In November, the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food inspectors visited 41 Lawrence restaurants, finding 133 critical violations, which are violations of the food code that could cause a foodborne illness. As part of a continuing Journal-World project, we’re collecting data from all Lawrence restaurant inspections and entering it into a searchable database and online map.
Click here to search reports directly. Some restaurants are not on the list because they have yet to be inspected in 2012. However, restaurants are inspected at least once per year.
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November restaurant inspections
Restaurant inspection results for Lawrence restaurants in November.
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Full restaurant inspection results 2012
This searchable charts shows the results for all Lawrence restaurants inspected in the first 11 months of 2012.
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Restaurant inspection map
A map of restaurant inspection violations for the first 10 months of 2012. :
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Comments
OonlyBonly 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Panda Garden/Plum Tree on 6th?
PitBullGrandma 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Yes...want to see if they are still serving up road kill...
srj 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Everybody seems to hate chain restaurants, but the top violators are all local.
cammieb 10 months, 2 weeks ago
El Matador had zero violations and is locally owned - owned by the same family as when it opened in the 50s. I believe it's the oldest restaurant in Lawrence - can't think of any that has been open longer.
Renaissance 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Excellent observation srj- having worked for a couple "chains" in high school nearly 15 years ago, I can attest that the corporate inspections were far more intrusive than anything the health department/city offered.
sowhatnow 10 months, 2 weeks ago
So here's a question: Why are locally owned coffee shops on this list, but nary a one of the many Starbucks in town? They get a pass on inspections, or just having the results published?
KRichards 10 months, 2 weeks ago
They do inspections all year round. So my guess is they will still be inspected in the 5 months remaining in the year.
shaunepec 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Here's the Starbucks. But KRichards is correct: http://www.ksda.gov/ResultsDB2.aspx
arylwren 10 months, 2 weeks ago
srj, Renaissance- I noticed that, too. That makes me sad though because I prefer to support local businesses. On the other hand, I've only felt sick after eating at chain places. Maybe quality of food trumps safety at times?
Clickker 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I had the trots after I ate at the old BK...I think it was the mayo in my Whopper.
Hooligan_016 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I don't know what it is, BK's just always seem dirty (however, I haven't been in one in a couple of years).
chucklehead 10 months, 2 weeks ago
every time I have eaten at BK I have been sick. One end or the other, sometimes both. Same with the old Valentino's. I loved that place but something about them didn't love me.
JayCat_67 10 months, 2 weeks ago
My wife still balks at eating at Hardees after we got sick at one in Georgia. They've since been bought out by Carl's Junior and the food quality is much better.
Pywacket 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Much more likely that it was the meat. Mayo is always getting a bad rap. In truth, since it is made with lemon and has a high acidity, it is less likely than meat, fish, or eggs to incubate bad microbes. But because it is often present with those foods (egg salad, potato salad, tuna salad, hamburgers, etc), people blame the mayo. Hamburger is probably the most "iffy" thing you can eat, due to how it is produced and handled.
naturalist 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Shaun, why isn't Genovese on this list?
jafs 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Restaurants are inspected once a year, and we haven't gotten to the end of this year yet, so there are bound to be a number of restaurants that haven't been inspected yet.
shaunepec 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Thanks jafs. Sorry I didn't get to this earlier, been covering the polls.
But naturalist, if you want to check Genovese over the years, you can search them here: http://www.ksda.gov/ResultsDB2.aspx
jafs 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Sure - my pleasure.
tomatogrower 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I bet half of the kitchens in Kansas wouldn't pass the inspection. Unless it's a gross violation, it's probably not going to kill you. It doesn't list what the violations are, so how do you know if it's all that serious?
shaunepec 10 months, 2 weeks ago
If you click on the links, it'll show you what the violations are. But I think many people would agree that many of them don't seem terribly serious. Usually the ones with the gross pests stuff get shutdown are were noted in the first article on this.
jafs 10 months, 2 weeks ago
By definition, "critical" violations are ones that can affect public health.
Evidently 10 months, 2 weeks ago
"Critical violations are more likely to directly contribute to food contamination, foodborne illnesses, or environmental health hazards. Critical violations must be corrected during the inspection. Establishments unable to correct violations during the inspection will receive a follow-up inspection." From Wichita Department of Environmental Services.
Not as serious as it sounds; sometimes they can be things as minor as improper footwear. The bigger issue is habitual violators and large numbers of violations. If they're serious issues, as mentioned by someone above, the restaurant will be shut down until it resolves the issue.
LadyJ 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I see all the schools and KU related student places listed. What I don't see is any of the preschools and child care centers which do serve food. Are these inspected by a different agency? I think they should be inspect by the same agency as these guys. Does anyone know?
Fatty_McButterpants 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Gross. It looks like I'll be dining at home tonight instead!
spinmama 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I am officially repulsed by El Mezcal. Will be avoiding those for the foreseeable future.
The other surprise -- Papa Keno's with hardly any violations?! Times they are a changin'.
kansasdaughter 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I was repulsed by El Mezcal the first and only time I ate there.
Ron Holzwarth 10 months, 2 weeks ago
Here's a really fun and informative experiment:
1) Buy a fluorescent black light (UV light).
2) Wait until night time.
3) Shut off all the house lights.
4) Wave the fluorescent black light around in your kitchen.
5) Gasp in horror at how filthy it is, despite its apparent cleanliness under ordinary light.
whatever95 10 months, 2 weeks ago
I'm glad I don't belong to Lawrence Country Club - GROSS! I'd be pissed to PAY for membership and have that many violations.
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