When health inspectors visit local restaurants in Tucson they write up reports based on their findings. When a restaurant meets the necessary requirements (of which there are dozens, depending on the facility type of the business), the inspector indicates “In Compliance” and moves on. If there is an issue the inspector will take note, write out the issue, as well as any pertinent details regarding the problem. Rarely does it deviate from specifics, including instructions given to the Person In Charge (PIC) and if a follow-up inspection is warranted. Yet, there were some rather interesting notes left in one restaurant’s report. A restaurant that ultimately Failed its inspection.
Tamarind of Tucson, located at 7265 North La Cholla Blvd, is a generally well-regarded Indian restaurant. It has a 4.4 rating on Google with nearly 900 reviews left. Maintaining that level of consistency isn’t easy. The restaurant’s inspections date back to 2020, and while every inspection did result in a minor violation here or there (minor violations can include chipped tiles or snags in carpeting), there was never any kind of major identifying issue. In March of 2024, Tamarind received its annual “Standard Frequency Inspection”, which, unless there are major problems identified, is typically performed once a year.