Harris County gives flawless food safety rating to Chicago-style eatery

Some people say the Chicago-style hot dog -- poppy seed bun, mustard, onions, relish, pickle, tomato, sport peppers, celery salt -- is the perfect way to dress a sausage.

But even if you prefer your weenies with just ketchup, there's no denying that local frankfurter purveyor Chicago Hot Dog Shack just got a perfect score on its regular food safety inspection by Harris County. The rating of zero demerits out of a possible 100 was given on March 4.

The perfect score represents a return to form for the restaurant. It also received a perfect score in July 2010, but then earned seven demerits in a November 2010 visit and needed to be inspected again. While a facility must receive 20 demerits to automatically be considered "of concern" and in need of a follow-up inspection, county officials can also order one at their discretion. They gave the restaurant no demerits in the November follow-up.

For more information on how Harris County conducts food safety inspections, visit www.hcphes.org.