DALLAS’ DIRTIEST DINERS REVISITED

You see the wine list, the lobster and, ultimately, the bill. What you don’t see is the kitchen. That’s why the Dallas Health Department periodically checks the city’s 4,000 or so restaurants, grades them and compiles a “dirty list” of the worst health-code violators.

Any private citizen is free to peruse the health department records, but most people don’t. That’s why D Magazine has periodically updated a cover story we printed four years ago (“Guess What’s Coming With Dinner,” November 1977).

This year the health department’s dirty list competition is led by a continental entry, Chateaubriand, which scored a low 37 (perfect score is 100) last February and tallied only slightly higher in subsequent inspections later in the year. Any restaurant that receives a score of 60 or below is considered to be a failure.

“It [Chateaubriand] is about as atrocious as you can get,” said Everett A. Hall, manager of the city’s food inspection department. He said no other food establishments have scored as low this year. Only 43 restaurants were on the dirty list at the end of the summer.

According to records, Chateaubriand was found at various times during the year to have insects in its flour, mice droppings in its storeroom, uncovered food in the walk-in cooler, degreaser sprayed in the cooking oil and ice scoops on top of dusty ice machines.

Hunan, a Chinese restaurant at 5214 Greenville Ave., which scored 47 in an inspection in March and 58 in August, lost points at various times during the year for storing food in open containers next to the toilets and for having problems with cockroaches. One inspection was prompted by a customer who complained about a brazen cockroach that traipsed across a nearby table.

Among some of the other better-known but less-looked-after kitchens in town so far this year (along with their lowest scores) are Campisi’s, 5610 E. Mockingbird, 54; Stefanos Seven Seas Restaurant, 5416 E. Mockingbird, 55; Pedro’s Restaurant, 2905 Greenville, 58; Black-eyed Pea, 4814 Greenville, 59; and Mariano’s, 5500 Greenville, 51.

Hall said he works with restaurants who score below 60 to try to get them to improve their kitchens and maintenance operations. Often, the inspection is better the next time around but sometimes the restaurant resists or tries to evade inspection.

On one visit, according to a health inspector’s report, one of the restaurant’s representatives tried to bribe the inspector. Lou Stiff, who visited the place on Feb. 24, wrote, “During my investigation of a roach complaint, it was necessary to inform the restaurateur that a citation would be issued for lack of safe temperature.

“The restaurateur offered to ’give me cash for my kids’ as a payment for the fine. I indicated to him to please not do this anymore and that we just don’t do business that way.” Other reports contend that a representative of the restaurant actually tried to hand Stiff a sealed envelope two months earlier telling him the contents were for his children. Stiff, according to the report, refused to accept the envelope.

As for popular restaurants that scored high on the health scale, most do pretty well. One of the best is Jean Claude, which scored a 92 at one inspection this year and 89 on another.

If you’re one of the super fastidious, you might try the Skyview Elementary School Cafeteria at 9229 Meadow Knoll. It is one of a handful that scored 100 on both inspections this year.