Roaches at a strip club, rats in the kitchen: South Florida eateries inspection fails
A short Sick and Shut Down List of restaurant inspection failures in South Florida, but the first that includes a strip club, rats and mice.
So, let’s get to this week’s disgusting details of eateries in Miami-Dade and Broward (Palm Beach and Monroe, you came clean and correct this week).
How we handle our business: 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 side dish of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Gold Club, 1820 NW 21st St., Pompano Beach: Some people would say if you’re at the strip club for food, you need help from the Department of Health, not the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Other people would say if there’s one place you don’t want roaches rampant, it’s a place where people make money by getting naked.
Anyway, there were 17 live roaches running about (10 in a cove molding behind the cookline cooler) and 25 dead roaches with legs up.
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine.” And, if there’s any place you’ll forget to say, “No ice,” it’s the strip club.
“No soap, paper towels or hand dryer at the handwash sink.”
The Gold Club got properly dressed for the Wednesday re-inspection.
Susie Lai Chinese Restaurant, 18305 NE 19th Ave., North Miami Beach: There were 45 total violations, but we think you’ll be good with us focusing on just a few. We’re going to even skip the flies and roaches, dead and alive, the inspector counted in Susie Lai.
Now, let us get out of the way and let the inspection speak.
“Observed two rats running along the kitchen floor from the washware area into a hole in the wall by the kitchen back door; observed one rat in the back food storage area; and, as the Inspector is conducting the inspection, one mouse ran from the dining area under the Coca-Cola machine. Observed employee killing one mouse by the coffee station.”
To continue in this vein...”Observed approximately 500+ rodent droppings found throughout the kitchen, dining, food storage, and bathroom areas.”
In the breakdown of that Rodent Poop 500, there were “100+ rodent droppings on containers of soy sauces, flour, rice, and sugar in the dry storage area;” “one rodent dropping on the prep table next to a container of sauce used for BBQ ribs, that the chef was using;” “50-plus rodent droppings on shelves that store clean pots and pans.”
The inspector also noticed, “rodent droppings in all the kitchen handwash sinks,” which means they probably aren’t used often.
Then again, “No soap provided at the handwash sinks; kitchen, prep area, and all bathrooms.”
Unsurprisingly, Susie Lai didn’t pass Friday’s re-inspection. There isn’t an online record of a passed re-re-inspection.
Couldn’t help thinking of Harry Chapin...“The rat’s in the kitchen with the cooking spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon...When will you open again? We don’t know when. But we’ll serve you food then...You know we’ll have a good meal then....”
Tacos Tacos Pizza Pizza, 2021 Pembroke Rd., Hollywood: Place sounds like it was named by Jimmy Two Times from “GoodFellas” (“I’m gonna get the papers, get the papers.”)
Eggs that had been in the cooler for two days, which should be under 41 degrees, were 73 degrees, so room temperature with someone blowing on them. Clearly, that Kenmore refrigerator lost its cool. A Stop Sale cracked the eggs.
The inspector saw “over 30 small flies on clean plates and food storage pans and on a drain shelf above the prep area hand sink. Operator began killing flies. Observed over 20 small flies on the spice shelf storage rack. Operator began killing flies.”
Running around, snapping a fly swatter or swinging a newspaper will get you the undertaker look from the inspector. Strangely, as much as they don’t like to see the bugs, they really don’t seem to like to see the staff killing them by their own hands.
“Standing water or very slow draining water in handwash sink.”
“Unsealed concrete floor in food preparation areas near dough mixer and pizza preparation station.”
This joint passed re-inspection, re-inspection on Wednesday.
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 11:02 AM.
