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Detroit is one of the few places in the U.S. from where you can literally drive to a foreign country for dinner. Maybe Windsor isn’t the most exotic of destinations but, between the metric system, colorful money, and multi-lingual signs, one does instantly realize it’s a different country.

Montezuma’s Revenge probably isn’t a major concern when headed through the Tunnel or across the Ambassador Bridge for an evening out. And the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit aims to keep it that way. They’ve launched a new website, http://www.safefoodcounts.ca, rating local restaurants for based on food safety infractions.

The site is searchable by the restaurant name or, for more general searches, by city or postal code. Each report provides a fairly thorough explanation of violations so you know exactly why your favorite Erie Street pasta place received its particular rating.

The Windsor Star catalogued some of the more appetite-killing violations including sewage backups, sleeping quarters in restaurants, and (of course) insects and vermin. The Star also spoke with some owners who say the system in unfair because ratings are based on one-day spot inspections.

Marven Dawod, who runs the Royal Pita Bakery, told the Star his business received a one-star rating because of a sewage backup he reported and says he cleaned-up. However, Royal Pita’s inspection report also includes citations for pest control, unclean floors, and food storage issues. And Mr. Dawod probably could have picked a better phrasing when defending his business:

“We’re established, we’ve been open for 12 years and we’ve never had a complaint from one customer. We have a great business, a great product,” Dawod said. “I don’t think our customers would care about that because they already know what they’re stepping into.”

For better or worse, we all know now.