Spoiled & moldy tomatoes in Raleigh: Triangle restaurant sanitation scores (March 28)

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 March 21-28.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that 98 inspections were completed between March 21-28.

▪ 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%.

Milad Indian Cuisine (3212 Hillsborough St., Raleigh) received a score of 88% during an inspection on March 23.

• The restaurant was in violation of 20 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.

• Violations included juice from thawing chicken leaking into the basin of a prep sink, several spoiled and moldy tomatoes in the reach-in cooler, several foods being stored at incorrect temperatures and flies near the dish machine.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 91% in September 2022, an 87% in March 2022 and a 91.5% in October 2021.

Wang’s Kitchen (3631 New Bern Ave., Raleigh) received a score of 85% during an inspection on March 23.

• The restaurant was in violation of 16 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to three points.

• Violations included knives and dishes with food debris on them being stored as clean, some foods being stored at incorrect temperatures, some items being held past the allowed seven days and no kitchen staff wearing hair restraints.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 91.5% in October 2022, a 94.5% in June 2022 and an 86% in May 2022.

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

▪ No 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 that 29 restaurant inspections were completed between March 21-28.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

▪ One restaurant received a B grade.

China Buffet (3720 Mayfair St., Durham) received a score of 86% during an inspection on March 24.

• The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to 1.5 points.

• Violations included raw food being stored above ready-to-eat foods in multiple coolers, several dishes with food debris being stored as clean, no date markings observed in the facility and foods being held at incorrect temperatures.

• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.

• The restaurant previously scored a 91% in August 2022, a 92% in March 2022 and a 96% in September 2021.

▪ No restaurants received a C grade.

▪ No restaurants received a failing 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 18 restaurants were inspected between March 21-28.

▪ 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 38 restaurants were inspected between March 21-28.

▪ All restaurants received an A 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 seven restaurants were inspected between March 21-28.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

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