Flies at Subway and Dunkin Donuts. Rats elsewhere. Restaurants too filthy to stay open
Returning from a week off, the Sick and Shut Down List finds some South Florida restaurant staff being as lazy as we tried to be.
Staff at some of this week’s restaurants didn’t seem to understand that the trap killing the bugs or rodents is only the first part of the task. Then, someone must remove the captured vermin. That’s really the important part of the trap. Letting the critters sit there dead or alive defines half-stepping.
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections. If you see a problem and want a restaurant inspected, don’t email us. Go to the DBPR site and file a complaint. We don’t control who gets inspected or how strictly.
Restaurants that fail inspection stay closed until they pass a re-inspection. Not all violations are listed, only the most interesting, living or once living. We report without passion or prejudice, but with a creamy sauce of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Aroi Thai & Sushi, 5943 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill: The lowlight of Aroi’s three live roaches, 10 dead roaches and 56 flies wasn’t the roach crawling on the prep table or the one crawling on a table next to a fliptop cooler with exposed food.
No, it’s one live roach and seven dead friends “trapped on sticky tape on the floor under the rack where the canned foods are being stored in the dry storage room.”
Aroi found an exterminator (or at least a way to hide the bodies) by the re-inspection two days later.
Auntie Rose’s Soul Food Restaurant, 306 SW 10th St., Belle Glade: You think we’re joking about the traps?
“Approximately 20 dead roaches on a sticky trap stored on the floor next to the prep table located in the kitchen next to the storage room.”
This inspector might’ve provided the only play-by-play on the roach observation that we’ve seen.
“Six live roaches crawling on the storage shelf for seasoning under the steam table located in the cook line in the kitchen. Operator started eliminating them.
“Two live roaches crawling on the floor next to the fryer located next to the back door located in the cook line in the kitchen. Operator eliminated them.
“Approximately 30 live roaches hiding behind the paper towel holder in the hand-washing sink located next to the triple compartment sink in the kitchen. Operator eliminated them.”
For the wrap up...
“Approximately 10 live roaches on an sticky trap stored on the floor next to the prep table located in the kitchen next to the storage room. Operator discarded and eliminated them.”
After they finished killing bugs, they started killing food. Stop Sales rained on meatloaf; cooked ribs; pepper jack cheese; American cheese; cheddar cheese that hadn’t been kept under 41 degrees and, thus, could be a fleet of bad bacteria boats.
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine.”
The handwashing sink next to the three-compartment sink apparently doesn’t get much use. The sink had more gloves stored in the sink than soap (none) or hand drying methods (also none).
They got it right for re-inspection the next day.
Carls Seafood Restaurant Take Out, 2934 U.S. 441, Lauderdale Lakes: An odor by the prep area handwash station offended the inspector and standing water near the back door didn’t make anybody feel better.
Stop Sales hit raw chicken and cooked rice.
Let’s count flies: 20 landing on unpeeled sweet potatoes, a prep table and a cutting board; three landing on a clean, sanitized (not anymore) cutting board on the dish draining racks; two flies landing on raw chicken being prepped.
Carls passed a same-day re-inspection with the phenomenal disappearance of all the flies. Maybe there was a new pile of dog ca-ca in the neighborhood they just had to check out.
China Gourmet, 2963 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderhill: “Accumulation of food and debris under cookline, behind steam table, under all racks in dry storage area and throughout restaurant.”
Well, they had to have something (other than the sauce and oil stored on the floor) to feed the little beasts that left the 59 pieces of rodent poop in various places, such as on top of cans of baby corn and bamboo shoot slice or under the cookline wok station.
As for the 13 flies, the most adventurous seem to be the six that landed inside a marinating machine.
The inspector came back the same day — twice — before China Gourmet passed.
Dunkin Donuts, 18801 NW Second Ave., North Miami-Dade: No traps, but more than 10 dead insects were in the front counter reach-in Coca Cola cooler.
About 40 flies zipped about landing on a donut tray and boxes of paper products.
“Observed exterior of donuts holding units has food debris.” You can’t clean the outside of the thing holding the food product that’s in your name? Weak.
“Soda gun soiled.”
Dunkin was closed for the day before passing re-inspection the next day.
Gyroville Really Fresh Really Greek, 18441 NW 67th Ave., North Miami-Dade: “Observed the only bathroom in disrepair.”
No matter that, somehow, that’s only a Basic violation. When the inspector saw that, it slaughtered Gyroville’s lamb out of the box.
But a further trip down the inspection finds, “...multiple dead roaches on trapped device under preparation table located at the front counter..”
Of the 14 live roaches, there was one “crawling on top of food to-go container located next to the food preparation table at the front counter” and 10 underneath a food prep table at the front counter..
“Interior of reach-in cooler soiled with accumulation of food residue.”
Gyroville eventually passed re-inspection.
Jerk Machine, 4261 NW 12th St., Lauderhill: Welcome back to the Sick and Shut Down List, Jerk Machine, darn near a regular in 2019 with appearances in September and November.
This time, the inspector saw Frigidaire freezer’s doors duct-taped, a live roach, a dead roach and sniffed a most malodorous air by the mop sink. Oh, and about 50 flies in in the cases of cabbage, potatoes, carrots and plantains.
But we’ve got to think this is where the inspector threw the red flag...
“Observed one live rat in red bucket in hallway next to kitchen area. Observed one live rat in hole in wall by storage shelves where can items are kept in dry storage next to cookline.”
What was the rat doing in the red bucket? Was it a pet?
And of the 60 rodent droppings, 20 were between the dish draining rack and a reach-in cooler. So how close to the clean dishes were Ben and Willard?
Jerk Machine got open again after passing re-inspection.
Las Fajitas, 2298 N. Dixie Hwy., Boca Raton: “Floor area(s) covered with standing water.”
Other than their existence, nothing special about the 15 live roaches.
Stop Sales for temperature abuse crashed down on cooked chicken; cooked beef; milk; packaged beef; raw chicken; carne asada; fajitas; cooked mushrooms; sour cream; and refried beans.
Las Fajitas got it together for re-inspection.
New York Pizzaa, 1755 NW Seventh St., Miami: Yes, this place adds a superfluous second “a” in “pizza.” From the inspection, staff should add handwashing, something they seem to find superfluous.
“Handwash sink not accessible for employee use due to being blocked by coffee machine,” but, no big deal, because that sink lacked soap and hot water.
The rodent poop count always starts on the inspection with “Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found...” OK, they found 10 pieces. That’s a High Priority violation. But a Basic violation had even better evidence of rodent activity...
“Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices. Observed three dead rodents trapped in glue trap.”
And, of course, the places with the rodents usually also have food stored directly on the floor. New York Pizzaa was no exception with a plastic oil container.
Here’s what you want to see at a place in one of Miami-Dade’s scalding hot COVID-19 area codes, where the city was handing out packs of free masks on the street corner about 20 yards away:
“Employee experiencing persistent sneezing, coughing, runny nose, or discharge from eyes working with food, clean equipment or utensils, and/or unwrapped single-service items. Observed both employees coughing at the time of the inspection.”
This place isn’t busy enough for this: “Slicer blade soiled with old food debris...encrusted material on can opener blade.”
Subway, 19825 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Gardens: “Observed one dead insect on top of cold holding that holds all cold cuts at front counter.”
Does that say more than the 61 live flies the inspector counted hanging out or flitting about? Letting a dead bug just sit there instead of sweeping it seems, in some ways, a more egregious failing than not preventing the swarm of “40 live small flying insects in the back kitchen areas.”
A Subway franchise probably has enough jack to get new cutting boards when they need them, so conclude the staff didn’t bother to clean the boards well enough to prevent “cutting board(s) stained/soiled.”
This Subway passed re-inspection the next day.
