Taco Bell mold and a Pollo Tropical among 8 South Florida restaurant inspection fails
Another week with two chains (no, 2 Chainz, not you), a different expression of a violation (roaches in the bay leaves) here and a lot of coolers and freezers not doing their jobs at the Sick and Shut Down List.
In case you missed last week’s list, we’ll provide you with a link.
As for this week, hello, Hialeah, West Miami-Dade and West Palm Beach! Call a repairman because your appliances went on early July 4 vacation.
The part more of you need to read, judging by the emails we receive: 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 state 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). Some violations get corrected after the inspector points them out, but you have to ask, why do the violations exist in the first place? And how long would they have remained if not for the inspection?
We report without passion or prejudice but with a side dish of humor.
In alphabetical order...
El Mayoral Sunset, 15148 Sunset Dr., West Miami-Dade: What can make two live roaches and three dead roaches worse than 15 live roaches and three dead roaches? Location, location, location.
The 15-live, three-dead combination was behind a reach-in freezer. The two-live, three-dead combination was IN a reach-in freezer. Which meant everything in the reach-in freezer got tossed. The ice cream and fruit juice were going anyway, as they weren’t staying frozen.
Also getting struck by Stop Sales were cooked chicken, raw chicken, raw beef and some fish in the walk-in cooler, all of which were about as uncool as Dad telling jokes while driving a Chrysler 200.
“Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength.” Or, any strength. Chlorine sanitizer parts per million measure, Mr. Blutarsky — 0.0.
“Can opener blade soiled.”
“Observed approximately 10 flying insects at preparation area in the air. Observed 2 flying insects land on the cutting board. Employee took cutting board to wash rinse and sanitize.”
The Sunset was back in business by sunset Friday after passing re-inspection.
Gem, 350 Bayview Dr., Sunny Isles Beach: Gem’s 99 problems came in the form of 99-plus roaches, over 50 of which were “crawling on the kitchen floor in prep areas and main kitchen floor areas” and 10 were “crawling in foil paper” and three “crawling on the wooden preparation table in the kitchen.”
There was a dead roach in a chest freezer and 28 others elsewhere.
No way to clean your hands (soap) or dry your hands at the handwashing sink.
Gem failed re-inspection on Friday. There’s no online entry of a passed re-inspection Saturday.
Hibachi on the Go, 1460 10th St., Lake Park: Of the 12 live roaches running around this place, one was “crawling on top of customer’s food to-go box at the bagging/packing food counter.”
There were 21 dead roaches, 15 under a cookline reach-in cooler and three under a food prep table.
A Stop Sale came down on rice stored uncovered in large plastic containers. It remained too warm even in a reach-in cooler.
It took two Friday re-inspections, but the Hibachi passed in time for the holiday weekend.
Indian Harvest, 500 Via De Palmas, Boca Raton: About 20 live cockroaches in a bin of bay leaves brought the Stop Sale lightning down on that bin.
It also struck yogurt sauce, cream cheese, raw chicken and shredded cheese in the apparently ineffective cookline cooler No. 1.
And if you ate here instead of to-go...“Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength.”
Indian Harvest passed re-inspection Friday.
New Latin American Food & Bakery, 3580 W. 18th Ave., Hialeah: “Observed a front counter employee engaged in a telephone call and then began food preparation without washing hands.”
Two live roaches, one on the kitchen floor and one behind the front counter, were spotted taking their daily constitutionals. A dead roach was inside a lower cabinet.
The rodents left their marks with “20 droppings on the floor behind a damaged area of the front counter and approximately 10 droppings on the floor behind a reach-in cooler holding soda behind the front counter.”
New Latin passed Friday’s re-inspection.
Pollo Tropical, 3085 W. 45th St., West Palm Beach: Flies landing on raw chicken will get you in trouble, even if “chicken” isn’t in the name of your restaurant.
“Bug Zapper installed above chicken tumbler at the chicken prep area.” Because that’s what you want, flies the Bug Zapper doesn’t get Wile E. Coyote plunging into the chicken.
“Reach-in cooler used to store raw chicken gaskets soiled with slimy/ moldy build-up.”
The soap dispenser at a handwash sink wasn’t working.
Pollo passed re-inspection on Saturday.
Rinconcito Latino Cafe & Restaurant, 12899 SW 42nd St., West Miami-Dade: The 33 flies included 10 that landed on a cutting board in a food prep area.
Having seen this violation in a while...”nonfood-grade basting brush used in food.” Always reminds us of the restaurant that used a paint brush to baste.
Stop Sales hit pork, cooked pork, beef, chicken, chicken breast, ground beef and cooked ground beef, all of which were well above the upper end of safe keeping (41 degrees).
“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable, located in preparation area.”
This place passed re-inspection Friday.
Taco Bell, 599 NE 167th St., North Miami Beach: Hope you brought your own drinks to this Taco Bell before it got shut down.
“...soda dispensary soiled with accumulation of mold-like substance, and dust.”
Also, “observed approximately 35-plus live small flying insects sitting on the soda and iced tea dispensary, and touching the drink lids, and nozzles at the front counter.”
“Cardboard used to line food-contact shelves...cardboard used to line soda dispensary by drive thru window.”
“Observed accumulation of food debris on the dining room floor.”
There’s way too much going on in that dining room area. “Observed ceiling tiles are missing and damage in the dining area.”
Taco Bell was ringing again after Friday’s re-inspection.
