Mary Rose Wilcox's El Portal: Eater Beware

As soon as we're done dealing with all this pesky SB1070 nonsense, someone should really look into what's going on with the restaurant inspections at Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox's El Portal, a Mexican restaurant just south of downtown Phoenix.

Talk about a Gross Out. And possibly an example of gross neglience (or at least yucky negligence) by the county.

We just received a press release informing us that at 12:30 this afternoon, Latino community leaders will gather at El Portal with Wilcox to discuss Judge Susan Bolton's just-announced decision enjoining parts of SB 1070.

Our advice: Go if you must, but don't eat.

(Get the disgusting details after the jump.)

Since December 2007, the county has inspected Wilcox's restaurant eight times. Six out of eight times, a "No Award" was given. That's the lowest a restaurant can get.

Since this March, three risk control plans have been put in place. In the most recent inspection on file with the county at maricopa.gov, the restaurant was cited for fruit-fly infested onions, unwashed employee hands, an uncovered ladies room garbage can, improperly stored food, and dirty knives, tongs, spatulas and a vegetable dicer (among others).

Do other restaurant owners get this much leeway? Should anyone? 

Go ahead, ruin your appetite. Read more about the inspections here.