RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS
Here are the food facilities that inspectors temporarily shut down because of imminent health hazards between March 16 and Friday in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. If no reopening date is mentioned, the facility had not been listed as reopened.
Restaurant: Meat department at Reyes Market, 98960 Avenue 70, North Shore (Salton Sea)
• Closed: March 26
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason: No hot water.
The water heater was unplugged; the manager said it had been broken for a couple of days and they were trying to get it repaired. The inspector closed the meat department but said the market could still sell prepackaged food. The market was fully or partially shut down three times in 2018 and 2019 for not having hot water, and once in 2019 for operating with an expired permit.
Restaurant: Dairy Queen, 9694 Base Line, Rancho Cucamonga
• Closed: Wednesday
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason: Cockroach infestation. The restaurant had been closed March 3 through March 5 because of a cockroach infestation. It received a 91/A during a voluntary follow-up inspection March 12, and the inspector noted finding one dead roach but no other signs of vermin. But after someone complained that they’d spotted a roach by the cash register, an inspector returned Wednesday, saw several live roaches and suspended the health permit again.
Restaurant: A Donut Land, 2252 S. Euclid Ave. Suite B, Ontario
• Closed: Wednesday
• Grade: 91/A
• Reason: Rodent infestation. The inspector found numerous new and old droppings in cabinets and on the floors. (This shop is in the same strip mall building as China Chilli Express, which had been closed because of rodents the day before. Records show an inspector visited four other food facilities at the same address on
Wednesday, but did not find an infestation at any of them.)
Restaurant: China Chilli Express, 2252 S. Euclid Ave. Suite I, Ontario
• Closed: Tuesday
• Grade: 83/B
• Reason: Rodent infestation. The inspector saw dozens of new and old rodent droppings on a storage rack holding boxed cookies and noodles, on soda syrup boxes, below the water heater and in the kitchen floor corners. Among other violations, some food wasn’t being kept hot or cold enough, and the floors and some kitchen equipment were covered in food and grease. The restaurant had also been closed because of rodents for two days in January 2020.
• Reopened: Wednesday
Restaurant: Muscle Bar (food facility inside 24 Hour Fitness), 1351 E. 19th St., Upland
• Closed: Tuesday
• Grade: 90/A
• Reason: No hot water
• Reopened: Wednesday
Restaurant: Red Ginger Chinese Bistro, 1185 Magnolia Ave., Corona
• Closed: Monday
• Grade: 80/B, failing
• Reason: Plumbing problems, failing while on probation. A floor sink was backing up, and employees weren’t able to wash their hands because the handwashing sink was nonfunctional. Among other violations, cooked chicken and noodles were left out at room temperature, frozen shrimp wasn’t being thawed safely and the shelving and floors needed cleaning. The restaurant was placed on probation last March after three failed inspections and one closure in two years. This was its second failing grade and closure while on probation.
• Reopened: March 25 after correcting all violations and purchasing a new health permit for $1,106. Its probationary period was extended for another year.
• New grade: 100/A, passing
Restaurant: Boonsee Thai Kitchen, 2051 River Road,
Norco
• Closed: March 22
• Grade: 80/B, failing
• Reason: No hot water.
The temperature was fluctuating even after the water heater was rebooted. The inspector said to have the unit repaired or replaced. Among other violations — many of which were repeat issues — employees weren’t washing hands and food was sitting out at room temperature; the person in charge said practice is to take large quantities of food out of the cooler for the lunch rush and put back whatever isn’t used afterward
• Reopened: Tuesday after hot water was restored
Restaurant: Kitchen at Palm Desert Learning Tree #2, 42675 Washington St., Palm Desert
• Closed: March 16
• Grade: Not graded
• Reason: No hot water. The facility is a private preschool and elementary school.
• Reopened: Tuesday
• New grade: 99/A on
Wednesday
Non-closure inspections of note
Here are selected inspections at facilities that weren’t closed but had other significant issues.
Limerick’s Tavern, at 13920 City Center Drive Suite,
Chino Hills (in the Shoppes at Chino Hills), was inspected Wednesday and received a grade of 78/C with two critical violations. Sliced tomatoes at the cook’s line and cucumbers, yellow squash and a lemon in the cooler were moldy. The inspector wrote, “Cook stated facility has been receiving produce in this manner and usually cuts around the mold growth for use.” Also, there was “an excess accumulation” of slime and black mold in the ice machine as well as pink slime in the soda gun nozzle. El Rinconsito, at 8990 Mission Blvd. in Jurupa Valley, was inspected Wednesday and received a failing grade of 84/B with two critical violations. Chicken and raw beef were at unsafe temperatures in a refrigerator that was impounded for not keeping cold, and utensils had been put away dirty.
Among the eight lesser violations, raw fish was being thawed unsafely.
Madre Tierra Restaurant
Bar, at 220 N. Central Ave. in Upland, was inspected Tuesday and received a grade of 80/B with two critical violations. Food was at unsafe temperatures in a small refrigerator that wasn’t keeping cold, and there was a moldy tomato in the walkin cooler. Among the nine lesser violations, there were old rodent droppings on the floor in several areas, but the inspector found no evidence of an active infestation. A follow-up was planned to make sure. This was the restaurant’s second B grade in a year and a half.
Poke Port Temecula, at 32475 Temecula Parkway Suite G104 in Temecula, was inspected Tuesday and received a failing grade of 80/B with one critical violation. A mixing bowl was put away after being rinsed but not washed or sanitized. Among the 11 lesser violations, no employees were washing their hands before putting gloves on, only one handwashing sink was fully functional and tuna was being thawed unsafely. This was the restaurant’s second failed inspection in less than two years, so it now faces an administrative hearing. George’s Burgers #5, at 479 Mount Vernon Ave. in San Bernardino, was inspected Tuesday and received a grade of 83/B with three critical violations. Some food at the cook line wasn’t being kept cold enough, food in a steam table wasn’t hot enough and several large containers of food in the walk-in cooler that had been cooked three days earlier were at unsafe temperatures. About 150 pounds of food had to be thrown away. Mill Creek Cattle Co., at 1874 Mentone Blvd. in Mentone, was inspected Monday and received a grade of 85/B with two critical violations. Food-contact surfaces weren’t clean — the dishwasher wasn’t dispensing sanitizer and there was a lipstick stain on a glass. Also, sliced ham and cheese had been left out at room temperature. Among the seven lesser violations, the B grade card from the restaurant’s last inspection in February 2020, which is required to be on display, was missing. An inspector returned the next day and verified the dishwasher had been fixed.
Young Dong Restaurant, at 3233 Grand Ave. Suite H in Chino Hills, was inspected Monday and received a grade of 82/B. There was one critical violation for adulterated food: A glove had been left in a bowl of ground pork and an employee was washing off a raw fish in a sink filled with dishes and food. Among the 10 lesser violations, there were 20-25 dried rodent droppings on the floor behind a refrigerator (but the inspector found no sign of an active infestation). This was the restaurant’s third B grade since 2018. Burgertown USA, at 760 N. Archibald Ave. in Ontario, was inspected Monday and received a grade of 84/B with two critical violations. The cook-line refrigerator wasn’t keeping cold and food inside was at unsafe temperatures. Also, two employees didn’t wash hands. This was the restaurant’s third consecutive B grade. Yucca Kabab and Hookah, at 57345 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley, was inspected March 19 and received a grade of 86/B with one critical violation. The inspector found 50-70 fresh rodent droppings in multiple areas, including on closed bags of beans and rice. Pest control had been to the restaurant twice that week and planned to return that day (a Friday). The inspector did not close the restaurant but said if there was any sign of infestation by Monday, it would be shut down. When the inspector returned, there were some old rodent droppings in a few areas but no live or dead rodents; clutter had been cleaned up and gaps had been sealed to keep vermin out.
Updates from past weeks
The Dollar Tree at 13554
Main St. in Hesperia, which was closed March 2-5 because of a rodent infestation, then closed again for the same reason March 12, was permitted to reopen again March
17. The inspector found no droppings or adulterated food but planned to follow up after a week. An inspector returned Tuesday after receiving a complaint that there was a rat chewing food boxes and that food had urine stains. The inspector found a few droppings on a box of chips and under the candy shelf, and said if there was any evidence of rodents during a follow-up in 24 hours, the food portion of the store would be closed again.
About this list
Inspectors visit food facilities for routine inspections, follow-ups and complaint investigations. In graded inspections, the facility starts with a score of 100 and can lose between 1 and 4 points for any of about 50 health cod e violations. A grade of 90 or above is an A, 80-89 is a B and 79 or below is a C. Riverside County considers B and C grades to be failing; San Bernardino County does not have a pass/fail system. A facility will be closed if the inspector finds an imminent health hazard that can’t immediately be corrected. For more information on inspections in San Bernardino County, visit www. sbcounty.gov/dph/ehsportal/FacilityList/food. To file a health complaint, go to www.sbcounty.gov/dph/ ehsportal/StaticComplaint or call 800-442-2283.
For more information on inspections in Riverside County, visit restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org. To file a complaint, go to www. rivcoeh.org/Complaint or call 888-722-4234 during business hours or 951-7822968 after-hours