Moldy water dripping on Checkers’ food, rodents, roaches: restaurants failing inspection
Rodents in a case of tomato paste and moldy water seasoning hamburger meat and condiments give this week’s Sick and Shut Down List its distinguishing characteristics.
Among the six Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurants closed after failing state inspections were the common vermin problems. But there’s usually something special, so let’s get to it.
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections. Restaurants are closed until they pass a follow-up inspection. If you see a problem and want to a place inspected, don’t email us. Go to the DBPR website 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 soupçon of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Bombay Cafe, 3060 N. Andrews Ave., Wilton Manors: Only four violations, but one of them described 20 pieces of rodent poop behind a utility room chest freezer and five behind a dry storage shelf.
One of those convenient Friday same-day re-inspections got Bombay Cafe back open for weekend business.
China Star, 1430 Coral Ridge Dr., Coral Springs: Top of the inspection report: Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices...”
That potentially thrilling violation — Rodents? Birds? Dead or alive? — turned out to be the pedestrian “10 dead flies in dining room.”
As for the live flies, about 50 darted around a storage area with rice, flour, salt and cornstarch. Three played around the mop sink, prep stations and kitchen.
At the feet of the kitchen staff, 20 live roaches scurried around the cookline. Meanwhile, rodents relieved themselves under the front counter where the takeout bags are (six pieces of poop); by the napkins (three); under a prep table (five); and under the three-compartment sink (10).
So, we’ve got rodents and, of course, we’ve got food stored on the floor, such as three buckets of broth, several sauce containers and a 5-gallon bottle of oil.
A 5-pound can of Panda Brand Oyster Flavoring got smashed by a Stop Sale because it was already dented.
Under appliances with an “accumulation of food residue,” the inspector listed “all the reach-in coolers...interior of microwave...reach-in cooler shelves on the cookline.”
China Star somehow passed re-inspection the next day, Aug. 14.
Checkers, 2645 NW 183rd St., Miami Gardens: Before you read this violation, understand that it was preceded by “Food contaminated by employees/consumers and operator continued to serve food.”
The contamination was “moldy water and mold-like substance dripping from ceiling air vent onto the steam table and splashing on assorted foods: cheese, onion, sliced tomatoes, chili, hamburgers, buns, assorted sauces, lettuce, hotdogs, and bacon.”
Managers told the inspector, “Operator has been notified for months about the leak, but to no avail.”
State records say this Checkers is owned by Mississippi company Boss Burgers.
Back to the ick. The inspector saw someone mopping and then served food without washing his hands. Then again, there wasn’t any soap at the front handwashing sink.
The grill, hot holding units, milk shake machines, and preparation table had an “accumulation of food debris.”
“Grease accumulated on kitchen floor and/or under cooking equipment. Observed throughout the kitchen.”
There was standing water on the floor. Food residue on the inside of the reach-in cooler/freezer.
“Cutting board(s) stained/soiled.”
The next day, the inspector saw the same moldy drip-drip problem. OK, you can’t find someone to fix that in one day, but what about “at the time of the call back inspection, observed cutting board are stained/soiled.” Nobody could stop by Big Lots and pick up a cutting board or two?
They passed their Aug. 14 re-re-inspection.
Legends Tavern & Grille, 3128 N. Federal Hwy., Lighthouse Point: This week’s Amityville Award winner had 62 live flies, including 10 on the back wall of the dining room bar, 10 on the ceiling in the kitchen prep area and three on the dish rack under the clean side of the dish machine.
The ice chute had a buildup of mold-like substance/slime.
No soap provided at the end of the front bar handwash sink.
Michel Caribbean Restaurant, 1561 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach: “Observed employee prepping food without gloves and no hand washing.”
That should’ve sent everybody home right then. Really, after that, the rest of the inspection just runs up the score and hurts feelings.
To be fair, where would hands get washed? The hot water was shut off at the front counter restroom’s hand wash sink (leaking line). No soap in that restroom (ew), the rear kitchen restroom (ew) or the front counter handwashing sink. No paper towels at the rear kitchen restroom or kitchen area hand wash sinks. But the rear kitchen hand wash sink did have standing water, so maybe somebody tried to wash their mitts.
You know what one of the bathrooms did have? A hole in the door.
I’m sure that makes for relaxed usage when you’ve got 20 pieces of rodent regularity in an employee restroom in the back of a kitchen. Another 20 were in a case of Hunt’s tomato paste in the dry storage area. The back storage area had another 20. The front counter area counted 10. Five were “on a prep table with food being prepared in kitchen.”
So, Michel had rodents. Regular readers know what the inspector found stored right on the floor....”case of chicken, pork on floor in walk in freezer.”
Stop Sales rained on food that had been out since 8 a.m., food neither cooled under 41 degrees nor kept warmed over 135 degrees. This created a bacteria bouillabaisse of prep table pork (74-79°F); beef (44-55°F); tomato (75°F); cut lettuce (57°F); black beans (78°F), ox tail (92°F); fish (54°F); chicken legs (78°F); eggs (75°F); and, of course, pork (74-79°F).
They got back open after Aug. 13 re-inspection.
Pacifico, 1098 W. 29th St., Hialeah: Roaches lowlighted the inspector’s Aug. 10 visit.
Of the 30 live roaches, 20 hung out “between the dishwasher area and the reach-in cooler on the main cook line” and eight were “under the prep counter kitchen area near food.”
Of the 56 roach corpses, there were 50 in that dishwasher and reach-in cooler area and about six in a kitchen handwashing sink that must be low usage. After all, the roaches outnumbered the soap (none) or ways to dry hands (none).
Some chicken got a Stop Sale for not being cooled enough overnight.
Pacifico passed re-inspection on Aug. 11.
This story was originally published August 24, 2020 at 2:06 PM.
