It’s a double dose of drama on the Food Patrol’s first week of the New Year.
One restaurant is first to be awarded the new 2011 top performer sticker, while another goes down as the first featured dirty diner of the year on Food 4 Thought.
Applebee’s on 514 E. Expressway 83 in McAllen scored 29 demerits on a health report.
The long list of violations included: a meat cooler nearly 15 degrees off temperature, a cross-contamination concern in the cold room with foods uncovered, a hand sink blocked by sweeping equipment, food handlers without city issued ID cards, and dirty equipment.
A staff meeting was held the day after the low performer report was issued to get employees back on track when it comes to health code safety, according to Agustin Rodriguez, general manager at the eatery.
"We go back to the basics... the Applebee's standards,” he said. “I wasn't here the first try... it's not an excuse... I came back and put together a game plan with managers so we have everything organized the way it should be."
Click on the video link to watch if the plan worked and to see who earned the first new 2011 top performer sticker in this week’s Food 4 Thought report.
Weekly Low Performer List: (total # of demerits)
McAllen
Applebee’s 514 E Exp 83 (29, 7) *Meat Cooler Off-Temp., Dirty Equipment*
Weekly Top Performer List: (zero demerits)
San Juan
Lucky Café 300 E Frontage Rd
Dairy Queen 800 W Hwy 83
Edinburg
Wendy’s 2111 W University Dr
Burger King 1702 W University Dr
Church’s 3469 N 281
McAllen
Chick-Fil-A 2200 S 10th St
Wendy’s 2716 Nolana Ave
Mercedes
Valley Taco 1020 W Baseline Rd
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT