Restaurant Inspections: Shadowland

From Dec. 7 to Dec. 19, the state health department inspected one restaurant in the Kingstowne area: Shadowland. For prior restaurant inspection reports, click here.

In Virginia, restaurant inspection reports aren't quite as simple as getting a letter grade or an easy-to-see number rating to post in the front window.

That said, we all want to know how our favorite restaurants stack up on cleanliness and sanitation. Inspectors grade restaurants based on critical and non-critical violations.

A "critical violation" is one that "poses a direct or immediate threat to the safety of the food being served." Non-critical violations are generally related to cleaning or maintenance.

"Ideally, an operation would have no critical violations, or none which are not corrected immediately and not repeated. In our experience, it is unrealistic to expect that a complex, full-service food operation can routinely avoid any violations," according to Virginia Department of Health's website.

The site continues: "Keep in mind that any inspection report is a 'snapshot' of the day and time of the inspection. On any given day, a restaurant could have fewer or more violations than noted in the report. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term cleanliness of an establishment."

Below, find the latest restaurant inspection from the Virginia Department of Health. These inspections reflect visits from inspectors during the last few weeks. Some of the violations were corrected immediately during the recent inspections.

The full reports can be accessed on the health department's website.

Shadowland
5508 Franconia Road
Date of inspection: Dec. 11
Critical (corrected during inspection): One or more of the elements of an effective employee health policy is either missing or incomplete. A complete employee health policy is required to be in place at the food establishment.
Non-critical: Surfaces of ice bins, beverage dispensing nozzles, and enclosed components of equipment are not being cleaned as required.
Non-critical: The waste storage container has a missing lid.