Restaurant Inspections: Chicken, Pubs and Other Restaurants Inspected

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports are not quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

With that said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation.

A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

"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 the Virginia Department of Health's (VDH) 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."

In the past month, the following Falls Church restaurants have been inspected by the VDH. The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

Clare and Don's Beach Shack, 130 N. Washington St., July 3

2 critical and 6 non-critical violations; 1 corrected during inspection. See the full report here.

Sea Pearl Restaurant, 8191 Strawberry Lane, July 1

2 critical, 6 non-critical violations; 1 corrected during inspection. See the full report here.

Edy's Chicken And Steak, 5240 Leesburg Pike, June 28

2 non-critical violations; 1 corrected during inspection. See the full report here.

Jerusalem Restaurant, 3405 Payne St., June 28

No violations were found.

Mark's Pub, 2190 Pimmit Drive, Falls Church, June 28

3 non-critical violations; 1 corrected during inspection. See the full report here.