Three containers of cooked rice that were not cooled properly brought down the health score of a Gwinnett County Japanese hibachi steak and sushi bar.

A manager at the Kirin House, 1064 Old Peachtree Road, Lawrenceville, said the health inspector found the rice temperatures too high, even after being cooled for six hours, and the food had to be thrown away. The restaurant was given a routine inspection score of 58/U.

The rice had been prepared the day before, put in covered containers and placed on the lowest shelf of the walk-in cooler overnight. The inspector said the cooling method was ineffective. The containers should have been left uncovered and placed in the coldest section of the cooler. Employees must monitor the cooling process to make sure food temperatures drop within an acceptable amount of time to prevent bacteria growth, the inspector said.

The inspector found other code violations, too. Raw chicken and raw beef were cut on the same cutting board, and handled with the same pair of tongs. Then the tongs were used to handle cooked beef. The contaminated beef was discarded.

Separate utensils must be used to handle raw meats that require different cook temperatures, the inspector noted.

In other violations, the ice machine had slime-like buildup, food items in the freezer were improperly arranged, and the restaurant was reusing vodka bottles and 5-gallon bucket containers of oil and soy sauce.

The restaurant will be re-inspected. Previous scores were 86/B and 87/B.

Here are other recent inspection scores from area restaurants.

Cobb County

• 3 Colors Asian Kitchen, 2060 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta. 93/A
• El Jinete Mexican Restaurant, 4681 Woodstock Road, Roswell. 90/A
• McAlister’s Deli, 2950 George Busbee Parkway, Kennesaw. 100/A
• Natty’s Jamacian, 680 Powder Springs St., Marietta. 96/A
• Zorba’s Kitchen, 3450 Cobb Parkway, Acworth. 97/A

DeKalb County

• Brookhaven Bistro, 4274 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. 96/A
• Farm Burger – Dunwoody, 4514 Chamblee Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. 97/A
• J. Alexander’s, 4701 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta. 85/B
• Marlow’s Tavern, 4156 Lavista Road, Tucker. 95/A
• Susie’s Best Wings, 4779 Rockbridge Road, Stone Mountain. 89/B

Douglas County

• Bonz Sports Grill, 2123 Fairburn Road, Douglasville. 87/B
• Logan’s Roadhouse, 9380 The Landing Drive, Douglasville. 92/A
• O’ Charley’s, 9320 The Landing Drive, Douglasville. 94/A
• Ruby Tuesday, 642 Thornton Road, Lithia Springs. 95/A
• Waffle House, 2812 Chapel Hill Road, Douglasville. 90/A

Fulton County

• Goldberg’s Bagels and Deli, 1272 W. Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. 90/A
• Grindhouse Killer Burgers, 209 Edgewood Ave., Atlanta. 97/A
• JCT Kitchen, 1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta. 95/A
• Mango’s Caribbean Restaurant, 180 Auburn Ave., Atlanta. 98/A
• Zola Italian Bistro, 2955 Bethany Bend, Milton. 80/B

Gwinnett County

• Café Nirvana, 239 Scenic Highway, Lawrenceville. 73/C
• Five Spice Asian Fusian, 6575 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 82/B
• Gulf Coast Grill, 3463 Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, Suwanee. 88/B
• Mumbai Masala, 5675 Jimmy Carter Blvd., Norcross. 91/A
• Vic’s Deli, 3855 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. 87/B

– by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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