Papa John’s, IHOP and 290 pieces of rodent poop among restaurant inspection failures
National chains that don’t want to be here, regional chains that don’t want to be here, rodents and roaches in places nobody wants them to be...after taking Labor Day off, the Sick and Shut Down List is back.
Eight Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurants brought too much “Ew” to pass inspection. Restaurants stay closed until they pass a re-inspection.
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections. If you see a problem with a place and want it inspected, don’t email us. Go to the DBPR website and file a complaint. We don’t control who gets inspected or how strictly. We report without passion or prejudice, but with a side dish of humor.
And we go in alphabetical order:
Firehouse Subs, 134 Weston Rd., Weston: Came by on Aug. 31, “Observed knife magnet used to store knives between uses for cutting sandwiches soiled with encrusted food debris” and 17 flies. “Operator began killing small flying insects.”
Apparently, they called in relatives because when the inspector returned the next day, there were 44 flies, 10 of which were “landing on boxes, the prep table and the office area located in the same room as the prep/storage room.”
Also, nobody bothered with soap at the handwash sink next to the three-compartment sink.
The Firehouse got its hose back after passing re-inspection on Sept. 1.
Golden Krust Bakery & Grill, 5711 N. University Dr., Tamarac: Stop Sales landed on the food here at The Krust like 40 flies landed on breads, onions, red peas and clean utensils.
Also getting crushed by Stop Sales, but for not being kept at safe temperatures to prevent bacteria growth: raw chicken, raw oxtail, whole milk, cooked rice, cooked chicken, cooked pork, cooked fish and various sauces.
The inside of the ice machine had an “accumulation of black/green mold-like substance.” The can opener blade had “old food residue buildup.”
Meanwhile, guess nobody bothered to pick up aluminum foil because “Observed an uncovered container with peas in dry storage.”
Clearly, nobody grasped the whole food safety temperature message nor, at least, did anybody grasp a food thermometer. When the inspector returned Wednesday, cooked oxtail, shrimp, goat meat and fish got tossed for temperature abuse (too warm). Also, the inspector saw 10 flies zipping around the dry storage and kitchen areas.
The Krust cleaned up enough to pass a second re-inspection on Wednesday.
IHOP, 18279 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines: With 84 dead roaches — 20 of them on the cookline — and 19 live roaches, lucky that none of them made their way into the pancakes or syrup (“We have many flavors...Maple, Strawberry, Blueberry, Blattodea...”).
Standing water was behind the fryers and more dead roaches under them. The reach-in freezer next to the waffle station had soiled gaskets. Yes, grease buildup under cooking equipment is a violation.
IHOP got it together to pass a Thursday re-inspection.
Maggiano’s Little Italy, 21090 St. Andrews Blvd., Boca Raton: There were 15 dead roaches in a dry storage hallway on Wednesday. Did somebody hide the broom?
If you see 29 dead roaches and five live ones, you’d hope for impeccable tools of cleaning. Instead, both the dishwasher and the wiping cloths’ solution fell below minimum sanitizing strength.
No paper towels available at salad station handwash sink.
Maggiano’s passed a same day re-inspection.
Palatino Jamaican Restaurant, 3004 NW Second Ave., Miami: “Objectionable odors in bathroom or other areas of the establishment.”
Maybe the 47 live roaches had BO. Or indigestion.
They ran across the front counter, on the cookline, on a shelf with a microwave. About 36 of their relatives’ corpses decorated the restaurant, three of them on a counter with clean dishes.
Among the unclean surfaces that touch food directly were “all cooking equipment,” the “entire cookline” and “inside all cooking pots/pans that had moldy food inside,” and “pans on the shelves have an accumulation of food debris, dust, and grease.”
So did the reach-in cooler.
Being a hole-in-the-wall restaurant should not mean having an actual hole in the wall. They had two by the kitchen entrance, and by the handwash sink.
After failing a Thursday inspection, you’d figure all employees and reserves would get called in to get the place gussied up for the Friday re-inspection, so they don’t miss out on the weekend action.
Nope. Or, a whole lot of folks who fussed around the place just managed to miss the moldy food still inside the cookware, the grease and food debris in the reach-in cooler. Then again, the 16 live roaches and 14 dead roaches (four of which were under the front counter) would’ve stamped “Fail” on this re-inspection anyway.
Palatino got straight on Monday’s re-re-inspection.
Pan Pa Ya, 2362 Weston Rd., Weston: Want some texture to your orange juice? Try this place, which had “10 live flies flying around and landing on fresh orange juice juicer.”
In addition to 17 other live flies, the inspector saw two dead flies near the cash register.
The Frigidaire chest freezer had a “mold-like substance” on gasket.
Pan Pa was able to get its Ya Yas out after passing re-inspection on Wednesday.
Papa John’s Pizza, 15910 Orange Blvd., Loxahatchee: “Fly sticky tape hanging over food in the back prep area.”
Maybe that’s why 50 flies stayed in the dish room area under the sink and on the trash can lid and another 10 were on the back prep area trash can lid.
You usually don’t find this violation in national chains, but “No proof of required state-approved employee training provided for any employees.”
Papa John’s came correct on Sept. 4.
RC Caribbean Restaurant, 3760 NE Third Ave., Pompano Beach: The inspector fired up the abacus and counted 290 pieces of rodent regularity, highlighted by 20 rodent droppings in a case of Gatorade and 100 behind cases of oil and beans in dry storage area.
Washing hands seemed a low priority. The men’s restroom sink didn’t have hot water. One handwashing sink was blocked by a ladder and the server stand. The handwash sink at the front counter didn’t have soap.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 1:15 PM.
