Raleigh, Durham, Apex restaurant sanitation scores: April 4

The News & Observer publishes a weekly roundup of restaurant sanitation scores to keep you up-to-date on the health grades at Triangle dining spots.

Sanitation scores and their corresponding letter grades are used in North Carolina to assess restaurants’ adherence to rules and standards intended to mitigate and prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses.

You’ve likely seen sanitation grade cards at restaurants you’ve visited, and The N&O previously explained what those scores mean and how they’re calculated.

Here are sanitation scores in Triangle counties for the week of March 28-April 4.

Wake County sanitation scores

The Wake County sanitation grades database shows that at least 100 inspections were completed between March 28-April 4.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade, or a score of at least 90%.

▪ Two restaurants received a B grade, or a score of at least 80% but lower than 90%.

Backyard Bistro (1235 Hurricane Alley Way, Raleigh) received a score of 88% during an inspection on March 29.

• The restaurant was in violation of 13 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to three points.
• Violations included an employee plating ready-to-eat ribs with their bare hands, foods being held at incorrect temperatures and “a few” flies in the kitchen and the service station.
• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
• The restaurant previously scored a 90% in December 2022, a 91% in April 2022 and a 93.5% in October 2021.

Nandini (2711 N.C. Hwy 55, Cary) received a score of 84% during an inspection on March 29.

• The restaurant was in violation of 21 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to three points.
• Violations included foods being held at incorrect temperatures, employee medication being stored with food, containers of food being stored on the floor and several areas of the facility needing “thorough cleaning.”
• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
• The restaurant previously scored a 91% in September 2022 and an 83% and 90% in March 2022.

▪ One restaurant received a C grade, or a score of at least 70% but less than 80%.

Mr. Dumpling (5470 Apex Peakway, Apex) received a score of 79.5% during an inspection on March 29.

• The restaurant was in violation of 19 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to three points.
• Violations included an employee washing their gloves instead of removing and changing them after handling raw chicken, the vent in the walk-in cooler dripping water onto food products, some foods being stored without date markings and several pans and containers with food debris being stored as clean.
• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
• The restaurant previously scored a 93.5% in November 2022, a 91% in August 2022 and a 93.5% in April 2022.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade, or a score below 70%.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Wake County at wake-nc.healthinspections.us.

Durham County sanitation scores

The Durham County inspection management system shows that 37 restaurant inspections were completed between March 28-April 4.

▪ Most restaurants received an A grade.

▪ Two restaurants received a B grade.

Chosun Ok Korean BBQ (2105 N.C. Hwy 54, Durham) received a score of 85% during an inspection on March 29.

• The restaurant was in violation of 15 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to three points.
• Violations included an employee not properly washing their hands, several foods being held at incorrect temperatures and several raw and ready-to-eat foods being stored near each other.
• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
• The restaurant previously scored a 90% in August 2022, a 91% in November 2021 and a 93% in March 2021.

P.F. Chang’s (6801 Fayetteville Rd., Durham) received a score of 87% during an inspection on March 28.

• The restaurant was in violation of 17 standards, with deductions ranging from zero to two points.
• Violations included several food storage containers with debris and residue being stored as clean, foods being held at incorrect temperatures, some foods being stored longer than the allowed seven days and two employees not wearing proper hair restraints.
• Some violations were corrected during the inspection.
• The restaurant previously scored a 95% in December 2022, a 93% in April 2022 and a 91% in October 2021.

▪ No restaurants received a C grade.

▪ No restaurants received a failing grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Durham County at bit.ly/3pVQfpG.

Orange County sanitation scores

The Orange County inspection management system shows that 22 restaurants were inspected between March 28-April 4.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Orange County at bit.ly/3eQqpxc.

Johnston County sanitation scores

The Johnston County sanitation inspections database shows that 15 restaurants were inspected between March 28-April 4.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Johnston County at johnston-nc.healthinspections.us.

Chatham County sanitation scores

The Chatham County inspections management system shows that 10 restaurants were inspected between March 28-April 4.

▪ All restaurants received an A grade.

You can search all restaurant inspections in Chatham County at bit.ly/3JfiHwq.