I learned it doesn't matter how much you spend at a restaurant: the place you choose can have health code violations whether it's a no-star diner or a four-diamond gourmand's delight. That said, I did find some disturbing things, things you wouldn't know about unless you requested restaurant inspection reports or asked to see the kitchen of the place you're eating: some of these businesses were in disrepair. Walls were peeling, floors were lined with cardboard, oven vents were coated in grease & dust, and two businesses had rodent droppings. While these infractions may not lead directly to foodborne illness, who wants to eat somewhere that's falling apart or has a critter infestation?
The most common violation was food not held at proper temperatures, and that is a major source of potential illness. Food in the so-called "danger zone," i.e., 41 - 140 degrees, can be a breeding ground for bacteria if the food is already contaminated. That's why when the server brings your entree, if it's not hot enough, send it back! Improper food storage was another problem. Some inspectors found restaurants storing food in walk-in coolers open in tin cans (and your mother told you not to do that, right?). They also found a moldy watermelon, and moldy hot dogs (ick!). We totaled violation points issued by health inspectors from August, 2005 - January, 2006 for all the reports and came up with a "top ten" list no restaurant owner wants to be a part of. Some proprietors took issue with the inspections, saying they'd been caught at an especially busy time, or that certain violations which earned lots of points, like expired food worker cards, didn't really put diners at risk. It's not our job to say which violations are fair, only to report the violations and let our viewers/visitors decide.
You'll soon have an easier job deciding which places to patronize. That's because by the end of summer, the Spokane Regional Health District says you'll be able to see any food establishment's most recent inspections on their website. That means you won't have to wait, like Two on Your Side, 6 months for documents. That brings me to another point. Even before this story ran, an attorney for Hogan's restaurant (which made the "top ten" list) sent us a letter, saying we should be using their latest inspection from January, 2007. This is problematic because of the time it took the Spokane Regional Health District to produce the documents we asked for. The reasons our inspections are a year or more old is because we were told it would take months to procure the documents. To be fair to all the restaurants, we looked at all the inspections with "critical violations" during the same 6-month time period. Everyone had the same chance during that time to pass or fail.
For my part, I'll continue eating at my favorite places, no matter how many violations they racked up. If a restaurant looks clean, if the food is hot (or cold) enough, if employees aren't handling money, then putting the garnish on my dish, I figure we'll be okay. That is, as long as my toddlers don't throw twin tantrums and force us to slink out, doggie bags in hand.