Dead pests and mold: The 8 worst Phoenix restaurant violations in July

In July, the Valley's scariest restaurant reports weren't necessarily at the eateries where inspectors found the most violations. Instead, some individual issues packed a gross punch.

Inspectors from the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department spread out all over the Valley each month to make sure restaurants stay clean and safe. They file reports, which are available online, of their findings.

"Flakes of black matter" on pizza, "several dead pests" and employees handling raw meat with bare hands were found at Phoenix restaurants in July. Here are the eight worst recent restaurant inspections.

Little Caesars

933 N. 16th St.

In a July 2 inspection, Little Caesars was dinged with three priority violations and earned a "D" letter grade. The inspector noticed that employees didn't wash their hands or equipment, such as the blade on the dough machine, well enough. The inspector also "observed pizza dough in pans, with visible organic black matter flaking off external sides of pan." The report went on to explain that the pans of dough were stacked on top of each other, "with flakes of the black matter on the pizza dough." The July inspection also noted that this isn't the first time this location of Little Caesars has had issues, and "a pattern of non-compliance for foodborne illness risk factor violation" was noted.

Lin's Grand Buffet

1215 S. Ellsworth Road, Mesa

The restaurant with the most issues in July, and another "D" letter grade, was Lin's Grand Buffet. The Mesa eatery racked up six priority violations, some of which included improper hand-washing and open raw meat and seafood thawing in the sink. Employees were seen using their cell phones and then touching buffet food, and employee belongings such as earbuds and keys were strewn throughout the kitchen in food storage areas and on cutting boards. Raw beef was stored above raw octopus, and an employee washed their hands with gloves on. The inspector found a dirty broken mixer and a "meat shredder with accumulation of dried-up food debris on food contact surfaces." To top it off, an employee used a cleaning product that "is not approved for food contact surfaces" to wipe cutting boards.

Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant

3440 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler

In a July 15 inspection, Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant picked up four priority violations. Most were to do with food stored at improper temperatures and a broken cold table that was fixed with tape. The inspector also watched as an "employee wearing gloves entered from outside, touched the trash can then began preparing food."

Denny's

7605 E. McDowell Road, Scottsdale

America's Diner let customers down in Scottsdale during a July 22 inspection. The inspector watched an employee with gloved hands crack raw eggs and then immediately grab cooked sausages and clean plates. Later in the inspection, the same employee grabbed raw hamburgers with gloved hands and then touched a basket of fries and clean plates. Three separate refrigerators weren't cold enough, storing food in the "temperature danger zone." And in one fridge, there were "black organic particles and large black organic string shaped inside open large container of open liquid egg."

Motomoto Sushi & Izakaya

15 E. Monroe St. #100 

Motomoto Sushi, which is owned by sister restaurant Nanaya Japanese Kitchen and listed as such in the inspection report, received three priority violations on July 23. The downtown Phoenix restaurant's issues started with an open can of peaches in the refrigerator with "fuzzy, green/black organic growth." Throughout the restaurant's coolers, raw chicken, pork and eggs were stored above other food items, such as noodles, vegetables and ginger. The inspector found ingredients that were kept past their use-by date, or with no date markings at all. Lastly, the inspector "observed several dead pest throughout the establishment and in the sticky traps" and requested that the restaurant "please remove any dead pest to prevent attracting live pest."

Wendy's

1175 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler

At Wendy's in Chandler, employees had their hands all over the french fries. Three different employees were seen touching fries with their bare hands. The employees "placed fingers into the filled fry containers and/or handled the fries from the top of the container while picking up the product to give to a customer," the report said. In addition, cooked chicken was reheated to improper temperatures.

Barstool

4321 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale

Barstool, a company known for other types of issues, can add food code violations to its list of troubles. On a July 31 visit, the inspector found an employee with a strange understanding of how to use gloves. They were seen handling raw chicken, changing their gloves and then handling other foods without any hand-washing. Later in the inspection, the same employee wore three pairs of gloves, handled raw chicken, took one set of gloves off, and continued to touch other pans. "Both times, employee was instructed to wash hands and get new gloves after handling raw chicken," the report noted. The lack of hand-washing may have been due to the sinks being used for storage. One hand-washing sink was filled with clean, dry towels, another with bottles and a third with trash. The inspection, which was conducted on the last day of July, also found 10-day-old chili and hot dogs dated July 10. The walk-in refrigerator's fan also was blowing out ice and had "a lot of rust."

Black Rock Coffee Bar

1202 W. Broadway Road, Tempe

On a July 31 inspection, Black Rock Coffee Bar in Tempe scored three priority violations. Here, certain things were dirty, and others were dangerously clean. The ice machine had a "buildup of organic matter" inside. Chlorine sanitizer in a sanitation bucket was found to be more than double the strength it should be, and the inspector found "multiple spray bottles of window cleaner, bleach and other cleaning solutions hanging on rack near the food prep station above coffee beans," according to the report.