Flies in a Panera, a store with ‘Dollar’ in its name and rodents inside: inspection fails
This is a post-holiday special edition of the Sick and Shut Down List, a crossover deal sort of like Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Temptations and Supremes TCBing or the time we got a Petticoat Junction-Green Acres-Beverly Hillbillies three-way.
OK, maybe not that thrilling. But with few state restaurant inspections during the holiday week, this week’s Sick and Shut Down List of South Florida restaurants failing inspection would comprise only one place.
So, as special guest star failures, we’re adding in the Miami-Dade grocers, convenience stores, minimarts and food handlers that would be on our next Gross Grocers list!
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (restaurants) and Florida Department of Agriculture (grocers) inspections. If you see a problem and you want a place inspected, don’t email us. Click here or here and file a complaint. We don’t control who gets inspected or how strictly they get inspected. We report without passion or prejudice, but with a side dish of humor.
And, we’re going in alphabetical order:
Argentina Meat Market, 3922 SW 92nd Ave, West Miami-Dade: This place passed its re-inspection Thursday. The re-inspection was necessary because the inspection included “Old yellow food residue encrusted on meat grinder grinding portion and on slicer.”
And “blue light insect devices found stored above hand sink near ware wash sink and near deli case.” Where do the zapped bugs go? Do they just fall where they may?
“Cloth towel found placed directly on the cooked lasagna and covered by aluminum in trays inside the walk-in cooler.” Do we want to know what that towel wiped before it covered the lasagna?
“Black mold-like grime found inside the dispensing tube for the detergent at the warewashing sink” does not give one faith that everything got cleaned in that sink.
Dollar General, 12915 NW Seventh Ave., North Miami: Bet regular readers who saw the headline thought “OK, which Family Dollar this time?”
Nope, this time, it’s Dollar GEneral that had, in the back room “rodent on glue trap…droppings on floor between mop sink and door entry in receiving area.”
Also, there were “several canned items dented on retail shelf.” Speaking of retail shelves, “dried on product residue inside egg display cooler…accumulation of food debris on shelving in milk display cooler…accumulation of product debris on shelving near pancake mix.”
Dollar General passed it’s re-inspection Friday.
Jorge Caterina Services, 270 W. 25th St., Hialeah: Dig this pastry odyssey.
Pastries got made in a bakery area with “flies too numerous to count.” Then, in the pick-up/packaging area, “ready-to-eat pastries stored on metal trays onto food carts exposed to environment.”
And, then, “lunch truck drivers handling ready-to-eat pastries with unwashed bare hands in pick-up area.” Also, “observed employee handling ready to eat products in processing area, then leaving processing area to do other activities around facility, then back to packaging ready to eat products without washing hands and changing gloves first.”
The inspector would’ve slapped a Stop Sale on the pastries, but the driver rolled away with them.
La Nica Products: 1177 NW 81st St., North Miami-Dade: There just seemed to be a lot of filth going on in this food processing place.
“Observed plastic curtains located and first and second entrance door, as well as, at the entrance door of the walk-in cooler, with green mold-like stains and excessive dust accumulation.” Hey, folks, when your shower curtain gets like this you change it. Same principle here.
“Inside the processing area, fan guards located about cheese cutter and rop machine (with) excessive dust accumulation.”
Well, at least hands are being washed properly. Or, maybe not. “No hand soap provided to the hand sink located in the processing area.”
Panera Bread, 18538 NW 67th Ave., Northwest Miami-Dade: One media outlet called this “Miami Gardens,” never mind that it’s about 20 blocks or two miles west of where Miami Gardens city limits are this far north. Learn to use a map, Columbus.
The flies had no problem finding this place. You had at least 46 of them, flitting this way and that, touching plates and bowls above the prep line. At least 20 were on the wall next to the prep line and self-service beverage station, another eight handling out on the front line prep area.
The bakery station’s reach-in cooler had soiled gaskets.
Sausage on the front prep line was kept dangerously cool, 120 degrees when it needed to be 135 or above.
The inspector returned for a re-inspection the same day, Thursday, and Panera was back making bread.
Redland Ranch, 14655 SW 232nd St., Southwest Miami-Dade: Everybody knows the Redland can be rural. But, there’s a limit and Redland Ranch reached it on Dec. 18.
In the retail and food service area, “live chickens and a cat were observed roaming around the retail area and food service processing area during food service.”
A monsoon of Stop Use orders hit the processing areas because the “food establishment was found to have 3 areas that are open and lack walls and effective means to prevent the entry of weather and pests, as evidenced by chickens and cat entering the retail and food service areas during inspection.”
Food employees went out to smoke, then didn’t wash their hands upon returning. Then again, there was no handwashing sink in the food service area where smoothies, shakes, juices, salads and sandwiches are made.
No paper towels available in restroom.
Redland passed re-inspection Friday, but with a check-back still needed.
Sunshine, 3670 NW 183rd St., Miami Gardens: Now, this, unlike Panera, is inside Miami Gardens city limits.
There’s no soap in this restroom and “No hot water available at establishment.”
Stop Use and Stop Sale orders crashed down on all open food, custard pudding, flan, a warmer, an espresso machine, the toaster, the orange juice machine, the hot dog warmer, the cappuccino machine, coffee pots, ice machine, all utensils, the warewash sink and the reach-in cooler that could get down only to 57 degrees.
Oh, and, “Toilet room opens directly into a processing area.” That has to add extra flavor.
Westar, 2750 NW North River Dr., Miami: Ready-to-eat sausages date marked from a week before were still for sale by the entrance. Basura.
You couldn’t tell where the pink meringues are from, so they got tossed.
There was no soap at the kitchen handwash sink, which was being used to store chicken wings, anyway.
Let’s stay in the kitchen, although you might want a hazmat suit.
“...interior walls, bottom plate and seal of microwave found with stuck on old food residue.”
“...lunch meat slicer found encrusted in old food residue around the bottom rim and the blade.”
warewash sink with old food residue, not cleaned before use as required.
“...found scoop with sticky yellow residue stored as clean inside container with clean utensils.”
And those “clean” utensils weren’t sanitized.
A Stop Use got slapped on the Krispy Krunchy Chicken Holder because it got up to 95 to 100 degrees and needed to be at 135 for safe food keeping.
