Health Department Roundup

We thought too long about the inconsistencies in the Health Department's punitive measures, and look what happened to us.

Some bigger names caught a little heat this week, and one smaller name caught some ridiculous, Phoenix-in-August heat. We hope the owner of the smaller place in question wears it as badge of honor, like when you get publicly shot down by a woman so badly that you end up seeing it as a perverse achievement. Not that we'd know about that. Anyway, we'll start with some weird inconsistencies.

Ocean's - the seafood place at 819 W. Alabama, not the decrepit "cabaret" near La Marque - didn't get a citation but was closed temporarily for operating without a Food Dealer's Permit. Gravitas (807 Taft), on the other hand, earned a citation but no temporary closure for the same violation. Neither place had any other infractions. Arcodoro (5000 Westheimer), however, had seven violations, including utensils/equipment not immersed in hot water long enough, openings to the outside not protected from pests and, yes, no Food Dealer's Permit. It was neither closed nor cited. We're not even going to worry about this one, and you probably shouldn't either. Instead, here are some baby squirrels.

Westbury High (11911 Chimney Rock) earned five violations, including improperly adjusted equipment (happens to us all the time), mislabeled containers and an insufficient ventilation system. Westbury also earned a violation for "Failure to provide sufficient facilities for storing employees' clothing and possessions." If only high school campuses featured storage devices suitable for, you know, locking up things like bags, and coats, and maybe even books. Oh well, no one claimed this world to be perfect.

And the big winner - on a reinspection, the kitchen at El Penjamo (6110 Lyons) earned 24 violations. Eighteen were repeats. That's the worst performance we've ever seen for a kitchen. If there were some kind of betting line available on restaurant inspections we'd assume the mob paid El Penjamo to take a dive. Transgressions included spoiled or mislabeled food; reopening before authorized (always a good move); food not protected from contamination; food stored in unclean or uncovered containers; employees not taking hand sanitation measures; accumulated dirt and crumbs; measures not taken to prevent the presence of pests/conditions "affording the harborage" of rats and roaches; using unauthorized pesticide (at least they put forth an effort?); and insufficient ventilation. And, believe it or not, the owner did not possess a Food Service Manager's Certification. Dang.

Probable Typo of the Week: We're guessing the Bang Mi Truck (mobile, listed at 2621 Milam) is supposed to be the Banh Mi Truck. Looks like one health inspector got banged by the H's proximity to the G on the keyboard.

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