2014 Edition - The Dirtiest Restaurants in Washington DC

It's holiday season and its that time of the year where you are spending time with friends and family. Watching movies, seeing places and eating out is all part of the fun. But its important that you eat at the right places and as much as possible stay away from the list below. Here is a list of top 20 dirtiest restaurants in Washington DC.

Note: All the data used in this analysis comes from DC Department of Health Restaurant Inspection data. The data is not available in an easy to access format and so thanks to Graham's Inspection Mapper, for extracting the data and making it available in an easy to analyze format.

Restaurants with the most # of Violations (The Dirtiest...)

Restaurant Name	Address	Critical Violations	Non Critical Violations
B & J CARRYOUT	238 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW	38	66
COSMO CAFE	600 MARYLAND AVE SW	36	36
HERITAGE INDIA	1901 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW	35	44
CAFE PHILLIPS	1201 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW	31	38
D C THAI	1018 VERMONT AVE NW	30	23
CAFE PHILLIPS	77 K ST NE	29	24
MOMOYAMA	231 2ND ST NW	29	26
SAN ANTONIO GRILL	3908 12TH ST NE	27	21
JACK'S FAMOUS DELI	625 INDIANA AVE NW	27	15
SOHO CAFE & MARKET	529 14TH ST NW	26	40
JOHNNY'S DELI	601 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW	26	15
BISTRO D' OC	518 10TH ST NW	25	41
CITIES	919 19TH ST NW	25	37
LUCKY'S CAFE	777 NORTH CAPITOL ST	25	26
UPTOWNER CAFE	2023 G ST NW	25	23
EL RANCON ESPANOL	1826 COLUMBIA RD NW	24	36
HARRIS TEETER	1201 1st ST NE	24	33
Uptown Tap House	3412 CONNECTICUT AVE NW	24	35
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL	2000 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW	24	16
CAMPONO CAFE	600 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW	23	13

Critical Violations: Violations, if left uncorrected, are more likely than other violations to directly contribute to food contamination, illness, or environmental health hazard. Examples of critical violations include poor temperature control of food, improper cooking, cooling, refrigeration or reheating temperatures.

The definition of dirtiest is a matter of interpretation and in this case it is my opinion. With the number of violations, these restaurants definitely pose a higher risk for health hazard. This data represents only inspections from Jan 2014 to Nov 2014 since Dec 2014 data is not yet entirely available.

Restaurants with the most # of Inspections

Restaurant Name	Address	Inspection Count
ASIAN AMERICAN RESTAURANT	1209 BRENTWOOD RD NE	8
SHAKE SHACK	800 F ST NW	8
WE, THE PIZZA	305 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE	8
HERITAGE INDIA	1901 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW	8

It is also interesting to note below that in 2014* (data only till Nov), the number of critical and non-critical violations have increased dramatically, while the number of inspections has only marginally increased.

For more information on the inspections, please visit Understanding Food Establishment Inspections. If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave us a comment.

Quick sample of few inspection comments (falls under critical violations)...

1. "Rodent droppings under cooking units, 3 compartment sink, corners under shelves at the bar. Live roaches in unused dish machine; bottom shelves of work tables."
2. "Cold foods such as chopped shrimp and coleslaw not held at proper temperatures. (Corrected On Site)"
3. "Raw steak stored in contact with ready to eat bread on freezer on line."

Disclaimer: Datamattic Inc. sourced the data for this analysis from DC Health inspection website and does not own it. Please read the disclaimer on the data and the inspections on the departments website. While we have analyzed the data in good faith with due diligence, its possible that we have missed something and will be happy to correct/ amend and provide due credit if brought to our attention and we think is right.