The restaurants in this week's report truly put the "dirty" in Dirty Dining and give us evidence that roaches just may inherit the earth.
Our Dirty Dining journey begins at Thai Street Cafe near Industrial and Desert Inn roads.
With 39 demerits, customers should see a C grade hanging right where the Health District left it but it was gone.
Inspectors found expired food in the fridge at Thai Street Cafe, including rice, pot stickers, chicken satay, pork rib and Thai dumplings.
Lots of other food was in the temperature danger zone -- which the chef blamed on an electrical outage.
There were small flies throughout the facility. And a camping cot in the dry storage area. Apparently the owner had been sleeping there.
Chef Aminy Norchan says inspectors came on her day off, which is why so much went wrong. She said it's good when she is there but bad where she is not.
But the heavy residue of grease and old food debris that inspectors found doesn't happen in a day. In fact, inspectors note Thai Street Cafe has not been able to stay in compliance with Health District regulations.
We've got four imminent health hazard closures and three are Dirty Dining repeat offenders.
At Sushi 21 on Tropicana Avenue and Decatur Boulevard, images from the kitchen are enough to scare you away for good.
Inspectors found old raw chicken pieces strewn over equipment and the prep table, garnished with a dead cockroach. A multi-generational cockroach infestation closed the repeat offender's doors.
Sushi 21's own pest control reports document a "severe roach population."
Kitchen wares and food contact surfaces were dirty, greasy and unsanitary. The floor under equipment had clearly not been cleaned in who knows how long. It looks like someone vomited on the floor in one picture.
And if that's enough, the inside of the ice machine was just plain filthy.
Tacos y Tortas El Panzon on Sunset Road near Sandhill Road is another repeat offender.
They were shut down for no hot water, but inspectors also found a dead roach, dirty shelves, walls and ceilings, and a strong odor coming from the employee restroom.
Honey Pig Korean BBQ on Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard is making its third Dirty Dining appearance. They were shut down for failing re-inspection from a previous downgrade.
And Dollar Tree on Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road was shut down for a rodent infestation.
Inspectors found food offered for sale was contaminated with rodent droppings and had been chewed through. They found a dead rodent under a shelf and a live one stuck on a glue board.
The rodents' food of choice seems to be noodles and for dessert, cookies.
Thai Street Cafe still has a C, but they say the owner is focused on fixing violations and getting ready for re-inspection.
All the other places have re-opened with A grades.
