Restaurant Inspections: Elsie's Magic Skillet, Starbucks and More

Inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health Visited several restaurants in or near Greater Alexandria this week. See a sampling of those results below, and visit the health department's website for a complete list of recent inspections.

Elsies Magic Skillet
8166 Richmond Highway
Date of inspection: April 18
Two critical violations, no non-critical violations
The following food item(s) were found hot holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device: cooked sausage under heat lamp.
 
Club One Sports Bar & Grill
8786 Richmond Highway
Date of inspection: April 16
Three critical violations, 2 non-critical violations
The nonfood-contact surface of the following equipment is not corrosion resistant, nonabsorbent, and/or smooth: rusted shelves, covered with aluminum foil.
 
Starbucks at Safeway #1019
1624 Belle View Blvd.
Date of inspection: April 16
One critical violation, two non-critical violations
The establishment has not posted the permit to operate in a conspicuous location.

"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 department of health 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."

Full reports can be accessed on the Health Department's website.

• A core item "usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance."
• A priority item is "a provision in this Code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction to an acceptable level, hazards associated with foodborne illness or injury and there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard," and "includes items with a quantifiable measure to show control of hazards such as cooking, reheating, cooling, handwashing."
• A priority foundation item "includes an item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment or procedures by industry management to attain control of risk factors that contribute to foodborne illness or injury such as personnel training, infrastructure or necessary equipment, HACCP plans, documentation or record keeping, and labeling."