It takes more than restaurant reviews and word of mouth to be an educated eater in Hanover -- a visit to the Town Hall's records office might also be in order.
Facilities at Dartmouth Dining Services and Hanover restaurants regularly pass unannounced biannual health inspections with flying colors, but some have recently had problems.
Such area favorites as Everything But Anchovies, Molly's and Murphy's have never failed a review.
"I'm very serious about them," said Jim Harrison, general manager for four years at Murphy's on the Green, of the inspections.
Several businesses, however, have come dangerously close.
Live baby cockroaches and insect egg cases were found in the dishwashers this year at India Queen, according to public Town Hall records obtained by The Dartmouth.
In fact, the establishment has had continuous problems with pest control, and maintains a level of "poor sanitation," according to the inspector who reviewed the restaurant this year.
Eastern cuisine establishment Panda House "has an absolute lack of concern for food quality," according to inspector Gary Quackenbush, who is hired part-time by the Town of Hanover to conduct health inspections.
During an examination, an inspector surveys hundreds of elements of a business, grading a restaurant on a 1 to 100 scale.
"If you get a 70, you're close to being shut down," said Molly's manager Tom Curtis, an eleven-year veteran of the restaurant.
Molly's once nearly garnered a 100, Curtis told The Dartmouth, but slightly missed the perfect mark due to a weak dishwasher bleach.
"We've always scored in the 90s," Curtis said. "I wouldn't accept anything below that."
This year Molly's received an 85 and an encouraging "Good Effort!" comment from Quackenbush.
The most major consideration during a health inspection -- negligence of which results in four points being taken off for each offense -- is the temperature at which foods are stored and cooled. The most number of points taken off in any category is five.
Stews and soups cooked the night before they are served must be cooled at no more than 25 degrees during every hour in a four-hour period before being put away, said Harrison.
Due to the discovery at EBA's of chicken stored at 50 degrees and an employee who was seen washing lettuce without wearing required plastic gloves, the restaurant garnered a 69 this year.
Upon returning several weeks later in a customary follow-up visit, the inspector handed the business an improved 79.
In order to do well on an inspection, floor tiling must be smooth to avoid injuries, meats cannot be stored on top of vegetables and silverware cannot be found in tubs of wet dishes, said the managers contacted by The Dartmouth.
Such indoor concerns don't hamper inspection-master Lisa's Hot Dog Stand, found directly outside the Town Hall. The vendor received a 90 during inspections this year, and an "Excellent!" comment.
Patrick Henry's received a 58 this year, which rose to a 64 on the inspector's follow-up visit, Ramunto's obtained a 65 which increased to a 70 on follow-up, and Murphy's secured an 86 from its original rating of 78.
Hanover champions were Subway with a 91 and The Chocolate Shop, with a 98.
Coming in with the worst final rating was 5 Olde Nugget Alley, with a 61, awarded because employees at the restaurant were seen handling food with bare hands.
Health inspections weren't always required by law in Hanover, according to EBA's owner Maureen Dowd, who said her restaurant independently hired an inspector even when the process was not mandated.
Nowadays, every restaurant is required by law to undergo at least one annual inspection, though Curtis said he wishes inspections occurred more often.
"It really keeps you on your toes and makes you pay attention to all your procedures," said Curtis, adding with a laugh that this year's inspection for Molly's came in the middle of Street Fest, when the restaurant served food outside, upping the chances of health violations due to increased heat.
"It's spontaneous; you never get advanced warning," he said.
"The resources spent on inspections [by the state Health Department] are not nearly enough," Curtis continued, "because there's just not enough money in the budget, I guess."
Feeding a great many more people a day than each Hanover restaurant, DDS facilities run into more problems than those private eateries.
"We have no outstanding violations," said DDS Director Tucker Rossiter.
"We're not perfect-perfect, but we've always done pretty well," he added.
Smaller campus operations -- like Collis Center and The Courtyard Caf in the Hopkins Center -- generally do better in inspections than large-scale dining halls like Food Court and Homeplate. In fact, says Rossiter, when inspectors visit the College, they group all of the restaurants in Thayer Hall and Collis together, making the job of keeping the areas spotless much more difficult.
"Thayer is a huge building. You could easily find a dirty spoon," said Rossiter, adding such a discovery would bring an inspection score down.
Thayer usually receives a score of between 83 and 85, Rossiter said, noting this extremely respectable mark is on the lower end of all DDS inspections.
But this year, establishments in the Collis Center -- including Collis Caf, Midnite Express and Lone Pine Tavern -- received an 82.
"The employees work very hard to keep the areas clean. I'm very proud of them," said Rossiter.
State-of-the-art equipment and continuous internal inspections of their own allow DDS officials relative ease of mind when the inspector comes calling. The most damaging of any kind of health violation is a food poisoning outbreak, said Rossiter, adding DDS has never been held responsible for such an event.
"I mean -- gosh, the potential is there for a real hazard, we're feeding so many people a day," Rossiter notes.
Coordination with Dick's House when many students fall ill at once allows DDS to monitor whether spoiled food might have caused the ailments.
