Restaurants, hotels, bakery fail health inspections

“If you go straight by the book, any kitchen is going to have a few issues.”

DANBURY — Nine commercial kitchens failed their health inspections in December — mostly for food temperature violations — according to the latest records from City Hall.

The nine establishments — including three restaurants, two hotels, and a bakery — were given 24 hours to correct the violations, and have subsequently passed their reinspections.

“Our inspectors follow up on these reports to ensure that the corrections are made,” said Lisa Morrissey, Danbury’s director of health and human services. “If something is egregious we can actually ask them to close until the corrections have been done.”

The kitchens that were fined $250 for failing their inspections in December are: Basilico restaurant, Hotel Zero Degrees Danbury, La Costenita restaurant, Lou’s Deli & Salads, Padaminas NY Bakery, Planeta Brazil Bar & Grill, the Portuguese Cultural Center, Residence Inn by Marriott, and Stanziato’s Wood Fired Pizza, the health department said.

One restaurateur whose kitchen failed inspection had mixed feelings.

“Honestly, it was very simple stuff like food containers on the floor in the cooler, and we didn’t have paper to dry people’s hands because one of the center pull paper boxes was empty,” said Leo Gecaj, owner of Basilico Pizza, Pasta & Gourmet. “If you go straight by the book, any kitchen is going to have a few issues.”

That much seems to be true.

Of the 42 commercial kitchens that the city health department inspected in December, each one had multiple minor demerits — including all 33 establishments that passed inspection.

Among the infractions cited in the passing kitchens were poor hygienic practices, the presence of insects or rodents, food not property thawed, and improper disposal of wastewater.

As long as there aren’t too many of those minor violations, a kitchen can still pass, with the condition that it corrects them promptly.

But none of the passing kitchens had the most serious type of violation — the four-point demerit, which is grounds for an automatic failure.

Examples of four-point demerits are failing to keep food at safe temperatures, failing to protect food from spoiling or contamination, and failing to keep hands clean.

A Danbury restaurant closed for 24 hours in late December while the health department investigated complaints about people getting sick after eating there. An investigation is continuing, but local health officials believe the sickness was caused by a stomach bug called norovirus.

Gecaj’s restaurant, which was cited with 20 demerits, including unsafe food temperatures, said he stands by the integrity of his kitchen.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I won’t serve anybody something that I won’t eat myself.”