The Coconut Thai restaurant was closed for more than a week by county health inspectors as a result of multiple failed inspections that found "vermin and animal contamination" violations.

County of Sacramento health inspectors first closed the restaurant on Thursday, Nov. 12 for multiple violations, including vermin and animal contamination. It reinspected the restaurant on Friday, Nov. 13, and continued to find vermin and animal contamination.  (Note: I would link to the actual reports, but it appears that the county's Web site displaying these documents is down and has been broken for the last several days.)

A week later, inspectors again failed the restaurant on Friday, Nov. 20 after finding vermin and animal contamination. Finally, on Nov. 25 - nearly two weeks after it was initially closed - health inspectors allowed the restaurant to reopen.

This is the second high profile restaurant to be closed by health officials in the last month. Earlier this week, Cowtown Eats wrote about a downtown La Bou location that was forced to close for a day.

The Coconut has been lauded by critics for its bold flavors. Here's a snippet from Garrett McCord's January 2014 review in Sac News & Review:

Cream-cheese wontons aren’t the epitome of culinary Southeast Asian traditions, but damn it if they aren’t delightful. Soft cream cheese and chives in a crispy wrapper and served with a sweet chili sauce? There is nothing wrong with that, and The Coconut recognizes this...

Read the entire article in Sac News & Review.

As with other restaurants that have faced similar sanctions by the health department, I'll likely eat there again. In fact, since La Bou was closed last week, I've eaten there twice for lunch.

The Coconut is located at 2502 J Street, and can be found online at http://www.coconutmidtown.com/.

H/T CBS 13.

More News:

Lucky Irish: Almost Famous Irish Coffee, de Vere's Irish Pub - Although it's not the year-round chill chaser needed in San Francisco, the Almost Famous Irish Coffee ($8) from de Vere's is available in summer and, blissfully, winter. Start with a custom coffee blend, lace it liberally with Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey and top it with freshly whipped cream. The only dilemma is when to order it. Ann Martin Rolke in Sac News & Review.

Beer cheese: Fondue, The Rind - The Rind recently launched fondue nights on Mondays: get a small pot of traditional Swiss fondue—Gruyere plus white wine—with bite-sized pieces of cauliflower, broccoli, green apple and baguette for $13. Janelle Bitker in Sac News & Review.

New dining option in El Dorado Hills Town Center - There's good news for diners at the El Dorado Hills Town Center, which has seen two eateries depart in recent months. Milestone Restaurant opened in the center on Sunday, filling an approximately 3,400-square-foot space across from Bistro 33. The space was previously occupied by Cafe Campanile, which rebranded itself earlier this year and moved to a smaller location in the center. Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.

Uber-style restaurant app catching on in Sacramento area - A Sacramento startup with an Uber-like app is raking in new customers and closing in on a big venture capital deal – thanks to a recent tweak in its business plan. The company, Requested, was launched in March with what its founders thought was a killer smartphone app for the dining industry. Bob Shallit in the Sac Bee.

VIDEO: Cooking: Panettone French Toast - Rick Mondermann, store director for Sacramento's iconic Corti Bros. market, stops by to show us how to make some incredible Panettone French Toast. Bethany Crouch on FOX 40.