Rice Box offers fresh made-to-order Chinese in the Midtown area of Atlanta. The restaurant at 931 Monroe Drive doesn’t use MSG and goes light on the oil. That’s good news for those craving take-out but want it healthy.

Just be aware that the restaurant has had trouble keeping up its health inspection score.

During a routine Fulton County inspection April 12, Rice Box was given a failing score of 56. This follows another failing score of 68 from a March 16 inspection prompted by a customer complaint.

In between those two scores, Rice Box received a 79 during a follow-up inspection. That’s a C.

Rice Box has been flagged for repeat violations of improperly storing food and other items. They’ve also been warned to stop re-using single-service items. These are supposed to be thrown out if the customer doesn’t use them.

During the April 12 inspection, food was observed being stored underneath the plumbing fixtures at the hand sink. A dish rack was being stored inside an ice machine. And there were usable food service items stored in cardboard boxes, which is against the health code.

Utensils also were placed in the wrong areas. Some utensils were stored in crevices between equipment, noted the inspector’s report. And utensils being used for service were left soaking in tepid water.

Fish and chicken stored in freezers were uncovered and subject to contamination. Medications were found by the food and in the food prep areas.

A restaurant spokesman said a follow-up inspection is expected April 22, and all health code violations would be corrected.

Two recently featured restaurants brought up their scores in the past week. Thanh Thanh Restaurant in Forest Park scored a 91 during a follow-up inspection by Clayton County. Las Colinas, a Mexican restaurant in Lithonia, also brought its score up to an A, making a 91 during a follow-up inspection by DeKalb County, said manager Ernesto Perez.

Clayton County

• Catalina Taqueria, 4110 Old Dixie Highway, Hapeville: 71/C.
• Flavors of Thailand, 847 Southway Drive, Jonesboro: 96/A.
• Tropical Isles Caribbean Restaurant, 678 Ga. 138, Riverdale: 96/A.

Cobb County

• L’Thai West, 4500 W. Village Place, Smyrna: 100/A.
• Oriental Café, 2860 East-West Connector, Austell: 90/A.
• Smokey Bones Bar & Fire, 2475 George Busbee Parkway NE, Kennesaw: 94/A.

DeKalb County

• El Chisme Mexican, 5091 Buford Highway, Doraville: 74/C.
• Kool Runnings Restaurant, 4977 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain: 76/C.
• Magic Wok, 4857 Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain: 80/B.

Forsyth County

• Deep South BBQ, 465 Tolbert St., Cumming: 100/A.
• FireWater Chophouse, 2155 Market Place Blvd., Cumming: 80/B.
• Wok & Chopstix, 1525 McFarland Road, Alpharetta: 91/A.

Fulton County

• Fishook Grille, 264 19th St., Atlanta: 68/U.
• Mellow Mushroom, 935 Woodstock Road, Roswell: 80/B.
• The Pecan, 3725 Main St., College Park: 95/A.

• Gwinnett County

• Bi Ba’s Italian Restaurant, 4850 Sugarloaf Parkway, Lawrenceville: 78/C.
• Bonefish Grill, 3420 Buford Drive, Buford: 90/A.
• La Sabrosita Restaurant, 4085 Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn: 96/A.

— by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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