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Health Inspector Matt Doyal, left, talks with West Town Cafe owner Skip Harrison after making a surprise inspection of the restaurant Friday afternoon. Mr. Doyal averages six to eight inspections a day. The West Town Cafe scored a perfect 100 after opening in January. Todd Bennett/Staff

Restaurant inspections thorough

Web posted April 4, 1998

 Columbia County Health inspection results
 Richmond County Health inspection results

By Frank Witsil
Staff Writer

When Tony Milford steps into a restaurant it's not necessarily because he wants something to eat.

The Richmond County health inspector is looking for potentially dangerous cooking conditions.

Friday, Mr. Milford popped into the White Elephant Cafe on Broad Street.

He checked the bathrooms and kitchen. He took the temperature of the meat and cooler. He looked for dirt and grime. Almost everything checked out and he scored the eatery a 97 out of 100 -- marking off points because not all the staff was wearing hats and the walls could have been cleaner, he said.

The cafe owner signed the inspection and posted it.

``The place is really nice,'' Mr. Milford said. ``They did real good.''

A potentially dangerous substance, food is not something to fool around with, health officials say. Bacterial contamination can cause sickness and in the worst instances, death.

Environmental health officials try to inspect all of Richmond and Columbia County's eating establishments each quarter. The state requires two inspections a year.

Health ratings alert customers of health hazards that may not be apparent.

``What might look good out front,'' Columbia County environmental health manager John Tabeau said, ``might not be good in the kitchen.''

Most places receive a score between 70 and 100. As letter grades, the scores work out something like this: 90-100 is an A; 80-89 is a B; and 70-79 is a C.

Scores below 70 indicate poor health conditions. But fortunately, Mr. Tebeau said, scores that low are rare.