Critical Violations at Two Falls Church Restaurants

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports are not quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

With that said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation.

A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

"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 the Virginia Department of Health's 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."

In the past month, the following Falls Church restaurants have been inspected by the VDH. The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

Inova Fairfax Hospital/South Side Café

3300 Gallows Rd., Falls Church

Inspected April 19: one critical violation, no non-critical violations

The following cooked potentially hazardous foods are not being adequately cooled from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours chicken breast and dice chicken cooling for 2.5 to 3 hours in the Walk-in cooler (2) observed at 79,102°F.

Northern Virginia Mental Health Institution

3302 Gallows Rd., Falls Church

Inspected April 19: no critical or non-critical violations

No violations were found during the inspection.

Subway

5205 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church

Inspected April 18: two critical violations, one non-critical violation

The following food item(s) in the 2DR cooler in the front were observed cold holding at improper temperatures using a calibrated food temperature measuring device: precooked egg at 46F and precooked chicken at 47F.