Revisit to restaurant with 36 violations finds more bugs

EDCOUCH, Texas (ValleyCentral) — In this edition of Food 4 Thought, the Food Patrol followed up on its handshake deal and came back to a restaurant with 36 health code violations, a rare second chance.

But first, we're catching some waves and heading to Brownsville to crack some shells.

Here’s what's que rico and que asco.

This week’s Top Performer is The Surfing Crab at 2500 Frontage Rd. in Brownsville. They earned a 100, on its Oct. 23 inspection report.

Team members, Esmeralda and Jackie are thankful and proud to be part of the Surfing Crab. "Seeing that we got the Top Performer, is amazing actually," said Jackie.

That’s que rico! But it’s que asco time.

The Food Patrol is honoring the handshake deal from last month between Lee Roy’s Chicken and Burger’s manager Vicky.

She invited us to come back in one week saying they would fix the issues from the previous 36 violations on its Hidalgo County health inspection report from Oct. 11.

The report found roaches, rust, dirty floors, and potential cross-contamination, and our cameras caught much of the same.

The staff gave Vicky a lot of excuses for the problems and she admitted Lee Roy’s would have failed if it was inspected that day.

“Honestly, I don't know. We would have been in a little bit of trouble again, of course,” Vicky said. “I want you to come back."

In a rare, second chance, the Food Patrol is back and excited to see the improvements Lee Roy's has made. However, old habits die hard.

The Food Patrol found cigarettes lying around. Vicky acknowledged cigarettes in service areas, which is a big violation.

Former Food 4 Thought presenter Ryan Wolf awarded Lee Roy’s multiple Top Performer stickers over a decade ago.

But they are not living up to the Food 4 Thought mission. Lee Roy’s has changed, and the boss knows he’s got to improve.

We found dead bugs and the staff did not believe us.

We showed owner Lee Roy the undeniable evidence of dead bugs and asked if he believed his staff was cleaning up.

"I thought they were 100%, but I guess we got a little bit to go," he said.

We're giving Lee Roy yet another chance and maybe the third time is the charm.

You’re part of the Food Patrol! When you see dirty habits, please send us photos/videos and a copy of the complaint you filed to your local health department to News@KVEO.COM.