The Thierry Andre Tellier Café and Pastry Shop (2515 River Oaks) was closed last week because of a health code violation but has reopened. There was a consultative visit by the Houston Department of Health and Human Services last Thursday, during which inspectors found that food was not protected from potential contamination. We called the shop, which has since reopened for business, and were told the closing was due to a broken pipe, but repairs have been completed and all is well in the Thierry Andre Tellier world again.
The situation over at Los Cucos Mexican Café XVIII, Inc. (5851 Westheimer) is a little more complicated. Among the eight (yep, eight) violations inspectors found in the kitchen during a routine inspection last Friday, was raw/prepared food removed from original containers and then stored in unclean/uncovered containers; equipment not cleaned often enough to keep it free from dust/dirt/food particles and other debris; plumbing not sized/installed/maintained properly; and floors not kept clean in food prep area/walk-in refrigeration unit/storage area/dishwashing area/toilet/dressing rooms. The inspector also found that the walls/ceiling were not maintained in good repair and that walls/ceilings were not kept clean. Also, the screens for windows/doors were not tight fitting/free of breaks. And there was a food employee that wasn't wearing effective hair restraint/clothing to cover body hair while handling food and utensils. (The body hair situation was corrected on site during the visit.)
A visit to the restaurant's bar area found that food was not protected from potential contamination and that there were no clean towels or hand-dryers near the hand-washing sink. Over at Los Cucos' buffet/wait staff station, food on display was not protected from consumer contamination.
That's a total of 11 violations for Los Cucos. We're going to guess the management wasn't happy. We're also going to guess that if the guests in the restaurant that day knew what was going on in the kitchen, they'd be even less happy.
