Each week, reporters review the results of food-safety inspections conducted by Maricopa County’s Environmental Services Department to produce a Dirty Dining roundup highlighting establishments with multiple “risk factors,” the major health-code violations inspectors prioritize. The most recent list includes restaurants across the Phoenix area cited for a range of problems from improper cooking temperatures to failures in dishwashing and hand-washing facilities. Exterior of a Phoenix-area restaurant shown in the AZ Family inspection roundup highlighting local eateries cited for violations such as improper steak temperatures and dishwashing lapses.
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Leading the most-cited establishments in the latest roundup is a Carniceria on East Bell Road in Phoenix, which accumulated five violations during its most recent inspection. Inspectors noted eggs and chorizo stored over salsa, which can allow cross-contamination; an employee failing to properly sanitize dishes; beef, chicken and shrimp kept past their discard dates; fried pork belly not cooked to the required internal temperature; and a hot display case missing its front window. The storefront of the carniceria appears alongside a nearby Italian-inspired restaurant in photos from the report. Storefronts of Tocaya (left) and Carniceria La Super (right) in Phoenix; Carniceria La Super is named in AZ Family’s Dirty Dining report after multiple Maricopa County health-code violations.
In Tolleson, a seafood restaurant was cited for four violations that inspectors categorized as risk factors. The inspection report lists the lack of a certified food manager on site, an employee handling raw seafood and clothing without washing up afterward, a hand-wash sink that was not functioning, and cooked shrimp mix that was not stored properly. Those findings were recorded together as part of the facility’s latest inspection and appear on the same county inspection logs used for other establishments in the region.
A modern Mexican concept in Scottsdale was cited for three violations, including cooked beans that were not cooling properly, a steak that was not maintained at the correct temperature, and ready-to-eat foods that were not being kept hot enough. Another Gilbert seafood restaurant was cited for three violations as well: the absence of paper towels at a hand-wash sink, raw beef stored above raw seafood, and toxic substances that were not labeled. Inspectors recorded these items as risk factors during routine checks of those kitchens.
A Phoenix diner-style restaurant received three violations on its inspection report. Inspectors noted that an employee touched a personal phone and then made contact with food-preparation surfaces, there was no soap available at a hand-wash sink, and items including potato salad and cheese were not date-marked as required. Across the inspections highlighted in this roundup, documented issues included hand-wash sinks that were inoperative or lacked soap or towels, employees failing to sanitize dishes correctly, improper cooling and storage of prepared foods, food kept past discard dates and temperature-control failures for cooked proteins.
The weekly Dirty Dining selection process focuses on establishments with a higher number of these prioritized risk factors, as recorded by county environmental health inspectors. While several restaurants were cited for multiple violations in this cycle, the county’s inspection program also records numerous facilities that achieved perfect scores. The roundup includes a Dean’s List of businesses that received flawless inspections in the same reporting period, reflecting compliance with the county’s food-safety requirements.
Restaurants that made the Dean’s List with perfect health inspection scores in this period include Asian Café Express in Mesa; Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers in Gilbert; Hungry Howie’s Pizza in Phoenix; Mad Greens in Scottsdale; The Pasta Factory in Avondale; and Ah-So Sushi and Steak in Glendale. The county inspection records and this weekly roundup are available to the public for review, and readers may consult the county’s Environmental Services Department for more information about the scoring and inspection process. Readers who wish to share photos or video of breaking news or who notice errors in published material are invited to submit that material through the outlet’s user-content and feedback channels.
Maricopa County’s food code spells out specific time and temperature rules: hot-held, time/temperature-control (TCS) foods must be maintained at 135°F or higher; poultry must be cooked to 165°F; comminuted or injected meats and certain other items prepared for immediate service must reach 155°F for 15 seconds; and roast beef and whole-muscle beef steaks are listed at 130°F unless the consumer orders otherwise.
The county’s online inspection reports break violations into Priority, Priority Foundation and Core categories, show the number of each type found, note whether items were corrected onsite (or include a "Correct By" date), and convert those counts into an A–D grade using a published grading matrix.
Maricopa requires establishments that serve open food to have at least one certified Food Protection Manager on staff; the absence of that credential is recorded as a Priority violation in inspection reports, which also indicate whether a facility participates in the county’s voluntary "Cutting Edge" food-safety/award program.