Weekly Falls Church Restaurant Inspections Report

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 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.

Bowl America Falls Church
140 S. Maple Ave., Falls Church
Inspected Sept. 11: two critical violations, three non-critical violations
"Food packages such as canned goods shall be in good condition and protect the integrity of the contents so that the food is not exposed to adulteration or potential contaminants. Return all dented and damaged canned goods to your food supplier for a credit."

Cosi
513 W. Broad St., Falls Church
Inspected Sept. 11: one critical violation, three non-critical violations

"Upon discussion with the person-in-charge, one or more of the elements of an effective employee health policy is either missing or incomplete. A complete employee health policy is required to be in place at the food establishment. Spoke to the certified food manage who agreed to fax the signed employee health policy forms by 9/12/12."

Haandi Indian Cuisine
1222 W. Broad St., Falls Church
Inspected Sept. 11: three critical violations, eight non-critical violations
"Observed that sign or poster that notifies food employees to wash their hands is not provided at hand washing sink at bar used by food employees."

Hunan Café
126 W. Broad St., Falls Church
Inspected Sept. 10: eight critical violations, three non-critical violations
"Upon discussion with the person-in-charge, one or more of the elements of an effective employee health policy is either missing or incomplete. A complete employee health policy is required to be in place at the food establishment. At the time of this inspection, the Health Department provided and reviewed handouts and resource information in a red folder labeled 'Employee Health Policy.'"