Flies spotted in butter, rodents spotted in Hialeah, restaurants with spotty inspections
We’re always learning here at The Sick and Shut Down List, our weekly tolling of the South Florida restaurants that didn’t pass state inspection.
This week, we learned that, looking at the way a couple of North Lauderdale restaurants passed same day inspections after hosting Roaches vs. Rodents turf wars, the vermin must go home at night. Apparently, they commute to the restaurants in the morning or early afternoon and are gone by the time the inspector returns later in the day for a same day re-inspection.
Anyway, let’s get to it.
What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. A restaurant that fails inspection remains closed until passing re-inspection. If you see a problem and want a place inspected, contact the DBPR, not us.
We don’t control who gets inspected nor how strictly the inspector inspects. We don’t include all violations, just the most moving, whether internally or literally moving (because it’s alive or once was alive). We report without passion or prejudice, but with a dusting of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Achsah’s Delight Bakery, 977 SW 71st Ave., North Lauderdale: A live roach on the floor in front of the three-compartment sink. A dead roach on the counter next to the blenders by the three-compartment sink.
And 41 other roaches on the — wait, no, those are rodent droppings, Pixie and Dixie marking their territories.
Among those 41 were 10 “under the dish rack, where clean, sanitized pots and pans are stored...,”seven “on the counter where coffee dispensers, rice and soups are held,” and three “under a dry storage shelf where takeout containers are stored.”
They passed a same-day re-inspection, allowing them to be open for the Friday traffic. We’re sure all the roaches and rodents had gone home by the re-inspection.
Bistro Creole, 6130 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise: Here’s this week’s Which is Worse? contestant.
So, which is worse?
Three live roaches crawling around two cases of raw chicken stored on the floor? (Two violations there).
Inside the door of the main kitchen employee restroom, approximately 25 dead roaches.
“Employee handled soiled dishes or utensils and then handled clean dishes or utensils without washing hands. Main kitchen- observed employee entered through the rear entrance of the main kitchen, grabbed the to-go container of food sitting on top of an open container of beans and rice without gloves or washing hands.”
There was a bucket stored inside a main kitchen handwashing sink. Doesn’t seem like a high traffic area.
Bistro Creole passed re-inspection on Thursday.
DCafe, 4050 Weston Rd., Davie: Flies proliferated around this place like tribbles.
“Observed two dead flies in the Country Crock Butter in flip top cooler.” Stop Sale on the Country Crock.
“Observed seven dead flies in the sanitizing solution in the three-compartment sink.”
Elsewhere, the inspector counted 47 flies, including “10 live flies flying around landing on counter tops, walls and single service cups next to the coffee dispenser.”
Bad sign when you’ve got more flies than hot water at your three-compartment sink (73 degrees) or your handwash sink (76 degrees).
That was still a problem at the Jan. 26 re-inspection, as was the “mold-like substance in the ice machine.” And the 11 flies.
They got the flies under control in time for Wednesday’s re-re-inspection.
Jerk Machine, 4261 NW 12th St., Lauderhill: COVID-19 knocked this longtime establishment down. The restaurant grabbed the bottom rope, a gofundme page campaign that raised $24,000. A $35,000 order from CNBC’s “The Profit,” Marcus Lemonis, the Sun-Sentinel reported, pulled them closer to upright.
It’s spoken of well, so we really wish Jerk Machine’s inspections hadn’t put it on The Sick and Shut Down List twice in 2019 and again last September.
The 2021 appearance features three live flies landing on cooked jerk chicken and raw chicken sitting on the prep table as well as 15 flies landing on cabbage. Stop Sales hit that chicken and cabbage as well as cooked liver and beans and rice fixed the day before that were kept at temperatures too warm for safe serving.
“Establishment advertised a specific fish on the menu/menu board but served another type of fish.” Tilapia on the board, swai on the plate.
“Entire establishment, no hot water.”
The kitchen microwave had a “heavy accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”
There still wasn’t any hot water for a same-day re-inspection on Jan. 26. As of Tuesday evening, the page doesn’t show a third return by the inspector.
Lion Chef Chinese Restaurant, 979 S. Rock Island Rd., North Lauderdale: “...objectionable odor in kitchen area.”
That’s the last place you want the “objectionable odor” violation.
Every place is the last place you want to see 65 pieces of rodent regularity. The storage shelf with Hunt’s tomato ketchup, the storage shelf with soy sauce and the storage shelf with bamboo skewers, seasoning and spices each had 20 such droppings.
A live roach on the shelf where a bag of sugar was stored, two live ones in a box with food grade paper and five “crawling in and out of the gasket of the True flip top cooler on the cookline.”
There were 10 dead roaches stuck in that gasket, seven dead roaches inside that cooler and another 10 corpses “in the door of the flip top cooler where uncovered food is held cold on the cookline.”
All the reach-in coolers were “soiled with food debris.”
Lion Chef passed a same-day re-inspection. Mmmhmm.
Pacifico, 1098 W. 29th St., Hialeah: We’ve got some recidivism here, as Pacifico was a little too buggy when the inspector stopped by in September.
This time, they had other problems, starting with “observed one live rodent leaving premises thru the back door.”
Does that conjure an image for anybody else of a rodent putting his hat on as he tries to dip out like he owes the inspector money?
Even if the inspector hadn’t seen that, it was hard to miss the 132 rodent droppings throughout the establishment.
With living things running around, “rice and flour in dry storage area adjacent to the mechanical room not covered for protection.
The handwash sink might’ve had hot water and soap, if it had been there. “Handwash sink missing in front counter for drink preparation area...no hand washing sink at front counter.”
Stop Sales hit four dented cans of oyster sauce, one dented can of bamboo shoots and one dented can of pineapple juice.
On the re-inspection, the inspector saw “one live rodent crawling on pipe under table near the back door, also observed approximately three live roaches in the kitchen area near the food preparation table and two live roaches near the shelves above the food preparation table.”
Pacifico passed re-re-inspection on Friday. Wonder if the rodents went home to the same neighborhood where the North Lauderdale rodents stay.
Taqueria El Jovanazo, 7130 Kimberly Blvd., North Lauderdale: At least the Kelvinator reach-in freezer with the 20 live roaches is unused. There were five other live roaches seen, two of which were on a wall, doing a couples climb over the three-compartment sink.
Standing water in the kitchen and warewashing area.
Uncovered bowls of fish in the True reach-in freezer.
The shredded lettuce in the flip top cooler and the cooked beef and cooked white rice in the True refrigerator, cooked the previous day, all got hit with Stop Sales for being too warm.
“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust. Throughout the kitchen area.”
This place passed re-inspection on Friday.
