Restaurant Inspections: Firebox Grille, Tysons Bagel Market, Cava Grill

Inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health visited several restaurants in or near Tysons Corner this week. See a sampling of those results below, and visit the health department's website for a complete list of recent inspections.

Firebox Grille
8417 Old Courthouse Road Date of inspection: October 1
The following food items were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device: sliced tomatoes in two-door prep refrigerator at 46 degrees.
 
Tysons Bagel Market           
8137 Leesburg Pike Date of inspection: September 30
The following refrigerated, ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous food that is commercially processed is not used or discarded within 24 hours of when the original container was opened and is not observed to be date marked: flavored cream cheeses in large plastic containers in the walk-in cooler were not clearly and consistently marked; some had "use-by" dates, others had no dates.
 
Cava Mezze Grill
8048 Tysons Corner Center Date of inspection: September 27
The following methods used for cooling were not adequate to facilitate proper cooling: large containers of foods were placed in prep coolers at elevated or room temperatures without pre-cooling.
 
Luther Jackson Intermediate School
3020 Gallows Road Date of inspection: October 1
The following food item(s) were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device: chicken wraps on all three serving lines.

About these inspections: 

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to department of health website.

The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long term cleanliness of an establishment."

Full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.
A core item "usually relates to general sanitation, operational controls, sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), facilities or structures, equipment design, or general maintenance."

A priority item is "a provision in this code whose application contributes directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction to an acceptable level, hazards associated with food borne illness or injury and there is no other provision that more directly controls the hazard," and "includes items with a quantifiable measure to show control of hazards such as cooking, reheating, cooling, hand washing."

A priority foundation item "includes an item that requires the purposeful incorporation of specific actions, equipment or procedures by industry management to attain control of risk factors that contribute to food borne illness or injury such as personnel training, infrastructure or necessary equipment, HACCP plans, documentation or record keeping, and labeling."