Restaurant inspection fails: 112 rodent turds (not kosher), 114 roaches, a Papa John’s
Roaches swinging from the ceiling, flies landing on chicken, rodents dropping a load near boxes of food ... the five South Florida restaurants on this week’s Sick and Shut Down List demonstrate that the 2020 is in full swing.
Quick note: This is not to be confused with our Gross Grocers list, which posted Sunday.
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections. If you see a problem in a restaurant and want it inspected, don’t email us. Click here and report it. We don’t control who gets inspected or how strictly. We report without passion or prejudice, but with a side dish of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Asian Buffet & Grill, 2091 N. University Dr., Sunrise: This week’s What’s Worse? winner doubled up with a Wayne Gretzky Honor for a hat trick of three inspection failures. Wednesday’s initial inspection had a remarkable 28 violations, but a truly amazing 11 High Priority violations.
So, what’s worse? A count of 20 live roaches, including five on glue traps under the buffet area and two on a glue trap hanging from the ceiling? Or...
“Accumulated dead roaches on glue traps under buffet stations ... over 20 dead roaches throughout kitchen area along walls, behind equipment, in condensation pans of coolers and covers of light fixtures ... five dead roaches in both servers stations ... two dead roaches in dry storage area.”
“Objectionable odors in men’s employee bathroom. Objectionable odor, kitchen door/hibachi areas.” Or...
“In large cornstarch container in dry storage, observed 10 live insects crawling throughout.”
Stop Sales hit the cornstarch, as well as raw chicken, cooked pork spareribs and roast pork that were 55, 59 and 59 degrees, respectively, after cooling overnight. Maximum safe temperature: 41 degrees.
Another Stop Sale hit a dented or rusted can of pineapple juice.
Have a Coke and a smile. “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance around soda dispensing nozzles in both beverage stations.”
Metal pans of shrimp not covered in the walk-in cooler. Standing water in the dry storage areas. The wiping cloth sanitizing solution at the drink station had no sanitizer.
And, of course, with all those roaches, “two containers of raw chicken stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler.”
On the re-inspection, there were nine live roaches, two of which were in the oven, and 22 dead roaches, including 12 on the kitchen floor. Nobody bothered the clean the drink nozzles, so they still had the black/green mold-like substance in both beverage stations.
The second re-inspection, the inspector saw two live roaches on the kitchen floor but “roaches were killed and discarded.” Regular readers know inspectors don’t like seeing the kill. Instant inspection fail.
The place passed inspection No. 4, on Friday.
Kababi Cafe by Kuluck, 3828 N. University Dr., Sunrise: The inspector saw two moldy lemons at the walk-in cooler.
While a High Priority violation, was that as bothersome as 114 live roaches? If you say that depends on where they were, here are some locators: 16 under a cookline prep table and 20 under a grill table, 50 under a plate storage table and one tough critter surviving inside the oven.
Oh, another 34 roach corpses dotted the restaurant, including 10 in the cookline area and two in the dessert making station.
When you have this many roaches or rodents, “food stored on the floor” maybe deserves to be upgraded from Basic violation to Intermediate. Kababi had potatoes on the floor.
“Interior of reach-in cooler soiled with accumulation of food residue at cookline and prep area coolers.”
Kababi passed the re-do inspection on Friday.
Karen’s Crystal Land, 9858 Clint Moore Rd., Boca Raton: State records say this place goes back to 2002, so, no, it’s not a Breaking Bad-themed restaurant, no matter what the name sounds like.
“Raw cut chicken at prep table next to dishwasher, two live flies found landing in side the bin on to the chicken.” Pollo Basura.
Stop Sales also rained on rice that was supposed to cool overnight, but remained at 65 degrees, which doesn’t say much for Karen’s walk-in cooler.
Back to the flies, of which the inspector counted 25 total, including four “at cookline, landing on food contact surfaces, cutting board and prep table.”
We’ve got hand drying by shirt or waving as there were no paper towels or blow dryers at the handwash sinks across from the dishwasher and at the end of the cookline.
Karen’s passed Saturday re-inspection.
Mozart Cafe, 4433 Stirling Rd., Hollywood: Google says this is in Dania Beach. The restaurant’s state license says Fort Lauderdale. The restaurant itself says Hollywood.
And 112 rodent droppings counted Friday says wherever it is, the local vermin have found it and love them some kosher food. Of that poop pellet number, 15 were under the sushi station and 25 were under a prep table.
Regular readers know what violation you don’t want to see if Pixie and Dixie are running around, but Mozart had it: Food stored on the floor and the inspector took care to note “boxes of food on floor in dry storage next to rodent droppings. Employee picked up boxed and placed on shelf.”
The inspector didn’t note the obvious question — what’s in the box? — as future customers might want to hold off ordering whatever it is until Mozart gets its next shipment.
There were also boxes of produce on the floor in the walk-in cooler, but the nearest signs of floor life were six pellets on an undershelf next to the walk-in cooler.
After counting the rodent droppings, the inspector dropped Stop Sales on food not properly cooled for storage. Cooked eggplants, raw fish patties, tomato sauce and cooked lemons all got trashed.
None of the food in the walk-in cooler or reach-in prep coolers had a date mark.
We don’t think the hole in the ceiling above the dishwasher dish drying rack helped dry the dishes.
The inspector came back later Friday for a re-inspection. Mozart passed.
Papa John’s Pizza, 2080 N. University Dr., Pembroke Pines: Another Wayne Gretzky Honor for a hat trick of three inspection failures goes to this joint, which got inspected after a complaint.
What the inspector found: four live roaches, two of which scurried around the customer sitting area, and another four dead ones, including one under the cash register.
And what’s the companion violation? Sing it with us “Food stored on the floor.” At least this was cases of soda.
When the inspector came back later Wednesday for inspection No. 2, the bug count reached eight live and 11 dead, three under the cash register, where roaches apparently go to die at this Papa John’s.
Maybe there’s a metaphor there. Or, not.
The Thursday return completed the trick (no, staff didn’t throw their hats onto the floor but that would’ve been funny). But, the store did get the live count down to four and the dead count down to two with a promise “that they will be doing an additional fogging (Friday) at 7 a.m.”
Papa John’s finally passed the re-re-re-inspection and were back open for the Friday pizza rush.
This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 12:04 PM.
