These are the worst East Valley offenders from restaurant health inspections reviewed March 10-16. For more details, or to search for any restaurant in Maricopa County, go to maricopa.gov and click on Restaurant Ratings.
BENCHWARMERS GRILL
Address: 801 S. Power Road, Mesa
Major violations: 7
Inspector’s comments: Employee did not wash hands after smoking; open beverages stored on the food preparation line; employee did not prevent contamination of ready-to-eat food by picking up lettuce and tomato with bare hand; sliced deli meats passed expiration date and still being served; Windex/degreaser stored on the ice machine; employee medicine on the bar counter; employee smoking by front entry and behind delivery door not 20 feet distance from entry/receiving door; some ready-to-eat food in the kitchen and walk-in cooler did not have expiration dates.
TOTT’S ASIAN DINER
Address: 1817 E. Guadalupe Road, Tempe
Major violations: 7
Inspector’s comments: Chicken cooked earlier found at room temperature after three hours of cooling; a plate of raw fish was found stored over raw vegetables in the walk-in cooler; scoops without handles were found in use; rice spoons were found in ice water; cooked meats were not date-marked.
WONDERFUL WANDA’S SANDWICHES
Address: 6401 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler
Major violations: 5
Inspector’s comments: Employee’s drink stored under the grill without a lid; raw shell eggs stored over lettuce and shredded cheese in the sandwich prep table; cutting boards on the sandwich prep table heavily scored, not easily cleanable; the roof of the noncommercial microwave melted and in disrepair, also not easily cleanable; the grill light broken and in general disrepair, the bulb was filled with water; employees using glass cleaner to clean table after customer usage, instead of sanitizer solution; permit to operate this establishment has expired.
SAN FELIPES CANTINA
Address: 2000 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Tempe
Major violations: 5
Inspector’s comments: No state mandated “no smoking” signs at each door; unlabeled chemical cleaner at bar; can opener blade soiled with dried food debris; worker with bloodied masking tape over an injured finger; chips dispensed without scoop with a handle.
ROY’S HAWAIIAN FUSION
Address: 7151 W. Ray Road, Chandler
Major violations: 5
Inspector’s comments: Employee did not wash hands between loading trays into dishwasher, then removing clean dishes; old rice stuck on clean plates and pans after dishwashing; old dried rice stuck on meat mallet in clean utensil bin; spatula handle is melted, blade is broken and peeling.
JASON’S DELI
Address: 7230 W. Ray Road, Chandler
Major violations: 4
Inspector’s comments: Dishes with food chunks stored with inside clean pans and knives stored dirty; soda nozzles had slime mold; less than half of employees have food service worker cards; open bins of rice without lid on bottom shelf in storage area and sugar stored in ripped open brown bag on bottom shelf; employee washed hands by rinsing under dishwasher sprayer for only a few seconds; food contact surfaces of utensils and equipment are not clean to sight and touch; cutting surfaces not in good condition and/or easily cleanable.
SEKAI SUSHI
Address: 1971 S. Gilbert Road, Mesa
Major violations: 3
Inspector’s comments: Raw beef and fish stored in bowls setting on counter to be thawed; meat slicer, toasters and rice cooker had old food stuck on; ceiling surface above prep table and back door is peeling; raw fish stored in bucket under prep table.
