Behind the Kitchen Door: Pest infestation leads to suspended license for Asian cuisine restaurant

Chef Joe Asian Cuisine shut down by inspector until thorough cleaning performed, dead roaches removed

SAN ANTONIO – A Northeast Side Asian cuisine restaurant had its license suspended last month after health inspectors found multiple violations, including an infestation of pests.

Chef Joe Asian Cuisine

Chef Joe Asian Cuisine, located in the 5400 block of Walzem Road, barely passed its January inspection with a 73.

Ketchup stored at room temperature had to be tossed out.

An employee was observed rinsing their hands, but they did not thoroughly wash them.

Raw meat was stored above ready-to-eat produce, and other foods were being improperly stored in bins and grocery bags.

However, the infestation of pests got the business shut down.

The inspector suspended their license until they did a deep cleaning to remove dead roaches. They also needed to prove they were using professional pest control measures to eliminate the infestation.

The business appeared to have reopened following a re-inspection.

Taqueria Vallarta

Taqueria Vallarta, located in the 800 block of South General McMullen Road, earned a 79 on their recent inspection.

The inspector found beans cooked the day before still temping at 70 degrees inside a walk-in cooler.

Food items stored in coolers on the serving line were too warm. They should be 41 degrees or lower, but they had temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees.

Another cold hold unit wasn’t working properly.

Workers were seen handling food with bare hands. Meat being thawed at room temperature was moved to a sink to be properly thawed.

The doors of the coolers needed to be cleaned. The floors needed to be fixed, and the sides and back of the equipment needed to be cleaned, along with some pipes hanging from the ceiling.

Peng’s Chinatown Restaurant

Peng’s Chinatown Restaurant in the 3200 block of Wurzbach Road earned an 85 on their January inspection.

The dishwasher wasn’t properly dispensing chlorine solution.

The manager was seen touching pieces of chicken with their bare hands. Meanwhile, the hand washing facility in the kitchen was blocked by a rack of food, and there was no hot water available at the hand sink in the kitchen.

Trays of fried chicken were cooling at room temperature, while frozen pieces were stored in a cardboard box with no food-grade lining.

A bag of cabbage and raw eggs was also found on the kitchen floor.

The business corrected five violations during the inspection.


Score Guide:

  • 100-90 = A (Very Good to Acceptable)
  • 89-80 = B (Acceptable to Marginal)
  • 79 or lower = C (Marginal to Poor)
  • *Metro Health indicates that scores of 69 or lower are failing scores

Other scores from this week of inspections:

Bill Miller BBQ, 100

3514 S Zarzamora St

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Chick-fil-A, 100

2660 SW Military Dr

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Wingstop, 100

3031 W Woodlawn

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Crumbl Cookies, 100

5531 W FM 1604

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La Gloria, 100

7622 Kennedy Hill

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Judy’s Food To Go #2, 99

5510 S Roosevelt Ave

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China Star Restaurant, 98

1647 Babcock Rd

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Sabor de Mexico, 97

5720 Bandera Rd

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Diamond Food Mart #4, 96

2347 Vance Jackson

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Drury Inn & Suites Riverwalk, 95

201 N St Mary’s

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Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins, 94

21715 IH 10 West

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Gin Chinese Restaurant, 93

5337 Glen Ridge Dr

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Church’s Chicken, 92

11910 Perrin Beitel

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Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, 91

529 Fair Ave

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Acenar Restaurant, 90

146 E Houston St


Want to know who has good scores and who doesn’t? KSAT 12 has a new tool for that.

Just click this link, and it will take you to a new mapping tool we have showing the recent scores for San Antonio food businesses.

The reports go back six months and are frequently updated.

You can catch Tim’s BKD reports Thursday’s on the Nightbeat.

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Behind the Kitchen Door image. (KSAT)

About the Authors:

Dale Keller is senior news photographer at KSAT-12.