Never assume a phone message from me is a practical joke.
That's exactly what Kenneth Polk thought when I called his restaurant, Willie Mae's Rib Haus, 321 W. Broadway St. in West Memphis, three weeks ago on the Scorecard. The Crittenden County, AR, Health Department had cited his restaurant for a leaking hand sink; unclean "food containers, surfaces of equipment, shelves, chopping equipment"; "accumulation of grease" on the floor by the deep fryer; and a "...broken thermometer in 3-door refrig."
After Polk saw our report, he grabbed the phone to call me. He told me he thought his brother had been joking when his brother told him Andy Wise left two messages about the inspection report!
So Polk invited me to his restaurant. The kitchen was immaculate. Polk had repaired and re-painted the hand sink. He scrubbed the food containers. He erased the grease pile under the deep fryer. A brand-new thermometer sat in the frig, reading the accurate temperature.
The health department's follow-up inspection indicates a near-perfect inspection, with not a single critical violation.
"Thanks to you, that made me be well aware that it is important to call Andy Wise back!" cackled Polk.
Next time we come back, Mr. Polk, we'll stay for lunch!
THIS WEEK'S BIG TIP: Heather Geater, waitress, Memphis Pizza Cafe, 2087 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN, (901) 726-5343, www.memphispizzacafe.com
Geater is the first server to be nominated as a Waitress of the Week by our Restaurant Scorecard viewers.
"She's shy," says Hunter Lotz of Collierville, TN, one of her devout customers. "But when you come in for lunch, and you got somewhere to be, you're in and out, and I just appreciate everything she does."
Geater says her serving philosophy is "Just make sure they get what they want when they want it!"
When I asked her if it's really that simple, she answered, "No. We have other people helping us out, thank goodness!"
Order one of Memphis Pizza Cafe's specialty pizzas and ask for Heather by name!
For all of this week's Memphis-Shelby County inspection scores, click here. 
