Sushi Garden — Restaurant in Pueblo

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Sushi Garden - Inspection Report Inspection Information: [?] Facility Type: Full Service [?] Inspection type: Routine [?] Inspection date: 22-March-2017 [?] Violations: A summary of the violations found during the inspection are listed below. Number of critical violations: 16 Number of non-critical violations: 2 2-102 Critical Food employee does not demonstrate food safety knowledge and person in charge is not present during inspection. Observed lack of knowledge in the following areas: 1) explaining the relationship between maintaining the time and temperature of potentially hazardous foods 2) explaining the correct procedures for cleaning and sanitizing utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment 3) describing the relationship between the prevention of foodborne illness and the management and control of the following: cross contamination, hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, and handwashing. Spoke to person in charge about attending food safety class.

2-403c Corrected During Inspection Critical Repeat Employees observed not hand washing when required (e.g. between glove changes, between tasks, upon returning to work station, etc.). Observed multiple employees performing various tasks without proper handwashing and glove changes in between such as 1) grabbing items out of cooler and returning to cutting raw chicken 2) battering raw shrimp and returning to cooking 3) draining sink and returning to cutting raw chicken. Spoke to employees and person in charge about proper handwashing and glove use.

2-405 Corrected During Inspection Critical Repeat Employees observed washing hands in any sink other than a designated hand sink. Observed employees washing hands in three-compartment sink in kitchen as all other handsinks were unavailable. Spoke to person in charge and employees about utilizing only designated hand sinks.

2-501 Corrected During Inspection Critical Food employee observed wiping hands on soiled apron, clothes, or common towel. Observed cook wiping hands on common towel in between cooking tasks with gloves on. Spoke to employee about proper handwashing and glove usage.

2-502 A Corrected During Inspection Critical Employees eating, drinking, or smoking in non-designated areas. Observed open drinks next to cutting of chicken and shrimp. Spoke to employees about designated area for drink storage along with lid and straw present on drink.

3-404c Corrected During Inspection Critical Cross-contamination of raw to ready-to-eat food is not prevented during storage, preparation, display, or transport. Observed raw pork above prepared salad in walk-in cooler. Spoke to person in charge about proper storage.

3-501e A Corrected During Inspection Critical Repeat Potentially hazardous foods are being held improperly at temperatures greater than 41 degrees F during cold storage. Observed shrimp in top of prep cooler across from grill measuring at temperatures of 46 degrees F. Shrimp was discarded during inspection.

3-601 A Corrected During Inspection Critical Temperatures of potentially hazardous food are observed rising above 41 degrees F during thawing under refrigeration. Observed shrimp on back prep table and salmon filet thawing at room temperature measuring at 53-55 degrees F for less than four hours per person in charge. Spoke to employees and person in charge about proper thawing.

3-605e Corrected During Inspection Critical Incorrect / unapproved use of 'time as a public health control' for cold holding. Observed salad station at front of kitchen holding lettuce and tofu at temperatures of 46-58 degrees F for less than four hours per employee. Spoke to employee about creating a sign for discard time to ensure time as a public health control.

There is more but...

TL;DR - would I go back? Yeah, if no other place is open. Is it my first choice? No. Blue Ocean and Tsunami are FAR better and provide fresher quality salmon.

I know it's Memorial Monday and that a lot of places have long wait times, so I'm offering some forgiveness, but I will say the timing of taking a break when there are only 2 servers/waitresses is a little concerning. When we arrived, half the place was empty, but we still had to wait 15 minutes before being seated. Yes, I understand covid, but the tables were NOT socially distanced- the staff was putting tables directly next to one another. Furthermore, there are multiple staff who do not wear masks, but there was no proof of them being fully vaccinated.

Service was subpar- we had Ange, as Tammi was on break. Poor Ange was swamped because of this, so there is a lot of forgiveness for the service being subpar. The sushi chefs seemed kind enough and were checking in to help when they could. For example, we got our sushi before our salad and soup; and we had to ask for our jalapeno poppers.

Food was also subpar- I do not recommend the Asian jalapeno poppers unless you like large chunks of jalapeno with cream cheese. It is not exactly something to be desired (go to Burger King and get some there - they're delicious and either cheaper or the same price). The salmon on the nigiri was quite dull - not the nice bright red of other places (which my husband said it didn't taste as good. It wasn't BAD, just wasn't GOOD either). The shrimp tempura in the rolls was still warm, which meant it was freshly made, but that also made for a weird sensation as it was a mixture of warm and cold when it would normally just be cold. And the one roll I asked for was an Alaska roll, but they brought out an Avocado roll instead. It wasn't a big deal, but I can't tell if it was an honest mistake or perhaps they were low on salmon/the quality of salmon was bad, which is why they did an Avocado roll.

Cleanliness- overall, I suppose it was good. I couldn't say for sure if they sanitized the menus after each customer. I know they clean the tables with a bleach mixture, which be careful if you wear black! But overall, it seemed clean enough, but I didn't go into the bathrooms.

Cost- it was comparable to other places around Pueblo, which is understandable but I would encourage the owner to rethink prices given the quality of ingredients being used. However, our bill was a bit lower than expected as my two rolls were put together as a lunch special, so that was a...

Total disappointment...! Normally, I would provide positive feedback for a dine-in visit at Sushi Garden, Pueblo but unfortunately, it was NOT the case for yesterday's visit (3/25/24) Instead, it was the worst experience ever and to make matters worse it was supposed to be a joyous and memorable day in celebration of my granddaughter's 9th birthday. We arrived at 6:12 PM and were seated within a resonable time (6:20 PM - station 01) but went down hill from there... Our server (Destiny) did not arrive to our table until approximately 35-40 minutes after being seated, apologized for the long wait but had only requested drink orders at that time. Drinks were served (10-15 min.) but only to be inconvinced with yet another 30-35 minute wait. As we continued to sit there waiting we realized that we had been waiting for over an hour. It was then, that I decided to contact another local sushi restaurant to try to save the night for my sweet granddaughter's sake and with Sushi Garden (server Destiny) from completely ruining her special day.

Walked over to the register to pay for our drinks and to notify "we're leaving do to the extremely long wait (poor service) and with NO food being ordered" we see that Destiny (our assigned server) was also scheduled to work the register. She apologized yet again and stated "I'm trying to do my best" I acknowledged with "I understand but we've been patiently waiting for over an hour, and if you felt overwhelmed and knew you needed help then you should've reached out to management or other staff members (servers) to assist instead of inconveniencing your customers and leaving them unattended. No response. Instead she just cashed us out (7:34 PM) and yet, only to realize when arriving home that Destiny overcharged me for my beer (odered small but was charged for large). Would have caught it sooner when leaving but had to rush out to make it to the other restaurant on-time. Shame on you Destiny! And shame on management for not ensuring stations (servers) are being managed and assigned properly.

Lastly, I attempted to contact management today (3/26/24) to let them be aware of the situation but was unable to do so since they have blocked all incoming calls. It's a shame that a restaurant such as Sushi Garden provides great food has such poor service and poor management.

I thank the other Sushi restaurant, I believe 'Suehiro' (downtown Pueblo - owner Judy) for saving my granddaughter's special day and for their excellent...