La Finca — Restaurant in Davenport

La Finca, 916 W. 2nd St., Davenport – During an Aug. 10 visit, a Scott County Health Department cited this restaurant for 18 violations, an extraordinarily high number. Among the issues: Mouse droppings were “found throughout the facility,” including the storage area and the interior of cabinets near the cash register; employees were not properly washing their hands and were observed handling homemade tortilla shells with their bare hands, and raw chicken was stored in a pan directly on top of another pan holding beef, creating a risk of cross-contamination.

Also, several pans of tamales were stored on the floor of a walk-in freezer; several boxes of tortilla chips were “stored on the ground” in a rear storage room; steak, chicken, pork, and chorizo meats used for tacos were left sitting out at room temperature, at 56 to 80 degrees after being cooking earlier that same morning; and a large pot containing pork that was cooked several hours earlier was left sitting out at room temperature, with the pork measured at 80 degrees.

Also, a large pan of ground beef prepared the previous day was in a cooler holding at 45 to 47 degrees and had to be discarded; a cooler in the meat department was holding products at 43 to 50 degrees, which was too warm to ensure safety; refried beans in a large stock pot were holding at 43 to 44 degrees and had to be discarded; the interior of the meat cooler had “a buildup of food debris and soil”; the interior of another cooler was soiled with excess food debris, and a separate cooler was soiled with “raw chicken juice.”

The manager reported that the meat grinder was typically used in the morning but not cleaned until that same evening, and a food dicer was stored on a shelf with “leftover bits of raw fish” clinging to it.

In addition, a pan of potato and chorizo mixture was stored on top of a crate in the kitchen beside an open trash can; several pieces of equipment — including a meat grinder and tortilla press – had duct tape on them, making them difficult to sanitize; there was no hot water available at the kitchen handwashing sink or at the hand sink in the men’s restroom, and the storage-room floor was soiled with food debris and dirt.

The visit was in response to an illness complaint from a customer who claimed to have become sick after eating at the establishment. The inspector’s report does not state whether the complaint was deemed verified. Due to the number of violations, a risk-control plan was developed between the facility and the health department to address any long-term issues.

In October 2022, inspectors noted the person in charge at the restaurant was “unaware of how to sanitize” and the need to do so. At that time, the business was also cited for a pan of cow intestines that measured 89 degrees roughly 11 hours after it was placed in a cooler. The inspector also noted the presence of house-made sauces that were expired or had inaccurate labels as to their date of preparation, with the staff explaining that “they just wrote numbers” on the labels. The inspector also made note of “the presence of cockroach-like insects” in...

I called 3 days ago and ordered 2 Tres Leche Cakes for a birthday party to be picked up at 11am today. I had a food order 7 minutes away to pick up at 11:30 and the birthday party at 12. I arrived at La Finca about 10 minutes early and they told me the cakes would be ready at 11. I didn't like the smell inside so I went back outside to wait the 10 minutes. When I went back inside there was a line so I waited and was told they were trying to reach the lady who makes them. That was upsetting news considering I ordered the cakes in advance and had no idea where these cakes were being prepared now. I asked if "she" was making the cakes in her house and selling them in the restaurant, since that is illegal and they said she had a bakery. Where? I asked why couldn't I have just picked them up at the bakery and not had to wait for them to get transported and they just shrugged. The cakes took over a half an hour to arrive, making me late to pick up the food and late for the party. The manager never put his phone down the entire time I was there and sent me to an assistant manager who had been there for 2 days who took forever finding my order. Then the cakes showed up wrong. There was supposed to be one pink one and they were both white, you couldn't see the happy birthday on them either as they put in on the side in the same color frosting as the cake. Then after all that inconvenience, they still charged me full price!!! Worst customer service I have ever witnessed and I have worked in multiple restaurants over the course of the last 20+ years. Staff were unprofessional, had no sense of urgency and didn't even bother to try to make up for my enormous inconvenience. Also I still don't know where those cakes...

Me and my wife frequent here almost every Tuesday. As it is the last place we are aware of that has $1.00 tacos still for what used to be almost all of the Mexican restaurants in the Quad Cities. Now the stand alone with Bon Bon Tacos off Brady street raising the price to a $1.50 per taco on Tuesdays now with a limit of 15 per customer. The negatives on this establishment are that there are only two types of Tuesday tacos to purchase and its almost impossible to be able to get any of the carnita taco "which in my opinion are better" the other choice is chorizo which are still good but not my favorite choice. Last Tuesday the lady told me they were sold out of the carnita tacos by 2:30pm, and the previous Tuesday by 5:00pm. I find that pretty lame, and wonder why they just don't make more of the type that are in much higher demand. Also I do purchase a few specialty groceries while I'm there usually and find those to be fairly high priced. In addition to that they have a big sign on the front door saying they DO NOT ACCEPT EBT. Which I find pretty ignorant considering the establishment is obviously losing a high volume of revenue not taking that form of payment like their competition a couple streets over. A big positive about this place is that they have a very very friendly staff. The lady doing the sales for the kitchen on the Tuesdays is super friendly and accommodating. Other staff members on the front register and in the back at theminmi meat market are really nice too. Makes your whole experience better when you enjoy the people your purchasing from. Also got to see Davenports finest frequenting the establishment carring out quite a few bags of food for the whole fire station I would...