Overflowing sewage, rodents, bad smells in these Miami, Broward restaurant inspections
Still waters run deep. In restaurants, that’s called standing water and it usually stinks. That brings us to the restaurants on this week’s Sick and Shut Down List, a roll call of South Florida restaurants that came up short on state inspections.
OUR RULES OF ENGAGEMENT: 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. We don’t control who gets inspected nor how strictly the inspector inspects.
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 side dishes of humor.
In alphabetical order...
Ono Poke Shop, 2320 N. Miami Ave., Miami: Routine inspection, 11 total violations, one High Priority violation.
No vermin on the floor of the Poke. The Poke had a putrid pond, however.
“Raw sewage on ground of establishment...drain under the three-compartment sink clogged resulting in wastewater overflowing on the floor.”
Another problem at the three-compartment sink, the warewashing machine and for the wiping cloth solution was the lack of a chemical test kit to check the sanitizer used for each.
You kind of want someone who could recognize when an employee is swimming in salmonella, listeria, cyclospora, etc., so it can be a bit disconcerting when the “Certified Food Manager or person in charge lacks knowledge of foodborne illnesses and symptoms of illness that would prevent an employee from working with food, clean equipment and utensils, and single-service items.”
At the next day’s re-inspection, the inspector ran water “for approximately three minutes at the three-compartment sink and observed water overflowing from the drain under the three-compartment sink.
“In addition, ran water for approximately three minutes at the handwash sink and mop sink behind the front counter food preparation area, and observed standing water in each sink, as water drained slowly.”
Lack of a Roto-Rooter man or a generic substitute caused a failure of the re-inspection. But the Poke passed the re-re-inspection.
Rene’s Schnitzelhaus, 8318 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise: Routine inspection, 25 total violations, 5 High Priority violations.
“Observed objectionable odors throughout establishment in the kitchen area and the front of the interior dining room.”
The malodorous scent didn’t bother the rodents that left poop on dishwasher area pipes and 20 pieces of regularity “on shelves with clean plates, clean glasses next to the reach-in freezer; in the storage area, next to an unused ice bin machine; and at the front left hand corner, close to the kitchen entrance door.”
In a sign of vermin confrontation or (shudder) unity, the roaches left 10 droppings at the cookline and near the prep table. The inspector counted 30 or more live roaches and another 30 or more dead lines at the cookline, under the three-compartment sink, “running under equipment, prep table and in the dish machine area.”
With all these live problems running around, regular readers know what the inspector also found. Sing it, children...”food not covered...” In this case, bread on a top shelf in the kitchen and sauces in the reach-in freezer.
The ice scoop was “stored on top of a dirty surface in the storage area...”
But we’re sure the ice scoop was washed and sanitized. Or, at least washed, as the dishmachine’s sanitizer measured zero.
As effective as the dishmachine’s sanitizing attempts were the attempts at washing hands in the unisex employee bathroom, seeing as how there was no hot water.
“Observed heavy limescale build up on interior of dish machine located in dish area...heavy grease buildup and limescale on dish racks...cutting boards, can opener blade, shelves for sanitized clean equipment with grease buildup.”
The inspector saw water leaking two places, from a pipe under the three-compartment sink and from the steam table. Staff put a bucket under the latter.
Not sure how this place came correct the next day on re-inspection, but the inspector says it did.
Tacos vs. Burrito, 650 NE 79th St., Miami: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, two High Priority violations.
Another place with standing water on the floor, this time in the restrooms. Hope that was just water.
The inspector counted eight flies in the men’s and women’s restrooms, 10 in the dining room and bar, 20 in a back prep area and 25 in the dishwashing area (they like the dishwashing area.)
“Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.”
“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food....quart container used to scoop ice.”
After an inspection during which the inspector knew neither hands nor hair were involved in the food, the eternal Tacos vs. Burrito battle resumed.
