Moldy tomato paste, roaches, dead rodent: a dirty dozen of South Florida restaurants
Inspectors weren’t playing, roaches weren’t hiding and plumbing wasn’t working this week when it came to South Florida restaurants that failed their way onto the Sick and Shut Down List.
So, let’s get to it.
WITHOUT RULES, THERE’S CHAOS: 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 humor sauce.
In alphabetical order...
Chef Chen, 11302 Quail Roost Dr., South Miami-Dade: Routine inspection, 44 total violations, eight High Priority violations.
It’s been more than a few Kendall lawn mowing cycles since we’ve seen 44 violations.
Over 50 live roaches ran between the reach-in cooler and the steam table in the cookline area. Another 10-plus were “around the three-compartment sink, crawling on shelves.”
Cracked egg in the walk-in and we have our first Stop Sale of the week.
Nonfood-grade containers were used for food storage and had direct contact with the food. Cardboard boxes were used as a food container. A plastic gallon container with the bottom cut off was used to scoop rice. We wonder, if the gallon container wasn’t food grade, what did it used to contain? Antifreeze?
The water didn’t run at the handwash sink in the ware washing area.
“Employee washing dishes without using sanitizer.”
“Buckets soiled with rice sugar and flour.”
Pork wontons inside an uncovered container in the reach-in. Cracked plastic lids and containers.
Yeah, OK, inflation, but nobody can hit the Dollar Tree for some cheap Tupperware knock offs?
And 44 violations, you knew we’d get our pet peeve of “In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment.” Over the three-compartment sink.
“Several 5 gallon containers on the floor...containers on the floor with chicken wings being dumped into the containers.”
Chef Chen somehow got it together to pass a next day re-inspection.
Chez Elda Take Out Restaurants, 544 E. Gateway Blvd., Boynton Beach: Routine inspection, six total violations, two High Priority violations.
A leaky handwash sink faucet, over 20 dead roaches under a chest freezer and 10 live roaches running around seems pretty pedestrian compared to “Tomato Paste with mold-like growth on the prep table.”
On the prep table. On deck to be used. Ew.
Three live roaches on the chest freezer ruined the re-inspection. Chez Elda passed a re-re-inspection on Feb. 11.
Favor Sushi, 1415 SW 26th Ave., Pompano Beach: Routine inspection, five total violations, four High Priority violations.
Seven live roaches, two under the prep area rice cooker, and 14 dead roaches, 10 in that crowded space under the prep area rice cooker, ruined this inspection.
They passed re-inspection Thursday, nine days after the original inspection.
Hotdog-Opolis, 6020 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, three total violations, one High Priority violation
A leaky prep sink pipe and needing to flap your arms to dry them at the handwash sink pales in violations next to the rodents apparently getting drunk and thinking the air conditioning closet was the bathroom (to be fair, who hasn’t made a similar mistake?).
There were 22 pieces of rodent poop in a box of maintenance equipment and five on the ground in the the closet. Also, there were three rodent droppings on the floor under the prep table.
Hotdog-Opolis passed a same-day re-inspection.
Kabayan Oriental Mart, 14585 Southern Blvd., Loxahatchee: Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations.
Stop Sale lightning struck butter at room temperature and bags inside reach-in freezer with also too-warm cooked pork.
As for the flies, 100 of them were “landing on a pot with cream on the stove top, microwave, container with coconut, clean utensils all over the kitchen area” and about 60 were “landing on a container with bananas on top of reach-in freezer on front area.”
That’s the reach-in freezer that wasn’t keeping things frozen.
Kabayan passed re-inspection on Monday, four days after the original inspection.
Khyber Kabab House, 4422 Forest Hill Blvd., West Palm Beach: Routine inspection, four total violations, two High Priority violations.
This was all about the roaches. The eight corpses included two on the floor in the front counter and two under a prep table.
Of the nine live roaches, one was on a wall near a stove, one was on a shelf, two were on a wall at the front counter where the inspector noted “food is stored there on display” another on a to-go container.
We point this out because the inspector said, “Most of the roaches were killed by owner with roach spray,” which seems a little imprecise chemical warfare for those areas.
Khyber was Kabab-ing after re-inspection the next day.
Le Sorelle, 6020 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Who left five pieces of rodent poo on top of the warewashing machine and 10 pieces on shelves in an unused bar and 30 pieces in a “plastic clear storage bin stored directly above cookline?”
Maybe it was the “one dead rodent trapped in control device located under pizza oven where wood is stacked.”
Hope that Sprite comes out of the refrigerator cold because there was an “accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
“One live roach observed at handwash sink on cook line. Observed going in between sink and wall and operator unable to remove roach.” Does it sound like the inspector was slightly amused? Thought so.
“No soap provided at hand wash sink on cook line and at ware washing area. No soap to provide.”
Le Sorrelle handled its business the next day.
Marina Mile Pizza, 1025 W. State Rd. 84, Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, three total violations, one High Priority violation.
The problem here wasn’t just no license (expired Dec. 1), no owner around to discuss that (out of the country), but no water (close the kitchen). A broken pipe outside the restaurant turned all the handwashing sinks into little Saharas.
This pizza joint passed inspection the next day.
Oka Sushi & Thai, 817 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach: Complaint inspection, seven total violations, three High Priority inspections.
Rodents dropped 14 little loads, including 10 “in a small, hard to reach area under the sushi bar.”
Five live roaches rode the trash can dolly under the three-compartment sink. Two dead roaches were on the floor between the sushi bar and a dining room menu rack.
Under and behind the cookline equipment, “floor soiled, has accumulation of debris.”
Oka was okay after the next day’s re-inspection.
Plaza Diner, 3118 S. University Dr., Miramar: routine inspection, 34 total violations, six High Priority violations.
This place was literally tore up from the floor up with “plumbing in disrepair and water draining on the floor at hand wash sink next to the three-compartment sink;” “Standing water or very slow draining water” at the front counter handwash sink; and a kitchen area freezer “taped up with duct tape.”
The Beverage Air three-door cooler probably could’ve used duct tape or something to keep in the cold. The inspector made it rain Stop Sales on food kept at unsafely warm temperatures, such as sausage, beef franks, gravy, ham, cooked spinach, turkey sausage, chicken soup, diced cooked potatoes and cheeses.
No soap provided at handwash sink in the kitchen area.
As for the vermin, live roaches numbered 10 and dead roaches numbered 25.
“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.” No excuse for that.
The Plaza got the inspector’s love on Valentine’s Day and was back open for the lovebirds and the lonely.
Wayback Burgers, 4690 State Rd. 7, Coconut Creek: Routine inspection, 18 total violations, five High Priority violations.
Fire up the WABAC Machine and you’ll find rodents and moldy lettuce put Wayback on this list during a November week it numbered a dozen, also.
No rodents this time. Heck, only one dead roach “in a cupboard underneath the Coca-Cola drinks machine” the inspector says. But the inspector also put “Note: Coca-Cola drinks machine is located in the dining room.”
The inspector clearly lacked nostalgia for visiting the Wayback.
Flies landing on cut tomatoes in the flip top cooler and cold raw chicken that had a fever despite sitting in the Avantco refrigerator drew Stop Sales.
The other flies, about 100, tried to get into bags with onions in the prep area. Another 15 kept landing on a box with raw ground beef. About 10 landed on clean (well, sort of) cookline prep tables.
“Plumbing system at the handwash sink at the front line in disrepair.”
If you see a “black mold-like substance buildup” in the three-compartment sink, is it being used with the proper soap and enthusiasm?
Thursday, a week after this hot mess, the inspector returned to find a slightly cooler mess. And Wayback wasn’t allowed to get back open.
Will’s Cafe Creole Restaurant, 5460 US441 N, North Lauderdale: Routine inspection, 17 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
Stop Sales dropped on a container of cashews, peanuts, bread, fried chips and sesame pies made in someone’s home; kremas juice made who knows where; and cooked chicken, pork and raw whole snapper kept too warm.
Roaches strolled across the floor in the kitchen, at the front counter and two promenaded across the dining room floor.
A pipe leaked at a handwash sink while the main kitchen handwash sink didn’t have paper towels.
Will’s passed inspection the next day.
