The Real Chow Baby at Ponce began the week Monday morning with an opportunity to pull up a recent failing health score.

Last week, the Asian fusion restaurant at 782 Ponce De Leon Avenue received a 59/U, and the inspector said management needed retraining on controlling food safety risks.

For example, hand sanitizer was used to wipe down a food thermometer, an improper method of disinfecting kitchen equipment, the inspector said.

A spring roll in the cooler was wrapped in a kitchen towel instead of disposable packaging or placed in a covered container.

An employee was seen handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands instead of using a utensil or wearing gloves. And an employee’s open beverage container was on the food prep table near clean equipment and utensils.

In other violations, some food temperatures in the walk-in cooler were too high. Fish was being held at 54 degrees, and raw chicken was at 46 degrees. Juices in the bar coolers were past their expiration dates. They were discarded.

A container of fish and a bag of sugar in the walk-in freezer were stored on the floor.

Shelves next to the ice machine had a lot of dust, and the exterior of the ice machine and fryer door needed cleaning. The cooler also needed cleaning.

The Real Chow Baby at Ponce was expecting an improved score following Monday’s inspection, according to manager Marauda Rice, but the health report was not available at press time.

The restaurant’s previous scores were 89/B and 88/B.

Here are other recent inspection scores from area restaurants.

Cobb County

• Australian Bakery & Café, 48 S. Park Square, Marietta. 91/A
• Baan Thai Restaurant, 3315 S. Cobb Drive, Smyrna. 91/A
• Café de Paris, 1100 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta. 81/B
• Green Lotus, 1025 E. W. Connector, Austell. 76/C
• Howard’s Delicatessen, 652 Concord Road, Smyrna. 84/B

DeKalb County

• Joey D’s Oak Room, 1015 Crown Pointe Parkway, Atlanta. 88/B
• International Café, 3066 Buford Highway, Atlanta. 93/A
• Matador Mexican Cantina, 350 Mead Road, Decatur. 90/A
• Oriental Pearl Restaurant, 5399 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee. 82/B
• Prima Restaurant, 3500 N. Decatur Road, Scottdale. 74/C

Fulton County

• Johnny Carino’s Italian, 3330 Camp Creek Parkway, East Point. 90/A
• Pittypat’s Porch Restaurant, 25 Andrew Young International Blvd., Atlanta. 76/C
• Porto Brazil Restaurant, 7887 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 92/A
• Thai Emerald, 540 W. Crossville Road, Roswell. 97/A
• Vintage Pizzeria, 12540 Broadwell Road, Milton. 83/B

Gwinnett County

• Happy Tasty, 3096 Buford Highway, Duluth. 89/B
• Mila’s Pupuseria, 950 Indian Trail Road, Lilburn. 96/A
• On the Border, 2275 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth. 91/A
• Stars Café, 1685 Old Norcross Road, Lawrenceville. 82/B
• Taco Mac, 3250 Woodward Crossing Blvd., Buford. 86/B

Paulding County

• Cajun’s Cookin’, 45 Enterprise Path, Hiram. 92/A
• Hai Hai Japanese Steakhouse, 5157 Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway, Hiram. 90/A
• Los MaGuey’s Mexican, 8774 Dallas Acworth Highway, Dallas. 92/A
• Phoenix Bar and Grill, 3716 Atlanta Highway, Hiram. 92/A
• Sal’s Pizza & Bistro, 2538 Cedarcrest Road, Acworth. 86/B

– by Laura Berrios for the Food & More blog

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