Restaurant health inspections: Desert Hot Springs facility closed after live rat spotted

Riverside County health inspectors gave out plenty of "A" grades to local restaurants this past week, according to reports conducted May 2 through 8.

Some of the eateries that passed their health inspections include Sixth Street Coffee in Coachella, Wilma & Frieda's Cafe in Palm Desert and Great Shakes in Palm Springs. Restaurants that previously failed their most recent inspections also passed with flying colors.

One Desert Hot Springs facility inspected, however, earned a B rating and was closed after a live rat was observed running across the dining room area during the inspection.

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 an imminent public health risk, but do warrant correction.

Facility closure

V.F.W. Post #1534, 1 Club House Drive, Desert Hot Springs

• Major violation: Observed 1 live rat running across the dining area during inspection; and rodent droppings below storage racks, inside of the two in-use fryer cabinets, behind the water heater, below the dishwasher, on top of a radio, on a tray containing cleaned utensils, below main bar counter, on floor and shelving throughout back bar/dining room and in several other spots
• Minor violations include: Observed the facility to be lacking a food managers certificate on-site and available for inspection; hand washing station in the kitchen area to be lacking soap and paper towels in the provided approved dispensers; an accumulation of black biofilm along the inside walls of the ice maker; several vermin entry points throughout the facility; accumulation of aged food debris on table mounted can opener; a shelf lined with tin foil at the cooks line; wiping cloth stored on the table at the cooks line; accumulation of grease and other debris; and observed the facility to be operating without an assigned person in charge

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

• Santorini Greek Cafe, 68-375 E. Palm Canyon Drive
• Sonic Drive-In Cathedral City, 30-777 Date Palm Drive
• Desert Princess Country Club, 28-555 Landau Blvd.
• Starbucks Coffee, 67-870 Vista Chino, Suite 101

Coachella

• La Mango Botanas, 51-704 Cesar Chavez St.
• Trebol Bar, 1633 6th St.
• Sixth Street Coffee, 1500 6th St.
• Jalisco Restaurant, 1605 6th St.
• C'Los, 51-335 Cesar Chavez St., Suite 117
• El Tranvia, 1221 6th St.
• Las Tres Conchitas Bakery, 1590 6th St.

Indio

• Tack Room Tavern (includes banquet kitchen), 81-900 Avenue 51 (passed reinspection)

La Quinta

• The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, 79-024 Highway 111, Suite 101

Mecca

• Chelo's Burgers Inc., 90-480 66th Ave., Mecca

Palm Desert

• Wilma & Frieda's Cafe, 73-575 El Paseo Drive
• Chuck E. Cheese's, 72-513 Highway 111, Suite B
• Porta Via Palm Desert, 73-100 El Paseo (passed reinspection)

Palm Springs

• Wang's in the Desert, 424 S. Indian Canyon Drive
• Monsoon Indian Restaurant, 555 S. Sunrise Way, Suite A107 (passed reinspection)
• Camelot Theatre, 2300 E. Baristo Road
• Great Shakes, 160 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite A
• Jus Chillin', 155 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite B2
• Palm Canyon Resort & Spa V.P.O.A., 2800 S. Palm Canyon Drive
• Seven Lakes Country Club, 4100 Seven Lakes Drive
• Marriott Courtyard, 1300 Tahquitz Way

Rancho Mirage

• Mission Hills North - Gary Player Signature Course, 70-705 Ramon Road (passed reinspection)

Note: No restaurant inspections were reported for the week of May 2 through 8 in 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 .

Correction: An earlier version of this story named the incorrect location of the facility that was closed. That has since been corrected.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Restaurant health inspections: Desert Hot Springs facility closed after live rat spotted