By DON DARE
Food for Thought Reporter
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - The lowest scoring restaurant in the Knoxville area just missed a passing grade by one point.
Food for Thought hasn't seen this popular family style place on our low scores list before.
Low score:
IHOP at 5604 Merchants Center Boulevard - Grade: 69
The Knox County Health Department considers a grade below 70 as unsanitary.
The inspector saw a kitchen worker who didn't wash his hands when he was supposed to.
Clean utensils were stored haphazardly in a dirty container.
The back of an ice machine had mold on it.
There was a big water leak at one of the sinks. Leaks aren't allowed in restaurant kitchens.
And a toxic chemical was stored with food products. They're supposed to be separated so there are no surprises.
Reinspection:
Garrett's Downtown Deli at 800 S. Gay Street had received a 64. It was re-inspected and the new grade is a 78.
Top scores:
MoJoe's Trailside Coffeehouse at 2920 Sutherland Avenue - 91
Firehouse Subs at 28 Buckingham Road - 90
Domino's Pizza at 7419 Middlebrook Pike - 88
Baskin Robbins at 11051 Parkside Drive - 88
Starbucks at 11038 Parkside Drive - 87
Angelo's Italian at 2601 John Sevier Highway - 87
Restaurant health inspections are conducted every six months. The initial inspection is unannounced. If a follow-up is needed, it's done within two weeks.
