Mexican restaurant slammed for dirty kitchen, teriyaki spot awarded chopstick top pick
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - A Mexican restaurant got slammed for its dirty kitchen during its routine health inspection. Meanwhile, a spot off Garden of the Gods Road is this week’s chopstick top pick!
LOW SCORES:
La Casita on N Nevada Avenue failed its recent routine health inspection with ten violations.
The inspector found dust, grease and food debris all over the floors and walls.
The inspector also noted a gap under the exit door big enough for pests to sneak in, and the margarita rim salter was stored under the paper towel dispenser, allowing for splash contamination!
We stopped by to see if they’ve done anything to fix these problems, and asked if they think they’ll pass their re-inspection.
“Of course we will,” the manager on duty told us. “We’re doing everything to get everything fixed that supposedly we failed on.”
Milano Pizza & Italian Kitchen inside the Chapel Hills Mall might sound familiar – it just failed its routine health inspection again!
This place hasn’t passed a routine health inspection in two years.
Milano Pizza only got four violations this time, but one was a biggie: no running hot water in the entire facility!
HIGH SCORES:
We have a perfect score this week: Awi Sushi on Interquest Parkway!
Other high scores include Joey's Pizza on Briargate Boulevard, Cafe Rio also on Briargate Boulevard, and Teriyaki Madness on Garden of the Gods Road.
“Credit to the team here, I mean it starts with a culture of cleanliness,” Teriyaki Madness Culinary Director Nate Weir said in an interview with KRDO.
Nate said their food is both safe AND delicious.
“It is super fresh, like it is real cooking, it’s not just coming out of a steam table," he assured.
While the spicy chicken is their top seller, they also have mild options.
Keep an eye out for the KRDO13 Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant to know the kitchen inside is clean.
Reminder: all of our high and low-scoring restaurants are based on routine health inspections conducted by the El Paso County Health Department.
Click here for a look at all the most recent health inspection scores.
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