Cafe Kim did not respond to a hand-delivered letter seeking comment.

How do other local eateries rate?

Area residents usually don't know, because health departments will release such data only if someone files a formal request through state open-records laws. The requester must then pay up to $50 per hour (in Utah County) for workers to process that request, plus copying fees.

The Deseret Morning News went through that process to obtain inspection data on 5,000 eateries in Salt Lake and Utah counties, and today posts average scores for each of them online by clicking on the PDF links above.

(Davis County has not computerized its inspection records, so it was not included. However, that county is planning to put inspection results online itself later this year and has hired a contractor to scan its paper reports to make such data available.)

The Morning News used such data to identify eateries with the best scores and the worst; to show how fast-food chains compare; to show how various types of ethnic food restaurants compare; and to show how different types of eateries — from schools to nursing homes, full-service cafes and buffets — score on average.

Inspector crunch

It also found that officials in both Salt Lake and Utah counties do not inspect eateries as often as mandated by state law. Both blame tight budgets that they say do not allow hiring enough inspectors. That means some eateries rarely saw an inspector over the two years.

Warnings and caveats

Health departments worry inspection results could be misinterpreted. So, some explanation is needed to help residents know what they can fairly compare and conclude — and what they should not.

First, Salt Lake and Utah counties use different systems and values for assigning points to violations. So it is not possible to compare point scores fairly between the two. But in both, serious violations earn more points. Also, higher scores mean more violations, or more serious ones, were found.

Next, inspectors warn that establishments of the same type — say, full-service restaurants — should be compared only against each other. They should not be compared to other types that have much different operations, such as a snow-cone stand that has relatively little that could pose a health threat.

"For example, let's say a movie theater snack bar gets a score of 8 or 9 points. For most places, that would be a good score. But for a theater, it's bad," said Jay Stone, food program manager for the Utah County Health Department.