Roach on the prep table, rodents in Hialeah (again), restaurants closed by inspection.
If you’re a pest control company struggling in this pandemic, business tip — this is the third consecutive week that rodents have put a Hialeah restaurant on The Sick and Shut Down List.
We’re sure you can take it from there.
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:
China Express, 4731 NW 183rd St., Miami Gardens: The inspector dropped a Stop Sale on some frozen fish because everybody was “unable to verify the source” of the fish.
More than 30 live roaches were on a wall between a wall and a double-door reach-in cooler next to a kitchen restroom. Over 10 dead roaches lied behind a prep table reach-in cooler near the kitchen door.
The handwashing sink isn’t a high traffic area for its stated purpose. “Observed wood and container with utensils inside the handwashing sink” and there wasn’t any way to dry your hands if you did get them wet. (“You saw me wash them!” “I saw you get them wet...”)
“Wet wiping cloths used for occasional spills on equipment food- and nonfood-contact surfaces not clean.”
On Thursday’s re-inspection, the two live roaches on the floor at the front counter didn’t do them any good, but the killer had to be the dead roach on top of the prep table.
The Express passed second re-inspection on Friday.
Nette Fresh Fritay, 1489 N. Military Tr., West Palm Beach: No living violations here unless you don’t count the bacteria possibly growing on unwashed hands and badly handled food.
“No handwash sink for employees. No hand washing sink available to wash hands.”
“Observed frozen cooked turkey thawing at room temperature on the counter.”
So much food was well above the 41 degrees it needed to be at for cold storage, the inspector started dropping Stop Sales on this joint like Draw Fours in an angry Uno game.
Into the trash went cabbage (58 degrees), cooked onions (52 degrees), chicken sauce (54 degrees), fried plantains (51 degrees), white rice (61 degrees), rice and beans (45 to 49 degrees).
This place passed re-inspection the next day.
Star Chigua’s Pizza, 1570 W. 43rd Pl., Hialeah: OK, the glue board on the floor to catch the vermin? When the inspector shows up, somebody needs to go get it immediately and throw it out. Otherwise, you get the inspector seeing “three live roaches and 10 dead roaches on a glue board on the floor under the three-door reach-in refrigerator...” or two live roaches and four dead ones on a glue board under the kitchen mop sink.
Apparently, this place’s Hubie and Bertie like ice cream. “Observed approximately 12 rodent droppings on the floor next to the ice cream chest freezer in front of the air handler in the kitchen.”
There’s a gap around the back door next to the pizza oven. Ask no more how Hubie & Bertie got in the house.
“Cutting board(s) stained/soiled” and “Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable.” Yes, these are two violations.
The DBPR doesn’t show any passed re-inspection.
Sushi Mann Express & Food Art Catering, 220 SW 31st St., Fort Lauderdale: The inspector counted 125 pieces of rodent regularity: 30 on can racks, 30 on a cookline oven stand, 15 on a rack under the oven and 50 on the floor.
A cookline oven had four dead roaches. Good thing they didn’t wind up in the food before they got cooked.
The bakery kitchen handwash sink had no way to dry your hands. Flap.
Ceiling tiles were missing in the dishwashing area, men’s and women’s employee restrooms, and by the cookline.
As has been the norm for Friday inspection fails since restaurants re-opened during the COVID pandemic, the inspector came back for a same-day re-inspection. Sushi Mann passed and was open for the heavier weekend business.
