• Don’t store utensils “sheath” style
• Touch up and clean shelves
• Hair restraints
• Clean tracks on slide doors
• Don’t store food or drink on the floor, cover exposed food products
• Clean can opener blade, holder,and frame
• Don’t block access to hand sink by storing items on the top of it