Chinese takeout place in South Boston shut for kitchen grossness

A Boston health inspector today shut Nanning Wok, 465 West Broadway, for violations that included letting cooked chicken fingers cool down too much and uncooked meat warm up too much and not doing anything about rodents and smokers.

Among the violations: "Evidence of smoking in establishment with strong odor of cigarettes" and "Evidence of rodent activity with droppings in dining area, basement and behind cookline equipment."

But unlike other restaurants, which can simply ask for a new inspection, Nanning Wok has to first request a formal hearing at ISD headquarters to show it's serious about cleaning up - because many of the violations have come up repeatedly in inspections going back to last year, even as it's maintained its "A" cleanliness rating, according to the latest inspector's report.

Among these repeat violations are using boxes that had contained raw chicken to hold cooked chicken fingers or wings and workers not knowing how to properly wash utensils. Another was the "caked on soils" and grease on various cooking tools and equipment that inspections noted going back to April of 2017.

On Jan. 31, an inspector noted an apparently novel way of dealing with this problem: "It appears establishment has spray painted over grease and soils on side of cookline equipment."

On June 21, an inspector found evidence somebody was sleeping in the basement, specifically, a "bed with blankets & pillow."

Following a hearing, Naning Wok can re-open once it passes a re-inspection.