Rodent poop in flour, live roaches in rice: the week’s South Florida restaurant filth
Rodents outside the restaurant, inside the restaurant, inside the flour mark this a particularly furry, four-legged Sick and Shut Down List.
Let’s get to it by reminding you how we put this list together.
HOW WE MAKE THE SAUSAGE: 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. Do not call us. Do not email us. We don’t control who gets inspected nor how strictly the inspector inspects. Let us say that again — we do not control who gets inspected.
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 free bread baskets of humor.
In alphabetical order:
Bear’s Delray, 540 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach: 11 total violations, four High Priority.
Rodent regularity rampant in this joint with 37 droppings in an air conditioning storage room that was in a prep area “directly next to the cook line.” Ten were under a storage rack with onions, cutting boards and rice. Another 10 were in a kitchen corner.
Why do we love the ice machines? “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
The handwash sink “directly behind the register,” where folks deal with germ-riddled cash, didn’t have hot enough water.
Bear’s passed a same-day re-inspection, although it seems strange to not return the next day after a place has been cited for rodent poop.
Cafe Chung King, 1250 NW 54th St., Miami: 26 total violations, six High Priority.
“Observed a dead rodent outside the back exterior door.” Now, come on. That could be a body dumped by a cat that just felt at home, perhaps as a present.
As shown by the violation, “Evidence of feeding stray/wild animals - food/water bowls provided outside. Observed cats roaming on the outside grounds of the restaurant.”
One live roach by the three-compartment sink. Probably more bothersome was the “Sewage/wastewater backing up through floor drains...gray water backing up from the floor drain located on the way to the kitchen when opening the faucet at the handsink.”
That doesn’t encourage washing of the hands.
In the reach-in cooler, fried rice, white rice, cooked pork and diced ham weren’t covered, which didn’t protect them from people’s spit and sneezing nor did it help them get properly cooled. Maybe it didn’t matter on the temperature thing, seeing as how the raw chicken, cooked rice and bean sprouts in the cooler also weren’t cooled. The inspector made it rain Stop Sales on all of this.
“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Observed food containers soiled.” Ew.
Cafe Chung King passed re-inspection the next day.
Church’s Chicken, 2401 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale: 22 total violations, five High Priority violations.
In some towns, Church’s is where you go on Friday nights for crispy-breaded chicken and bullets.
That didn’t seem to bother the 12 live roaches and two dead roaches that the inspector counted. Three flies zipped about, but didn’t land on any food.
The inspector saw an employee wash a whisk, but not sanitize it. Then again, the sanitizer measured at zero parts per million (a nerdy way of saying “none”).
“Vents soiled in kitchen with dust.”
The handwash sinks in the front counter and the dishwashing area were gone. They have to be re-installed.
“Employee chicken bone sitting on top of paper bags.” Just the bone?
The roaches and flies caused Church’s to fail two re-inspections, for a natural hat trick of inspection failures. A third re-inspection Friday got it open for that night’s business.
Edgewater Room, 401 E. Linton Blvd., Delray Beach: Seven violations, two High Priority violations.
Of the 50 flies counted in a dry storage room, some landed on unwashed onions, some on unwashed potatoes, some on wrapped bread. Five flies played in the walkway between dry storage and the ware washing room. Two were behind a shelf with clean cookware in the ware washing area.
“Can opener blade soiled. Soda gun located at bar soiled.”
Between the soda gun and what’s in the ice machine besides frozen water (guess), we’d advise staying with bottled water? “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
Edgewater passed a same-day re-inspection. We’re sure all the flies relocated to the nearest can of cat food.
El Gran Inka, 606 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne: 26 total violations, six High Priority violations.
You know you’ve got a rodent problem when there’s “18 to 20 droppings on top of dry food containers holding bread crumbs, flour and rice at dry storage shelf in kitchen.”
Or, worse, “two droppings inside a flour container, touching flour” and “four potatoes with gnaw marks.” Stop Sale on the flour and potatoes, obviously.
Show us the active rodents, we’ll show you the food stored on the floor. Here, it was cooking oil and a box of limes.
“Standing water on floor through out the kitchen.”
With all that yuck, the dishmachine lacked sanitizer.
No soap or paper towels at the bar handwash sink.
Inka passed re-inspection the next day. Presumably with dung-free flour.
Le Berger Restaurant, 1216 S. Dixie Hwy., Lake Worth: 17 total violations, seven High Priority.
Can’t blame this one on a cat. “Dead rodent on floor in between wall and reach in cooler in the kitchen.” And he had four to five pieces of territory marking waste on the floor next to him. He also left his mark in five parts atop a water heater between the hand sink and the three-compartment sink.
And here comes the usual companion violation, “Several boxes of oil stored on floor.”
Eight live roaches ran about, the most ambitious being the one in the dining room or the four under a milk crate next to thawing beef in the reach-in freezer.
Kitchen employee and you want to wash your hands? No soap for you! The kitchen handwash sink lacked Lava or anything like it.
Also, they got caught lying about their fruit juice. That stuff marked as “Fresh Passion Fruit Juice?” It’s from a powder mix. Sophisticated Kool-Aid. Glorified Tang.
Le Berger passed re-inspection the next day.
Restaurant El Trovador, 1532 NE Eighth St., Homestead: 20 total violations, six High Priority violations.
Is the rice alive? No, it’s “approximately seven live roaches in a rice container” under a kitchen prep table.
There were two other live roaches, but do they really matter? OK, one was on top of the bar in the seating area, the other on shelving behind the bar. One dead roach lay behind the bar.
The inspector saw “pots and pans washed, rinsed but not sanitized.”
Also, “sausage in non food grade bags in reach-in cooler by back door.” Of all the things to put in bags that shouldn’t be touching food, sausage makes the podium for Bad.
You want ice in that drink? “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin. Soiled side of interior of ice machine.”
El Trovador passed inspection the next day.
Sadie’s Grill & Deli, 1301 W. Copans Rd., Pompano Beach: Five total violations, three High Priority violations.
These rodent runners hung out around the reach-in coolers, leaving 10 pieces of rodent dung behind one and 20 next to another in the dish/prep area.
“Ceiling not smooth, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable in food preparation, food storage, or warewashing areas.” That can trap all kinds of dust and gunk.
Sadie’s passed re-inspection the next day and another Complaint inspection on Tuesday.
