Pizzeria Vesuvius is a trendy hot pie place that’s also a cool music venue in the heart of Atlanta’s historical old 4th ward.

While the wood fired pies are named after famous volcanoes, it was a health inspector who nearly blew up during a visit March 17.

The restaurant’s food permit had expired. Temperatures in a refrigerator were too warm. A hand sink had been removed from the kitchen and the  staff had to wash their hands in the prep sink.

The pizzeria at 327 Edgewood Avenue received a score of 45 out of 100, a failing grade well below their string of straight A’s.

Vesuvius Manager Russell Meyer called it a case of “bad timing.”

“She came in and saw those major offenses and said, ‘Hey, you better get these things fixed right away. I’m going to have to give you a bad score,” he said.

The restaurant’s food permit was quickly renewed. Meyer said the permit had expired for about a week and a half because he misplaced the bill.

The refrigerator that couldn’t hold down the temperature was repaired, and all the food inside was thrown out, Meyer said.

As for the missing sink, the inspector showed up in the middle of a project to relocate a hand sink, one of seven in the facility, and workers had not had time to finish the installation, Meyer said.

All of the violations were corrected by Monday and approved by the inspector, said the manager. A follow-up food service inspection is expected later this week.

“There wasn’t anything bad about our cleanliness or operations,” Meyer said. “She’ll come back and score us on Friday and I expect we’ll get a 95 or higher.”

Pizzeria Vesuvius received a 95 and a 99 on its previous inspections.

Here’s a look at other recent inspection scores from area restaurants.

Cherokee County

• 7 Tequilas, 1435 Riverstone Parkway, Canton: 88/B.
• Cracker Barrel, 715 Transit Ave., Canton: 90/A.
• Venti, 14260 Cumming Highway, Cumming: 91/A.

Cobb County

• Mr. Burrito Mexican Grill, 3061 Jim Owens Road, Kennesaw: 100/A.
• Steak ’n Shake, 1875 East-West Connector SW, Austell: 89/B.
• Williamson Brothers Bar-B-Q, 1425 Roswell Road, Marietta: 92/A.

DeKalb County

• Andryannis Bristro Café, 125 Clairmont Ave., Decatur: 98/A.
• Cheesecake Factory, 4400 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta: 95/A.
• Meskerem Restaurant, 2781 Clairmont Road, Atlanta: 73/C.

Fayette County

• Buck’s Pizza, 1200 Highway 74 S., Peachtree City: 93/A.
• Ruby Tuesday, 1405 Highway 85 N., Fayetteville: 88/B.
• Y-Knot Sports Bar & Grill, 216 Northlake Drive, Peachtree City: 81/B.
• Fulton County
• Giovanna’s Italian Kitchen, 1375 Virginia Ave., East Point: 97/A.
• The Bridge Mexican Gourmet, 10479 Alpharetta St., Roswell: 92/A.
• The Real Chow Baby on Ponce 782 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta: 74/C.

Gwinnett County

• Royal Indian Cuisine, 4315 Abbott’s Bridge Road, Duluth: 100/A.
• Taco Mac, 2003 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville: 89/B.
• World Wings, 3365 Steve Reynolds Blvd., Duluth: 89/B.

— by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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