Restaurant inspections: Rodent problem, no hot water closes Coachella, Palm Springs spots

Two restaurants in Coachella and Palm Springs were shut down by Riverside County environmental health inspectors this week, according to reports conducted Dec. 8 through 14.

Eastern Buffet in Coachella and Kaiser Grille in Palm Springs were cited for major violations, including improper holding temperatures, lack of hot water and a rodent infestation (at the Palm Springs spot), leading to their closures.

The Coachella restaurant has scored "B" and "C" grades multiple times in the past two years, while Kaiser Grille shut down in June due to another rodent/insect problem.

Additionally, Loco Charlie's Mexican Grill in Palm Springs momentarily shut down this week due to lack of hot water, but reopened during its reinspection the following day.

Major violations pose an imminent risk to public health and warrant the immediate closure of a food facility or immediate correction, while minor violations do not pose a public health risk, but do warrant correction.

2 major violations, facility closed

Eastern Buffet, 49-211 Grapefruit Blvd., Suite 7, Coachella

• Various food items not held at proper temperatures of at or below 41 degrees/45 degrees or at or above 135 degrees (chocolate soft serve holding at 47 degrees, a plate of fried sushi sitting next to the sushi buffet area without any temperature control measuring 76 degrees, raw chicken inside the walk-in cooler at 47 degrees)

• Lack of hot water measuring 120 degrees at multiple sinks

• Other violations include: Two handwashing sinks obstructed and missing paper towels; two metal pots with grease accumulation; three dead cockroaches underneath the three-compartment sink; doors needing repair and fly lights need to be placed away from food and utensil handling areas; uncovered food containers in cooler and uncovered personal plate of food stored directly near uncovered food containers; repairs needed to various items (rice cooker handle, reach-in freezer unit, a knife with duct tape around the handle, a knife with a broken piece missing on the bottom of the handle, missing cover plate on the ice maker machine); grease accumulation, grime, food buildup, syrup and moldy food debris observed on various surfaces and equipment; wet cleaning clothes stored inside drawer and under a sack of onions, soiled utensils stored in drawers, dirty water inside a drawer and soiled cutting board stored with clean cutting boards; lightbulbs need to be replaced and certain areas need ventilation to prevent foul odor; leaks at two sinks; dumpsters need to be covered when not in use; organize clutter inside walk-in freezer and dry storage area; pooling water from the floor at the back soda syrup rack and in front of the ice maker machine

• Due to the failed inspection, the permit for this facility has been revoked. A meeting has been scheduled for 7:30 a.m. Dec. 19

1 major violation, facility closed

Kaiser Grille Palm Springs, 205 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs

• Inspector observed the following evidence of an active rodent infestation: rodent droppings on plates intended for customer use; on the floor below the refrigeration unit, wire shelving units and ice machines behind the cooks line; on top of boxes of to go/paper products; on top of canned food items and containers of food items in the prep dry storage area; along the floor below the shelving of the dry storage racks and inside of the adjacent floor drain; on the floor below the automatic dishwasher and along the dirty dish storage portion of the automatic dishwasher area; on the lower shelf of the dish washing area next to baking trays; on top of packages of sugar, coffee and other dry goods; below the ice bin and other equipment at the dining room bar area; droppings and dried urine markings between cleaned cutting boards along the lower shelf of the prep table; package of sweet potatoes with gnaw marks and rodent droppings in the prep area

• Other violations: Hand washing sink in the kitchen area to be lacking paper towels and no paper towel dispenser observed; knives and cutting board stored at handwashing sinks; opened and unopened containers of milk, half and half and butter not measuring proper holding temperatures; observed biofilm growth around ice chute in ice machine and soda gun nozzles, and debris along the blade portion of the table top can opener; observed defrosted packages of fish in reduced oxygen packaging at the cooks line and in the walk-in refrigerator, and defrosted packages of white fish fillets stored in the walk-in refrigerator; packaged food items stored directly on the floor of the walk-in freezer, uncovered raw salmon stored behind ready-to-eat tuna salad at the cooks line, uncovered tray of breaded vegetables in the walk-in freezer; automatic dishwasher at the front bar to be lacking testing strips; various areas in need of cleaning; utensils not stored or in use properly (a portion cup used as a scoop in sauce, tongs stored on the oven handle, a knife stored with the blade portion wedged below a receipt printer); personal items stored around prep areas; gaps in the ceiling around the water heater and missing base cove tiles along the hallway

• This facility has been closed due to evidence of an active rodent infestation. A reinspection has been set for Dec. 21.

1 major violation, 16 points deducted

The Paloma Resort, 67-670 Carey Road, Cathedral City

• Inspector observed molding tomatoes in the cold-top cooler at the cooks line. | Employee voluntarily disposed of food.

• Other violations include: Missing food manager certificate; two expired food handler cards; containers of various cheeses, raw eggs, sliced tomatoes and cheesecake not measuring proper holding temperatures; no detectable sanitizer dispensed at kitchen and bar mechanical dishwashers; several instances of food not separated and protected from contamination (containers of flour and maseca stored directly on the floor, anchovies and a container of raw shell eggs stored above various cheeses, bags of raw calamari stored directly on top of uncovered ice trays, multiple sliced of bread stored directly on shelving); several pieces of equipment needing repair; accumulation of food debris and grease on top of refrigerated drawers at cook line; six unsecured CO2 tanks inside and near dry storage room and fly lights stored above food preparation areas; multiple wiping cloths stored on counter tops and cutting boards throughout food preparation areas; personal items stored on top of cups for customers at bar, and a can of air freshener and garden bug spray stored on rolling cart with cooking pans

• "B" card posted and a reinspection date of Dec. 21 has been set

Grade A restaurants

An "A" grade, or a score of 90 to 100 points, means a restaurant passed an inspection and met minimum health standards.

Cathedral City

• Taco Salsas, 69-020 E. Palm Canyon Drive

• Palm Springs Candy Company, 68-845 Perez Road, Suite H-11

• Pizzeria Bambino's, 69-040 E. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite A

Indio

• Castañeda's Mexican Food, 82-900 Ave. 42, Suite 104

• Holiday Inn Express, 84-054 Indio Springs Drive

• WorldMark Indio, 42-151 WorldMark Way (following reinspection)

La Quinta

• Asadero Los Corrales, 79-710 Highway 111, Suite 106

• Mimi's Cafe, 79-765 Highway 111

• Subway, 79-740 Highway 111, Suite 103

• Slice Italia, 46-660 Washington St., Suite 8

Palm Desert

• The Lakes Country Club (includes Charlie's, banquet kitchen), 161 Old Ranch Road

• Cork Tree, 74-950 Country Club Drive

• El Rodeo Cafe, 44-820 San Pablo Ave.

Palm Springs

• Trixie Motel, 210 W. Stevens Road

• Hotel Zoso (includes main kitchen, lobby bar, pool bar), 150 S. Indian Canyon Drive

• Thai Smile, 100 S. Indian Canyon Drive

• Domino's Pizza, 1755 N. Sunrise Way, Suite B

• Loco Charlie's Mexican Grill, 1751 N. Sunrise Way, Suite F5

• Starbucks, 1755 N. Sunrise Way

Rancho Mirage

• Pieology Pizzeria, 42-500 Bob Hope Drive, Suite C

• Brandini Toffee, 42-250 Bob Hope Drive

• Pinot's Palette, 71-680 Highway 111, Suite D

Note: No restaurant inspections were reported for the week of Dec. 8 through 14 in Desert Hot Springs and Indian Wells.

This weekly report was compiled using restaurant grading reports from the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, accessible at restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org/Default.aspx

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at ema.sasic@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Rodent problem, no hot water closes Coachella, Palm Springs eateries