Orquídea Cantina, East End
A single-hood plancha + tortilla griddle in the East End. Plenum at 3.4 mm grease deposit on intake. Cleaned to bare metal. Capture-and-containment confirmed.
FR-2026-014 · Q1 close-out · Plancha + tortilla griddle
The kitchen
Orquídea Cantina is a thirty-six-seat Mexican kitchen on Harrisburg Boulevard, six blocks from East End District headquarters. It opened in 2023 under chef Lucia Ramírez. The kitchen runs a single 6-foot Type I hood over a 36-inch plancha and a 24-inch tortilla griddle.
What we found on intake
The plenum measured 3.4 mm of grease deposit at the worst corner (front-left, above the tortilla griddle), with the duct riser at 1.8 mm at the first access panel and 0.9 mm at the second. The exhaust fan housing was clean to bare metal — the prior service shop had clearly cleaned the housing well even while letting the plenum slip. The makeup-air unit's outdoor damper was 70% closed and stuck.
This is a typical pattern for a 1.5-year-old kitchen on a non-quarterly cycle: the duct shows the cumulative deposit of skipped visits, the most-used cooking position shows the worst plenum buildup, and the makeup-air unit has drifted because no one balances it.
What we did
One ninety-minute visit. Pulled and bagged the four 16×20 grease filters. Foam-applied alkaline degreaser at 5% concentration to the plenum, dwelled five minutes, scrubbed manually, rinsed. Cleaned the duct riser through both access panels. Cleaned the rooftop fan housing. Replaced two filter gaskets that were torn. Reseated the makeup-air damper after lubricating the linkage. Took the post-service hood-plane reading.
Marisol Quiñones, IKECA-CECS · 2026-02-18 · 11:42 CT
Hood-plane reading: −0.022 in. w.c. · Front-door: −0.004 in. w.c.
What the operator saw
"My back-of-house has not smelled of cooking oil in two weeks. The dining room is also colder, in a good way. I think we are saving on AC."— Lucia Ramírez, owner, Orquídea Cantina
What we flagged for next quarter
The makeup-air damper is going to stick again. The linkage is the original 2014 OEM part and is showing visible corrosion. We've quoted a $360 replacement for next visit. We also flagged the spark-arrestor screen on the rooftop fan as marginal — replaceable on the next quarterly visit at $80 in parts.
The hoods, by the numbers
| Hood | Type I, 6 ft, side-curtained |
|---|---|
| OEM | CaptiveAire Systems |
| Filter rack | 4 × 16×20 stainless baffle |
| Plenum deposit (intake) | 3.4 mm worst corner |
| Plenum deposit (sign-off) | Bare metal, <0.05 mm residual |
| Hood-plane Δp (sign-off) | −0.022 in. w.c. |
| Exhaust fan amperage | 4.8 A · 92% nameplate |