5 Hudson Valley Restaurants Receive ‘Critical’ Health Violations

Five Hudson Valley restaurants have recently received three or more critical health violations.

The New York State Department of Health regularly inspects local restaurants for unsanitary kitchens, improper cooking practices and faulty equipment. All of these issues can lead to a dangerous situation for restaurant patrons. Because the public has a right to know how safe the food is that they're feeding their families, we regularly compile a list of the worst offending restaurants.

The list has been unpopular with some restaurant owners who have attempted to claim that having numerous critical violations isn't a "big deal". We disagree. While it's true that even the best-run restaurants can receive violations for minor infractions, more severe issues that could make customers sick are listed separately as "critical violations."

It's rare for any restaurant to receive one critical violation, let alone three or more. These severe violations can affect the safety of food and put customers at risk of getting sick.

We're happy to report that since we started compiling this semi-annual list, the number of restaurants with multiple critical violations has severely decreased. For example, last February our list included 11 restaurants. In July of 2023, there were six Hudson Valley restaurants with three or more violations. Our first list of 2024 contains only five.

All of the restaurants below have received at least three critical violations during their last inspection in late 2023 or early 2024. In all cases except for one, the critical violations were addressed and corrected after the inspection. Being listed below doesn't mean that these restaurants are currently violating health codes, it just means they were at the time of their most recent inspection.

A more detailed look at all of these restaurants, as well as every other Hudson Valley eating establishment, can be found on the New York State health database.

Le Petit Bistro in Rhinebeck, New York

This upscale Rhinebeck mainstay has been in operation for decades. Le Petit Bistro was inspected by the New York State Department of Health on December 29, 2023, and was found to have four critical violations as well as five additional non-critical violations.

Issues included serving food from an "unapproved source, spoiled ingredients or adulted on-premises", kitchen personnel using bare hands to touch cooked or prepared items and food items not being cooled quickly enough to prevent possible bacterial contamination. Other non-critical violations include food not properly stored (on the floor, uncovered or mislabeled, utensils not properly stored, and dirty surfaces).

Bubbakoo's Burritos in Monroe, NY

The Monroe location of this chain Mexican restaurant was inspected on January 11, 2024, and found to have four critical violations.

The New York State Department of Health found improperly labeled toxic chemicals that could lead to food contamination. Other critical violations involved proper food temperatures. Inspectors found food not properly refrigerated before preparation, food not cooled down quickly enough after being prepared and prepared food not maintained at high enough temperatures to avoid contamination. Other violations included mislabeled food items and improper thawing procedures.

G's Restaurant in Warwick, New York

G's Restaurant was inspected on January 10, 2024, and was found to have four critical violations.

Canned foods were found to be in bad condition, either leaking, dented, rusty or swollen. There were also situations where raw food could easily contaminate prepared food, leading to illness. Mislabeled toxic chemicals were also found to be mislabeled which could lead to contamination.

Jalisco Mexican Cuisine in Monroe, New  York

This Mexican eatery was cited with three critical violations during its January inspection. Infractions included not having a thermometer to make sure food items were cooked to a proper temperature, food not protected from possible contamination during storage and mislabeled or stored toxic chemicals that could lead to food contamination.

Health inspectors noted that all but one of the restaurant's violations were corrected after inspection, but did not indicate which one.

Stormville Pizza & More in Stormville, New York

The pizzeria located in the Stormville Plaza on Route 216 was inspected on October 17 and found to have three critical violations. All of the infractions had to do with food temperatures. Inspectors found hazardous food not kept under 45 degrees, potentially hazardous food left unrefrigerated and prepared food not kept at a warm enough temperature during hot holding.