Raw goat thawing on floor in stagnant water: Triangle restaurant health scores (July 2)

The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.

Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.

You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated .

Here are sanitation scores in Triangle counties for the week of June 26 to July 2.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 92 restaurant inspections were completed June 26 to July 2.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.

▪ Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Hyderabadi Biryani Pointe (2711 NC Hwy 55 in Cary) received a score of 80.5% during an inspection on June 26.

• The restaurant was in violation of 27 standards. Of these, 14 were considered critical violations.

• Critical violations included having “inoperable” soap dispensers at all handwashing sinks, raw goat thawing on the floor in stagnant water and numerous foods being held/refrigerated at too-warm temperatures.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored 90% in August 2023 and 84% in March 2023.

Saltgrass Steakhouse (6601 Knightdale Blvd in Knightdale) received a score of 88.5% during an inspection on June 27.

• The restaurant was in violation of 20 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.

• Some violations included finding a food worker cutting fresh broccoli originally out of its storage box without washing it first, both hot and cold foods being held at improper temperatures, several bottles of dressings, sauces and others without labels and many kitchen utensils/gadgets with debris on them but stored as clean.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored 92% in October 2023 and 94.5% in April 2023.

▪ Most restaurants received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.

▪ Most restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at wake-nc.healthinspections.us .

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows 44 restaurant inspections were completed June 26 to July 2.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG .

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that 11 restaurant inspections were completed June 26 to July 2.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc .

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that five restaurant inspections were completed June 26 to July 2.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

▪ One restaurant received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Tandoori Trail (227 E Market St. in Smithfield) received a score of 86% during an inspection on June 27.

• The restaurant was in violation of 17 standards. Of these, eight were considered critical violations.

• Critical violations included finding a box of raw chicken thawing on the table, and water from the raw chicken in thaw was dripping onto the floor below, and raw vegetables were stored directly below the table and close to the drip. Plus, the prep cooler’s temperature was too warm, and many roaches were seen on the floor, walls, sides of equipment and around prep areas.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored 91.5% in February 2024 and 94% in October 2023.

▪ No restaurants received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but lower than 80%.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us .

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspections management system shows that that four restaurant inspections were completed June 26 to July 2.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq .

Trash pickups change for 4th of July. Here are schedules in Triangle towns

How to survive this scorching NC summer, even if you don’t have air conditioning