Poor storage leads to low score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Poor storage, poor cleaning, and poor hand washing -- that’s just a few of the problems we found this week at area restaurants.

The low score of the week goes to Philadelphia Deli in Dilworth. Health inspectors reported that milk was taken out of its original container and stored in other containers instead. That is just one of several violations. The deli was also cited for food at the wrong temperature and storing raw meats above ready-to-eat foods. The Philadelphia Deli scored an 83.

The score was not too much better at Prime Sirloin on Queen City Drive. If you walk into the freezer, you’d find broccoli, carrots and other food on the floor. Inspectors also found that there was no soap at the server station and not enough hot water in the kitchen. Prime Sirloin scored an 86 on its original inspection. On a second look by inspectors, the score improved to 90.

The Halal Shish Kabab House on West Sugar Creek rounds out our bottom three. If you look at the health inspection report, it lists the same instruction over and over and over again. The instruction “clean” appears 11 times in the report. The Kabab House scored an 87.5.

To read the health inspection reports on our bottom three, or to see the top three this week, click on the reports below:

Click here to find the best and worst restaurant scores from 2007 for yourself - by restaurant name, by address, even by zip code.

Click here to view all Mecklenburg County restaurant inspections