State inspectors spotted rodents running in restaurants in Miami and Palm Beach County
Between time off and the Thanksgiving holiday week, there’s a week and a half of failed inspections on The Sick and Shut Down List.
But there’s two weeks worth of rodents, especially live ones. So, let’s get to it.
WE’VE GOT RULES. HERE THEY ARE: 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 a family size order of humor.
In alphabetical order...
Al Salem Middle Eastern Restaurant, 1816 N. University Dr., Plantation: Complaint inspection, 16 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
What’s more unsettling? Eight rodent dropping along the wall trim throughout the party room’s dining area? Or, at least 40 ants in a conga line along the wall trim from a restroom sign’s overhead support to the front entrance? Or one roach “crawling in a container of utensils stored on the counter at the warewashing station in the kitchen.”
Three live roaches hung out on a kitchen drink cooler, under the manager certifications posted there. On the tape used to hang those certifications: one dead roach. The inspector saw two other live roaches and five other dead ones.
With such active ants, roaches and rodents, you’d think they’d cover the pastries on the counter above the display case.
The yellow rice stored in the walk-in cooler overnight still measured 46 degrees, which is five degrees to the bad for proper safety, and the cut tomatoes measured 62 degrees after being cooled overnight, which is just this side of instant botulism.
This joint passed re-inspection two days later.
Basilic Vietnamese Grill, 218 Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, nine total violations, three High Priority violations.
There was an uncovered bag of chicken in a chest freezer and carrots on the floor at the walk-in cooler.
Not what you want when you have the producers of about 20 pieces of rodent poo at the kitchen dry storage area’s water header and 30 poo pieces at the dining room bar.
Stop Sales hit the cooked steak and noodles, as yucky at 92 degrees as you feel if your temperature were 92 degrees.
Basilic passed re-inspection the next day.
El Jalapeno, 7164 Colony Club Dr., unincorporated Palm Beach: Routine inspection, nine total violations, three High Priority violations.
OK, we’ll start with the laziness of beef in a plastic container stored on the floor under the stove and a case of lettuce on the floor.
And our pet peeve at The Sick and Shut Down List, “In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment.”
But, really, the folks at El Jay would’ve skated by but for the water pump.
“Establishment operating with no potable running water. Water pump broken.”
“No hot running water at three-compartment sink. Water pump broken.”
“No running water at three-compartment sink. Water pump broken.”
“Water with a temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit not provided/shut off at employee handwash sink.” Yeah, the water pump again.
“Due to lack of running water operator using bucket of warm water” in the three-compartment sink for washing hands.
El Jalapeno passed a same-day re-inspection, presumably after the water pump got fixed.
The Garden on 78 St. Restaurant, 197 NE 78th St., Miami: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, five High Priority violations.
The Garden would’ve survived the two live flies. The Garden would’ve survived one live roach. But when the inspector saw “one live rodent crawling on floor in kitchen area behind fryer” and sees the rodent “crawl into small hole in wall behind cook line,” The Garden was deader than Epicure.
And the inspector didn’t even need to see “approximately 25 rodent droppings on shelves behind the front counter register area” or “approximately seven rodent droppings on shelves in the dry storage area.”
Speaking of shelves, “food storage shelves soiled throughout the property.”
When the inspector returned the next day, there was a “rodent crawling on pipe in the kitchen above the hot holding steam wells.”
The Garden passed the re-re-inspection. Guess Jerry left or at least decided against making himself so obvious.
La Belle Monique Restaurant and Bakery, 937 State Rd. 7, Plantation: Routine inspection, 11 total violations, four High Priority violations.
The 20 to 30 flies near the mop sink and on the kitchen walls across from the three-compartment sink didn’t look good, but the two flies that landed on bread rolls in the kitchen brought down the Stop Sale lightning.
“Cardboard used on floor as anti-slip measure not replaced every day or when heavily soiled, whichever comes first.” You’d think that gets pretty gross after just a few hours.
“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust.”
This place came close enough to its name to pass re-inspection the next day.
Le Berger Restaurant, 1216 S. Dixie Hwy., Lake Worth: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, six High Priority violations.
What’s worse for the inspector to see than the dead rodent that was reason No. 1 for Le Berger making The Sick and Shut Down List in September?
“...live rodent running across the ledge on the side of the upright freezer and entered in hole in the wall behind reach in cooler on cook line.”
And why wouldn’t that furry friend feel comfortable? There’s a home there, as the inspector saw. “Rodent burrow or rodent nesting materials present. Hole in the wall with gnawing marks.”
That’s the living room. The top of the hot water heater between the three-compartment sink and the kitchen handwashing sink was the restroom, as evidenced by the two droppings.
As in September, Le Berger combined rodents in the house with food on the floor. “Boxes of oil and bag of cabbage stored on floor by upright cooler near entrance to the kitchen door.”
Roaches clearly don’t bother these folks. The corpse counts were 10 on a glue board by the kitchen handwashing sink and two on the board behind a cookline reach-in cooler.
Stop Sales crushed the too-warm cooked chicken in the glass door cooler.
Le Berger passed re-inspection the next day.
