A Mexican restaurant located on the South Side of San Antonio failed a health inspection in April. Taqueria La Tapatia, situated on the 6700 block of South Flores Street, received a failing score of 67 from Metro Health. Previously, the restaurant scored an 82. The inspector discovered a long list of violations. There were a total of 22 violations, with six of them being repeated. The problems ranged from the temperature of the cold hold where food was dumped and dirty knives in the knife rack, to employees not washing their hands while handling food.
KSAT Investigates reporter Tim Gerber visited the restaurant this week to find out what had happened, but the manager did not answer any questions. The manager disappeared behind the kitchen door after seeing the inspection report. KSAT Investigates then requested a copy of the retest report from Metro Health.
El Potocino Mexican Restaurant, located at the 7200 blocks on San Pedro Avenue, also had problems during its April inspection. The restaurant scored a 79 and had to do a major cleaning. Raw beef was placed on top of the vegetable container, and the inside of the ice machine was dirty. Inspectors observed cooks breaking raw eggs and then handling ready-to-eat food without changing gloves. Moreover, clean utensils still had food debris on them, and an employee’s medication was found stored near the reach-in cooler.
Insect carcasses were found in the Seoul Asian Market at 1000 Block Rittiman Road. The ice machine had a build-up of black residue. Employees had to discard some food in coolers that were too warm, which needed to be repaired before using them again. The kimchi bowl was damaged, the vents needed to be cleaned of dust and debris, and employees were instructed to wear hair restraints. The restaurant scored an 85.
Metro Health uses a scoring system to rate the restaurants. A score of 100-90 is an A rating, 89-80 is a B, and 79 or less is a C. KSAT 12 offers a mapping tool that shows recent scores for food businesses in San Antonio. The report goes back six months and is frequently updated. The tool is accessible via KSAT.COM.
Tim Gerber will report on the details of his investigation on his Nightbeat on Thursday. There are other behind-the-kitchen-door stories available on KSAT.COM.