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The Bulletin compiled lists of Deschutes County's highest- and lowest-scoring restaurants based on their total health inspection scores over a two-year period.
By David Holley / The Bulletin
Last modified: November 15. 2009 9:35AM PST
Immaculate countertops. Fresh food. Employees with clean hands.
Those are some of the makings of a top-notch restaurant.
But they are only a few of the measures by which Deschutes County rates restaurants twice a year — sometimes more often, if they score low enough during their inspections. Every eatery in the county is examined semiannually in accordance with the Oregon Administrative Rules and Oregon Revised Statutes that regulate inspections.
The Bulletin compiled lists of the county's 10 highest-scoring and the 10 lowest-scoring restaurants based on their total scores over a two-year period. The lists show each restaurant's three most recent inspections by the Deschutes County Community Development Department's Environmental Health Division in order to evaluate the restaurants' scores over a period of time rather than solely on the most recent inspection.
For their semiannual visits, health inspectors arrive unannounced. Each restaurant starts with 100 points, then inspectors deduct one, two, four or five points when they see violations, such as undated meats or employees with dirty hands. If a restaurant's final score is below 70, the inspector places a sticker on the establishment's door to notify the public, and the restaurant is reinspected within 30 days.
The health inspections are meant to prevent foodborne illness, said Eric Mone, supervisor of food service facilities for the Environmental Health Division. Although the scores indicate where a restaurant might be at risk for problems, they do not dictate whether or not to eat there.
“A low score doesn't necessarily mean a restaurant isn't safe to eat at,” Mone said. “A good score doesn't necessarily mean you won't get a foodborne illness.”
Knocking off points
When inspectors knock points off for critical violations — the most serious will take four or five points off a score — they make the restaurant correct the mistake immediately. If a restaurant is unable to remedy the problem that day, an inspector will recheck within 14 days to ensure it has been corrected.
If an inspector finds the same violation during two visits in a row, he or she will take twice as many points off the restaurant's score. For example, if an employee at a restaurant is found with dirty hands, an inspector will deduct five points; if, on the next visit, the inspector again finds an employee with unclean hands, the restaurant will get a 10-point deduction.
Overall, the scoring system has some oddities, which county and state officials acknowledge.
For example, if an inspector sees one employee with unclean hands, a restaurant will lose five points; if an inspector sees six employees with unclean hands, the restaurant still only loses five points.
Inspectors will mark a restaurant down for various reasons. Thawing food at room temperature costs an establishment two points, while it's a one-point loss if an employee wears fake nails to work.
Penalties get more severe as the potential health risk increases. An employee who doesn't wash his or her hands after using the bathroom is a five-point markdown. And if an inspector spots mouse droppings in the restaurant — it happens — four points are deducted.
Because the purpose of the inspections is to prevent foodborne illness, Mone said he thinks the established rules and regulations are effective.
One issue he has with the scoring system is that it only takes points away for things restaurants do incorrectly and does not give points back operating correctly. He said the state of Oregon has considered giving restaurants bonuses if a manager takes a food service training course.
“The system doesn't show if people do well,” he said. “Everyone starts with 100 and goes down from there.”
Challenges
Gavin McMichael, owner of The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend, said he fixes every problem the inspectors point out, but that doesn't reflect in his restaurant's scores. The county's Web site only lists whether a restaurant passed its reinspection as well as the score before the reinspection.
McMichael thinks that when a restaurant fixes a problem, the county should add the points back to the score and post that total as the most recent inspection grade.
“They need to put up a changed score if there is good behavior,” McMichael said. “If they're going to take a point away, when we comply they (should) have to give us the same point back.”
He said his restaurant experiments with new cooking styles that inspectors later inform him are not allowed, which has resulted in lower scores. He said he always corrects the problems.
Some owners whose establishments had low scores said their ratings can change depending on which inspector visits.
Jeff Cater, who owns the Sugar Pine Cafe in La Pine, said inspectors for years ignored an issue with a sink in his kitchen. But he said he was docked for it during the most recent inspection.
“Some inspectors pick an egg up and measure its temperature,” Cater said. “Others don't care.”
The Sugar Pine scored an 86 in May, and was reinspected a few days later. At the recheck, the inspector found that all the critical violations had been resolved.
Giuseppe's Ristorante, which scored a 78 on Oct. 14, was dinged 10 points because chef Russell Cooper was preparing the restaurant's porchetta with nitrate, which is common for preparing dried meats. Even though there was nothing unhealthy in the way Cooper was preparing the meat, he is required to have a variance through the state to use the nitrate. So Giuseppe's has put its porchetta on hold until it receives the variance.
“We've never had any trouble with cross-contamination,” Cooper said.
Other restaurants in the county seem to have the restaurant inspections mastered.
Sundance Shoes in Sisters recently began serving coffee and pastries and has scored a perfect 100 on the past three inspections.
Cross Creek Cafe in Redmond lost only one point during an inspection in June because a microwave needed minor cleaning.
“It's just part of the daily routine to keep everything clean,” said Tammy Mills, one of Cross Creek's owners.
To overcome occasional language barriers, Mone said inspectors give nonfluent English speakers a pamphlet with phrases such as “Sick employees may not work in the food preparation area” translated into English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean.
Mone said the scoring system is solely intended to promote safety in eating establishments and safeguard public health. He said inspectors do their best to be consistent, but sometimes they miss things during one visit that they notice the next time.
“Our goal is not to ruin somebody's business,” Mone said. “It's to correct any problems that we see that, in turn, will benefit restaurants and make public health safer.”
David Holley can be reached at 541-383-0323 or at dholley@bendbulletin.com.
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