Mold on lettuce, rodents and 2 Boston Markets: South Florida restaurants’ dirty dozen
Everybody’s busy around the holidays and we here at The Sick and Shut Down List are no exception...especially after we took two weeks off, during which we made or drank several bottles of coquito.
We’re back to tell you where state inspectors ran into vermin or violations of healthy food handling practices as they swung around South Florida. We’ve written it, so you read while we pour more coquito (hey, we’ve done our part).
BEFORE YOU EMAIL US, READ HERE: 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 an 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 heapin’ helpin’ of humor.
In alphabetical order...
Boston Market, 1001 W. 49th St., Hialeah: Routine inspection, three total violations, one High Priority violation.
“Observed waste water backing up from floor drain in front of the kitchen walk-in cooler.”
And, in that walk-in cooler, produce wasn’t stored at least six inches off the floor.
Upon the inspector’s return two days later, there was still “waste water backing up from floor drain in front of the kitchen steam table and oven area.”
This store in the chain-chain-chain passed re-re-inspection Dec. 9.
Boston Market, 9929 S. Military Tr., Boyton Beach: Complaint inspection, nine total violations, one High Priority.
With seven dead roaches on the kitchen floor, 20 live roaches under a sham on the front line and 35 dead roaches under a front counter, why do you store any food on the floor? Especially under a kitchen handwashing sink (corn) or on the floor at the walk-in freezer (pumpkin pie and a whole turkey). Are you trying to lure the roaches into fatal gluttony?
Oh, by the way, there were another 10 roaches getting all the way live under a front garbage can.
“Objectionable odors in the main prep kitchen and dishwashing area.” Ah, the B.O. of restaurant inspections.
This BM passed re-inspection the next day.
BurgerFi, 2716 N. University Dr., Coral Springs: Complaint inspection, four total violations, two High Priority violations.
Of the seven flies in the kitchen, four kept landing on the prep table next to the ground beef that makes those vaunted burgers. Another 10 flies played on bags of raw potatoes in dry storage. Over in the dishwashing area, another 15 flies landed on utensils indiscriminately, both the dirty and the clean.
“Observed a mold-like substance buildup on wall at dishwashing area.”
BurgerFi was back in business on Blue Star after the next day’s re-inspection.
China Lee Restaurant, 559 SW 8th St., Miami: Complaint inspection, 31 total violations, five High Priority violations.
“One dead roach stuck in light shield in kitchen.” We’re always amazed when they get themselves into spots like that. A live roach was in a handwashing sink.
And there were “objectionable odors in the kitchen area.”
But of greatest concern were the four rodent droppings on a shelf over a flip top cooler, 10 to 15 droppings on the floor under a shelf next to a reach-in cooler and 25 to 30 rodent droppings on a storage shelf next to containers of sugar and flour.
Speaking of those, the inspector described them as “soiled.” Also, “the interior of ice machine was soiled with a mold-like substance.”
All these rodents and filth, but they left the chicken, pork ribs and fried chicken uncovered in the reach-in coolers, left sauce stored on the kitchen floor and left a box of cabbage on the floor in the front dining area (in the dining area? What, are people picking out cabbage heads like lobsters?)
Oh, and there’s our pet peeve, “In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment.”
An “accumulation of slime” decorated the doors of a reach-in cooler.
Somehow, this joint passed re-inspection the next day.
The Eat Shop, 61 SE First Ave., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, nine total violations, four High Priority violations.
Think about how many flies just five seems like. Then, think about twice that amount. Now, think about 10 flies “on open containers of honey, pancake syrup and corn syrup” on kitchen shelves. Another shelf had another 10 flies buzzing the spices over a prep table. Another 10 hung out on the kitchen walls.
You could’ve fed Cleveland with all the food in the cooler hit with Stop Sales for being too warm: pulled pork, raw chicken, coleslaw, sliced roast beef, sliced turkey, cooked potatoes, steak, shredded cheese, sliced cheese, shepherds pie, chicken pot pie, bean soup, ground beef, raw shell eggs, chicken salad, tuna salad and buttermilk.
No soap for you! at the cookline handwashing sink.
The Eat Shop passed a later inspection.
Fon Lee Restaurant, 4645 Gun Club Rd., West Palm Beach: Routine inspection, six total violations, one High Priority violation.
One live roach on top of oil container, owner removed. 1 live roach on top of stove, owner removed. 7 live roaches in between the gap of a shelf near three compartment sink and water heater. All in kitchen area. 1 live roach crawling on white reach in cooler. 1 live roach crawling on wall near hand washing sink as soon as you walk in kitchen
1 dead roach on prep table. Owner removed 3 dead roach on top of soy sauce container in kitchen floor
The restaurant didn’t have hot water that reached 100 degrees (safe hand washing temperature).
The Fon Lee (no relation to the Von Lee) passed re-inspection the next day.
Kabuki Restaurant, 2465 S. SR 7, Wellington: Routine inspection, eight total violations, five High Priority violations.
“Employee switched from working with raw beef to handling clean equipment without washing hands.” As Redd Foxx would’ve said if he was an inspector, “You...got...to...wash...yo’ hands...”
There were 40 small flies “landing on walls, dirty plastic containers, on sushi bar area” and another 20 “landing on walls on the server station by the bar area.”
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.” Did someone lose Kabuki makeup?
The next day, 11 flies caused a repeat inspection flunk of the re-inspection.
Kabuki passed a same day re-re-inspection. We don’t know what they did with the flies and perhaps its best we didn’t ask.
Kousine Peruvian Asian, 1668 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, five total violations, three High Priority violations.
This is all about the flies.
As in 25 of them on sinks at the dining room bar, another 10 on the walls of a server station across from the kitchen, another 10 on single service item boxes and five in a dry storage room.
The next day, 10 flies were on unpeeled onions on a storage rack, and 10 were on the server station walls. No word if they went home or just pulled an allnighter.
Like Kabuki, Kousine somehow shooed the flies away to pass a same day re-re-inspection.
Paseo Catracho, 7795 W. Flagler St., West Miami-Dade: Routine inspection, 25 total violations, eight High Priority violations.
There were four live roaches, but perhaps more concerning was the sewage/wastewater backing up from the kitchen floor drains after the handwashing sink was opened. That turned into “standing water on the kitchen floor and back prep area.”
Have a Coke and a smile, but no ice. “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
Clean containers were stored on the floor under a shelf.
Paseo passed re-inspection the next day.
Sapore Di Mare, 707 N. Broadwalk, Hollywood: Routine inspection, 13 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Hot water problems get you in hot water. “Hot water handle not functioning at hand sink in kitchen next to triple sink” and the hot water in the unisex bathroom only got to 79 degrees.
Also, there was a leak when the faucet was running in the restroom.
In the hallway outside the restroom were four dead roaches. Another seven corpses were near a chest freezer and another seven on an ice machine floor. Two were on the floor next to the front counter three-compartment sink (drama queens).
Six live roaches ran about the restaurant.
The roaches returned the next to day to ruin the re-inspection. But Sapore got rid of the roaches — or they stayed hidden long enough — that they passed the second re-inspection.
Titie Restaurant & Lounge, 300 W. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, 20 total violations, nine High Priority violations.
The four rodent droppings were kind of hidden, being behind a water heater next to a restroom and underneath a wait station cabinet behind a handwashing sink.
The dead rodent that might’ve dumped that there was behind a glass cooler at the wait station.
Of the three flies zipping around the seating area, a worker killed two, then sanitized the area.
In the apparently-ineffective walk-in cooler, the pork, cooked sliced goat and sliced goat were all way too warm to avoid the Stop Sale lightning.
The front counter handwashing sink had no way to dry hands. Maybe that’s why an employee “failed to wash his hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food.”
Inside a kitchen chest freezer, the cooked pork and cooked fish weren’t covered. Who’s too cheap or lazy to get Saran Wrap, the store brand version or some knockoff Dollar Tree version of Tupperware? This place.
The re-inspection got ruined with two rodent droppings next to the water heater and three flies.
Titie passed a same-day re-re-inspection.
Wayback Burgers, 4690 SR 7, Coconut Creek: Complaint inspection, 18 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
We do love us some burgers sometimes with lettuce and onions. But, here, the lettuce in a flip top cooler had a “mold-like substance buildup” and there were a “numerous amount of live flying insects landing on a bag with raw onions.”
Maybe that’s why the restaurant rodents are so regular, as in 15 pieces of rodent regularity under a front counter, 30 under a food prep sink and 100 in a cabinet under a Coca-Cola machine in the dining room. Moving among those 100 droppings were five roaches.
“Bathroom facility in male restroom not clean.”
None of the handwashing sinks had any paper towels.
A week later, the inspector returned to find 40 flies landing on the bags with onions, two live roaches and eight dead ones. But no signs of rodent activity, so that was an upside.
So, the inspector went away and gave Wayback another four days before coming in for the re-re-inspection. Wayback got it together for that one.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 9:13 AM.
