The Galleria's abundant blank-slate retail space needs little rehab and continues to retain and attract better-than-average restaurants that consistently score low on the health code violation hit parade. But there were a few offenders in September. Forthwith, some of the restaurants under the chrome arches that were cited by the Health Department:

Located in one the Galleria's well-appointed strip malls is Sage 400 (2800 Sage Road), whose website features music that sounds like a Tokyo porn soundtrack. The restaurant's interior is lovely and beautifully lit. Sage passed its inspection with flying colors, with one minor violation corrected on site.

Nordstrom's Ebar (5192 Hildalgo), a kind of gleaming espresso hut, serves coffee beverages as well as cold wrap sandwiches and desserts. Nordstrom's Café Bistro is a more spacious full-service restaurant. These outlets collected four citations, one of which was corrected while the inspectors were on site.

According to the menu, Kona Grill (5061 Westheimer) is "where opposites attract" - in other words, it serves both meatloaf and sushi. Kona takes the prize for most disgusting violation of the week: improper disposal of sewage/liquid waste. The Health Department log spares us the details. Editor's note: The actual citation was for a soda gun holder with a clogged drain, so it was not as disgusting as we first feared.

A routine inspection of the Brisa Cocina (5161 San Felipe) kitchen turned up four violations, a dirty sponge being the only real concern.

Next door to Uptown Park, that big brick lump of Sugarland-looking sugar on 610 West, lies the "luxuriously private" Granduca Hotel (1080 Uptown Park Blvd.). Gentle reader, how luxurious can a place be with no hand soap in the bar john?