The Sunnyvale Sun

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County grades restaurants' cleanliness

By Stephen Baxter

Sunnyvale has a reputation with county health inspectors for generally having clean restaurants, but some aren't making the cut.

A Sun review of more than 300 restaurant inspection records from the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health revealed that at least 16 restaurants had seven or more major violations in the city last year, and some had problems with insects and rodents.

County health inspectors visited each of the 16 dirtiest restaurants at least four times in the last 12 months.

To protect diners from getting sick, the health department inspects roughly 9,000 places that serve food in the county, including convenience stores, snack bars, liquor stores, fitness centers and restaurants. The Sun's review covered only restaurants in Sunnyvale, which the county posts monthly at www. ehinfo.org.

Eight of 41 county health inspectors make unannounced restaurant inspections in Sunnyvale, and they look at the conditions of sinks, floors and utensils, among other things. They also quiz employees on hand-washing and other habits, and measure the temperatures of refrigerators, grills and ovens --all of which are crucial to preventing food poisoning, officials said. Reports categorize minor and major violations, and follow-up visits are also made.

Sunnyvale Golden Wok at 1677 Hollenbeck Ave. had 18 major violations in seven visits in the last year, the most major violations of any restaurant in the city. It listed as inadequate: employee habits, refrigeration units, floors and utensils, according to the health department, and also scored a major violation in the rodent and insect category.

Golden Wok is in a strip mall near Hollenbeck and Homestead avenues and does mainly takeout and delivery business. One afternoon last week, two flies circled some dusty computers in front of its two tables. Co-owner Kam Li said he had not heard any unusual complaints from the health department.

"The county gives me the form, and I report to them," Li said. He declined to comment further.

In second place, La Copa de Sunnyvale at 1131 Lawrence Expressway had 16 major violations in 11 visits. It is now closed and changing owners, and a sign for Club Bahia hangs above the door.

Tao Tao Café, a heavily trafficked white- tablecloth restaurant on Murphy Avenue, tied for third with Masala Oven Indian Cuisine and Chef Lee Chinese Restaurant, with 11 major violations. Masala Oven is out of business, and a representative from Chef Lee said they are working with the health department to correct problems.

"Every time they come, we always do whatever they ask us to do," said Chef Lee clerk Jenny Lee.

Susan Woo, the manager of Tao Tao, said she had heard inspectors' complaints about her kitchen's concrete floor, and she intends to replace the floorthis year. She said she has a separate janitor service that sanitizes and degreases the floor nightly.

"I assure you we have one of the cleaner kitchens; we have all stainless steel," Woo said.

County health officials said restaurant owners typically cooperate with them because the restaurant's business is at stake.

"[Owners] are generally just as aware of potential problems. Their bottom line is they want to keep the facility open," said Richard Fuchs, director of the consumer protection division at the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health.

Many Sunnyvale restaurants have only a handful of minor violations and excellent track records for cleanliness. It is difficult to rank which are cleanest because there are so many, officials said.

According to county health records, almost all of Sunnyvale's fast food chains were considered clean, with fewer than five major violations. Most restaurants on the 100 block of Murphy Avenue also passed muster.

"[Cleanliness] will vary from the type of facility, and ethnicity doesn't make a difference," Fuchs said. "It's all the employees and their due diligence."

Fuchs said diners can protect themselves by looking for indicators such as greasy floors, and they can observe restaurants' general cleanliness. Customers also can ask for the most recent health inspection report, check the county website or call the health department at 408.918.3400.

"The consuming public is our eyes and ears. They're in those facilities each and every day," Fuchs said.