Ali Baba Restaurant, 2545 E. Speedway, and Curry Leaf Indian Restaurant, 2510 E. Grant Road, failed health inspections in August. Both establishments have since passed reinspection.
Restaurants are inspected twice a year and given provisional licenses if they fail; when that happens, they are reinspected about every 10 days until they pass and are inspected again about 60 days afterward, Pima County officials say.
ALI BABA RESTAURANT
2545 E. Speedway No. 125
• Failed an inspection Aug. 23 and passed a follow-up Sept. 4.
• Management did not return calls for comment.
Critical violations
• A cook talked on his cellphone, left the facility and re-entered it, worked on a computer and then applied clean gloves to prepare food without first washing his hands.
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• A food service employee wiped his nose with the back of his glove and then handled food.
• A cook wiped sweat off his forehead with the back of a gloved hand and then continued cooking without first washing his hands.
• A cook dropped his glove on the floor, picked it up and applied a new glove without first washing his hands.
• An open beverage rested on a food preparation area, which is allowed only if the container is covered.
• A waitress handled pita bread with her bare hands.
• Raw steak was stored in a walk-in cooler directly above fresh cut potatoes. Two pans of partially cooked beef were stored directly above cauliflower and raw ground beef and raw chicken was stored above ready-to-eat food.
• Several utensils and pans had excessive food debris stuck to them.
• The cooling unit on the ceiling of a walk-in cooler was leaking and water was splashing on items in the cooler including produce, food containers and a pan of partially cooked beef.
• Multiple food items including beef, lamb and vegetables were stored longer than 24 hours without being dated with the date of preparation or opening.
• There was an excessive fruit fly problem in the dry storage area. The flies were covering exposed potatoes and the potato chopper.
• A walk-in cooler was dirty and in need of a deep cleaning.
CURRY LEAF INDIAN RESTAURANT
2510 E. Grant Road
• Failed an inspection on Aug. 31 and passed reinspection on Sept. 11.
• Management's response: "We took care of it," said Prasad Kakarala, the restaurant's owner. "We already took care of it and passed inspection."
Critical violations
• Cooked lamb was being held on ice at 59 degrees, instead of the minimum cold holding temperature of 41 degrees, and the ice wasn't coming in contact with the pan.
• A cook was observed wiping his nose and face with his bare hand before stirring hot milk with a clean utensil and without first washing his hands.
• A cook was observed handling a container of roach insecticide before picking up a large bag of onions off the floor and then he began to prepare food without first washing his hands.
• A cook was observed washing his hands by running them under water for roughly five seconds and without first using soap.
• A cook was observed removing cooked chicken from skewers with his bare hands.
• Containers of flour and spices were stored without lids.
• Several knives and a can opener had excessive build-up of food debris.
• Some food was not date-marked.
• A container of roach insecticide was stored under a sink.
• Cockroaches were observed in the kitchen, alive or stuck to glue strips.
Compiled from Pima County Health Department records.
Contact reporter Patty Machelor at pmachelor@azstarnet.com or 806-7754.
