UPDATE: I’m rewriting the violations section of this post and will re-publish it SOON. Until then, I’ve taken out the bits I’m rewriting.
Yes, I realize that I may be the only one who likes looking at restaurant inspection reports, but I CAN’T HELP MYSELF.
I can think of a handful of reasons for my obsession:Â My previous jobs in the food service industry, my never-ending quest for good food AND good service (at the SAME TIME), my other previous profession of high school science teacher, and a genetic predisposition toward chasing fire trucks and watching disaster movies, to name a few.
I usually sit on these inspection reports until five or more pile up, but our boys down at County have been BUSY lately. And I couldn’t be happier.
And the GOLDEN STIR SPOON AWARDS for ZERO violations go to:
- ESPRESSO EXPRESS 6500 15th Av Ne (April 30) = 0
- HIMALAYAN KITCHEN 2255 NE 65th St (May 4) = 0
- MORNING STAR BAKERY 2114 NE 65th St (May 4) = 0
- MUDDY WATERS COFFEE COMPANY 2258 NE 65th St = 0
- PIZZA HUT #12895 1505 NE 65th St (April 30) = 0
- RAVENNA ALEHOUSE 2258 NE 65th St (May 4) = 0
- WEDGEWOOD CHEVRON 7300 35th Ave NE (April 30) = 0
I’ll add that if you’re interested in being subversive and changing the culture at Bagel Oasis, they’re hiring:
Also, remember: IT’S NOT CALLED “PEOPLE OASIS,” you Yelp-pers.
I’m all for restaurant scores, but I call foul [fowl? 😉 ] on this one. Simply listing by number of violations is pretty misleading — there are different levels of violations, which the King County Public Health webpage chooses to color separate, BLUE for General/Cleanliness violations, and RED/CRITICAL for violations that are considered more likely to cause food-borne illnesses.
Bagel Oasis had four “blue” violations adding up to 18 points (http://www.decadeonline.com/insp.phtml?agency=skc&record_id=PR0019524), while the Pied Piper’s three violations included one “red”, totaling 23 points. (http://www.decadeonline.com/insp.phtml?agency=skc&record_id=PR0076263)
I’d sort it by total points, or at least by critical violations.
Aha! Excellent point. You are, of course, correct. One of these violations is not like the other, as the song goes.
I had been using EveryBlock, which lists the violations by name only, not by severity and points (Bagel Oasis, for example – http://seattle.everyblock.com/restaurant-inspections/by-date/2010/5/4/1077212/).
From now on, I’ll use EveryBlock for notifications only, then head straight to the official King County restaurant inspections site to get the real lowdown.
You can also look forward to an UPDATED restaurant inspection post later today.
Thanks for pointing all that out! I hate screwing up, but I learn so much when I do.
I heart restaurant scores. 😉