Two Restaurants Cited For Critical Violations in Wantagh-Seaford

The State Health Department reports that the vast majority of food service establishments in the Wantagh-Seaford area have passed inspections.

A patch review of inspections listed on the attached map shows that two Wantagh establishments were cited for one "critical violation" while no establishments in Seaford were cited. The information is based on data downloaded from the state's online data portal on Jan 7, which may not reflect any inspection results added to the state's database since then.

The two Wantagh establishments with critical violations are:

Corry's Ale House at 3274 Railroad Avenue in Wantagh (1 violation)
New Burrito Mariachi at 2014 Wantah Avenue. (1 violation)

In October, Corry's Ale House was cited for a critical violation because an employee put a drink on a cutting board, which can lead to cross contamination, according to Nassau County Health Department spokeswoman, Mary Ellen Laurain.

"Basically the cook was taking a sip of his soda & put it down," Corry's Ale House owner John Corry wrote in a statement to Patch.  "How that fits into the critical item category is beyond us. The same inspector also gave us an A rating in that same report."

Corry said the inspector's sheet described the violation as: "Food Workers Do Not Wash Hands Thoroughly (Generate Lather) After Visiting The Toilet, Coughing, Sneezing, Smoking or Otherwise Contaminating Their Hands."

The pub owner insisted that staff and management of the restaurant would never condone the behavior described."

"We pride ourselves on keeping up-to-date with all codes and guidelines given by the Department of Health, having developed check-lists and our own policies to help enforce all precedents," he said.

Sam Liu, the owner of New Burrito Mariachi, said his restaurant was cited for storing eggs too close to avacaodos. He said the problem was quickly corrected and all of the food involved was thrown out immediately.

In both cases the critical violations were corrected according to state documents. Several other area eateries were also cited for routine violations.

The various county health departments make these inspections routinely and follows up with restaurants that have critical violations. The reports then go to the state.