Flies on Wendy’s bread, abundant rodent droppings: Miami to Palm Beach restaurant fails
Of the eight restaurants on this week’s Sick and Shut Down List, we’ve got one major chain, two recidivists, three places with rodents and a too many places washing dishes without sanitizing them.
It’s late in the week, so let’s get to the only restaurant inspection list that’s got you from Key West to the Palm Beach-Martin County line and does so with a little chuckle.
THE RULES OF LAW IN THIS JURISDICTION: 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 side dish of humor.
In alphabetical order...
Berta Grill Bar Restaurant, 6113 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood: Routine inspection, 13 total violations, two High Priority violations.
An inspector with the eyes of Mr. Miyagi somehow counted 100 flies on a wall and boxes under a prep table.
“The flies were landing on the onions and on the boxes holding the other vegetables (sweet potatoes and yams) as well as the underside of the table and the wall above the prep table,” the inspector wrote. “The manager removed the box of onions and took it outside.”
Elsewhere, the inspector saw, “over 10 small flies flying around and landing on spice containers, boxes of flour and single service items, and an open container of coffee on a shelf above a flip top cooler.”
Not sure why the coffee didn’t get smacked with a Stop Sale. Maybe the counting wore out the inspector.
Picnic plastic only because Berta had “no sanitizer of any kind available for warewashing. Only use single-service items to serve food to customers until sanitizer is available for warewashing.”
The kitchen handwash sinks lacked any way to dry hands beyond blowing on them.
“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris. The employee cleaned and sanitized the microwave during the inspection.” If you have a restaurant, somebody should hit the microwave each night. It doesn’t take long and is one less egg on your face when the inspector appears.
Big Berta passed re-inspection two days later.
Excell Restaurant, 1041 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach: Complaint inspection, six total violations, three High Priority.
Excell doesn’t excel at thoroughly dealing with rodents. As we paraphrased Redd Foxx during Excell’s appearance last summer on the Sick and Shut Down List, “You got to clean yo’ traps.”
“One dead rodent observed trapped in control device in dry storage room located through walk-in cooler room.”
Wonder if that’s the furry four-legged vermin who left 10 pieces of rodent poop in the walk-in cooler room in a cardboard tray of green beans.
Rodent dung over here, 10 flies landing on unwashed scallions over there in the walk-in cooler room.
A couple of dead roaches, one in a prep area next to a water heater, one in a hall corner, didn’t help matters.
Excell passed a next-day re-inspection.
Los Panchos Tacos & Tequila, 717 Lake Ave., Lake Worth: Routine inspection, five violations, all High Priority.
Though Los Panchos’ rodent situation here improved from its February appearance on this list, when rodents all but tanned on tiny chaise lounges and gave tours of their burrow, the low-running mammals still seem a little too comfy. They treated the room with alcohol (seven rodent droppings) and a dining room window ledge (two) like toilets, so you know they don’t think they’re company.
Five or six flies buzzed a bar area mat. A clam shell to-go box got tossed after a fly landed on it.
Following that into the trash were sour cream, churrasco in the walk-in cooler and churrasco in the drawer cooler under the grill, all of which were struck by Stop Sales for still being too warm after being made at least the day before.
Los Panchos passed a March 31 re-inspection, semi-passed (re-inspection needed, but stayed open) a complaint inspection Monday and passed a re-inspection off that on Tuesday.
The DBPR might need to find office space near Los Panchos.
READ MORE: Which Sedano’s was the one with rotten potatoes and moldy food?
Provident at The Blue, 5300 NW 87th Ave., Doral: Routine inspection, 30 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
Welcome to this week’s Gretzky Award winner, the producer of a hat trick (plus one!) of failed inspections.
Yet, unlike The Great One or the Florida Panthers the last few years, a total lack of creativity in the filth.
OK, the five roaches “coming out from the cracks and crevices from the floor tiles at the cookline” does have a hint of The Craft dream scene, but 15 live roaches under reach-in coolers, two live in an unused refrigerated drawer and two dead roaches on the kitchen floor feels so common.
Stop Sales smothered cheese, mayonnaise and chipotle mayo that measured 57 or 58 degrees (needs to be 41 or below or bacteria be busting) despite being in refrigerated drawers.
Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed in refrigerated drawers at cook line cheese (57 F - Cold Holding); mayonnaise (58 F - Cold Holding); chipotle mayonnaise (58 F - Cold Holding).
And, the ice machine! “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
A dishwasher with no sanitizer. A bar handwash sink with no soap, a cookline handwash sink with no paper towels or blower. A really dirty cookline oven.
Come the re-inspection, the inspector spotted three live roaches and one dead roach, but what would have us breaking a clipboard is “At time of callback inspection Observed soiled oven at cook line.”
You can’t get rid of roaches in a day, not really. The dishwasher still wasn’t sanitizing properly, indicating this wasn’t just about getting some sanitizer. Maybe they didn’t have a way to set up manual sanitizing.
But you can clean an oven in a day. Or, well, guess these folks can’t, which is why they got another day to do so by failing the re-inspection.
Inspection No. 3, one, two, THREE live roaches and the dishmachine still malfunctioning. Later that same day, fourth inspection, three live roaches — maybe the same, maybe the afternoon shift, don’t know their union’s rules — dishmachine still out.
Finally, on April 1, apparently they got the roaches to stay in the walls and under the floor during the inspector’s visit and the dishmachine being still a worthless collection of water and metal wasn’t enough to keep them closed.
Rosinella, 525 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach: Complaint inspection, 11 total violations, three High Priority violations.
“Observed old food debris located on metal food strainer, hanging from wall near kitchen dish machine.”
So, this either it didn’t get washed or this dishmachine not only wasn’t sanitizing (0 ppm) but it wasn’t even washing. Ick.
The inspector looked up and saw seven dead roaches in a light shield over the middle kitchen prep area. Eight live roaches scurried on the door lid of a prep cooler, on and under shelves with clean plates, glassware and kitchen equipment.
No soap, hand towels or hot air blowers were at the handwash sink located at pasta prep station, near the customer dining area. Guess workers were supposed to use the spit-and-flap method of washing hands.
This place came correct the next day.
Singing Bamboo West, 2845 Military Tr., West Palm Beach: Complaint inspection, eight total violations, two High Priority violations.
These rodents ran this joint like the wiseguy patrons did that bamboo joint in “GoodFellas.” Not only did the rodents avoided the glue traps set for them, but watched six roaches get caught in them (four under a reach-in freezer, two near a washing machine) then ran around letting folks know they’d been there.
Eight rodent droppings on the dry storage floor. About 20 under a dry storage rack at the wait station. About 40 around “two large white space containers stored underneath a table near the walk-in cooler.”
Maybe they were grabbing salt and pepper on their way to the walk-in freezer because they knew there were “multiple food items stored on the floor” there and raw chicken uncovered.
Bamboo West was straight after the next day’s re-inspection.
Rancho Chico, 704 U.S. 1 S., Tequesta: Routine inspection, seven total violations, three High Priority violations.
Four live roaches and five expired ones under a cookline reach-in cooler drawer.
Did somebody forget to turn on the walk-in cooler? The cheese dip measured room temperature as in postgame locker room temperature (81 degrees), the rice and herded chicken were 51 degrees. Stop Sales all around.
After a same-day re-inspection, Rancho was OK, Chico.
Wendy’s 19650 NW Second Ave., Miami Gardens: Complaint inspection, 16 total violations, two High Priority violations.
The women’s restroom toilet didn’t flush. Do we really need to continue?
If we must...10-plus dead flies on dining area table and window sills. Two flies landing on bread and three on potatoes in back storage got Stop Sales for each of those.
As for the other 70-plus flies sighted by the inspector...eight were on the toilet and wall of the men’s restroom and another 10-plus were in the dining area. Six were over the bacon hot holding unit, waiting for the opening like it was the next Star Wars movie.
“Interior of oven/microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.” Told you, a good wipe every day keeps the violation away.
“Observed multiple food shelves are soiled with built up grease and dust.” “Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Observed exterior of coffee machine, preparation table, deep fryers, and hot holding units.”
OK, not a lot of wiping going on here.
And we’re not sure what’s going on here, but it’s definitely not right....”multiple condiments are soiled and ketchup is stuck together.”
Bring your own bottle and not just of liquor. “Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions. Observed date expired 05/19 and 10/21.”
Wendy’s passed re-inspection the next day.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 8:42 AM.
