Roaches, Dirty Ice Machines, More Violations: Northern Virginia Restaurants Cited

VIRGINIA — Some signs of a restaurant with problems are easy to spot: weird smells, crawling insects or unkempt employees are all red flags. But sometimes the problem is harder to pin down, such as food stored at improper temperatures, unclean kitchen equipment, or insufficient handwashing.

Some recent restaurant inspections throughout Virginia uncovered roaches, soiled ice machines, flies, fly bait over a food area and more. One restaurant even had 29 violations.

Then there are commercial kitchens that are immaculately clean, surpass all safety standards and serve up delicious food.

"In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

Restaurants are routinely inspected at least once per year, although more frequent inspections may be warranted depending on the risk level of food processes and the restaurant's history of compliance.

Do you know how clean your favorite coffee shop, go-to restaurant or school kitchen is? Look through these recent food safety inspections from around Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg, courtesy of Patch.

• Flies, Encrusted Dirt: Woodbridge Restaurant Inspections
• Roach Found, Dogs Present: Ashburn, Sterling Restaurant Inspections
• 2 Restaurants Must Clean, Sanitize Soiled Ice Machines: Inspection
• 29 Violations Found At Eatery: Manassas Restaurant Inspections
• Ashburn, Sterling Restaurant Inspections: Fly Bait In Pastry Case
• Front Door Left Open At Fredericksburg Restaurant: Inspection Report
• Grease Dripping On Clean Pans: Vienna Restaurant Inspections
• Woodbridge Restaurant Inspections: Undated Foods, Encrusted Dirt