Another Vicky Bakery, a Sonic, rats in a trap: 13 Miami metro restaurant inspection fails
For the second consecutive week, the Sick and Shut Down List of restaurants closed by inspection includes a Vicky Bakery and much rodent regularity, including right on a restaurant’s framed license.
So, let’s get to the list of restaurants not up to snuff in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties (Monroe, you’re good again this week). Unless otherwise noted, all restaurants were able to reopen after passing re-inspection by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
In alphabetical order...
City Hall Bistro & Martini Bar, 5 S. Flagler Ave., Homestead: Routine inspection, 27 total violations, eight High Priority violations.
First violation listed on the first place alphabetically is that old favorite, “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
But, there was a “gap beneath a door that leads to the outside” and a “hole in wall in the kitchen dry storage area,” so maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that there were “two dead rats in a trap in the kitchen dry storage area.”
Wonder if they were responsible for the 114 pieces of rodent poop counted by the inspector, including 40 on a pan inside the dry storage room “next do dry ingredients in the kitchen” and “10 droppings on top of cans in the kitchen dry storage room.” That room is the rat living room, kitchen and toilet, apparently — more than 30 were on the floor of dry storage.
As usual when there’s a rodent violation, there’s food sitting directly on the floor. A box of sweet potatoes sat on the dry storage floor.
There was an “accumulation of lime scale on the inside of the dishmachine,” which also had the problem of zero sanitizer.
“In-use ice scoop stored on a soiled surface between uses.”
The steam table was “soiled with old food debris.”
The inspector dropped Stop Sales on pico de gallo, ground beef and cheese for “temperature abuse.” That means they weren’t being kept hot enough or cold enough to prevent bad bacteria breeding.
Then again, the place didn’t have a probe thermometer to measure food temperature.
Kelly’s Cajun Grill at The Mall at Wellington Green, 10300 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington: Routine inspection, seven total violations, six High Priority violations.
When you see The Mall at Wellington Green on this list, you know we’re about to talk about furry, four-legged vermin.
READ MORE: Rodents return to a mall food court, and other Miami to Palm Beach restaurant issues
Nine rodent droppings in the kitchen “under a table where large storage containers of corn starch, rice and sugar are stored.” Another one sat under a table next to boxes of sodas.
The wiping cloth sanitizer solution was just water, zero parts per million of sanitizer.
Stop Sales crashed down on noodles still not cool enough after an overnight in the walk-in cooler, which doesn’t say much for the walk-in cooler.
Kirin Restaurant, 4285 N. State Rd. 7, Lauderdale Lakes: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Nobody working with food wore anything restraining their hair.
Seven live roaches, including five under shelving and behind a container of fortune cookies.
No paper towels at the kitchen handwash sink. Were employees supposed to blow on their hands? Flap?
No food thermometer was in the house.
Land N Sea, 511 NE 167th St, North Miami Beach: Routine inspection, 19 total violations, 7 High Priority violations.
We told you earlier this week about the latest restaurant on or just off 167th Street/163rd Street that doubled as rodent affordable housing..
READ MORE: Rodent dung, roach excrement at another place on Miami-Dade’s Wretched Restaurant Row
Le Val De Loire, Alma Criolla, 1576 SE Third Ct., Deerfield Beach: Routine inspection, 20 total violations, four High Priority violations.
“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine at bar.”
These rodents marked their territory with 25 pieces of dung on top of the dishwasher and on the dish drain board, another 25 “on the floor next to the cookline, shelf next to the cookline and underneath a table opposite the dish machine in the kitchen,” and one only poo piece inside a drawer of a Toastmaster.
Also, inside that Toastmaster was “old food debris.”
“Cardboard used to line food-contact shelves.” Where? “Soiled cardboard shelf liners on the bottom shelf of food prep tables in the kitchen.”
The ceiling was “soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, and dust in the warehouse wash area.”
A “full glass panel is missing from a jalousie window next to the cookline. The window cannot be closed.”
Roadside BBQ, 949 W. Canal St. North Ct., Belle Glade: Routine inspection, 10 total violations, eight High Priority violations.
An employee “stored equipment then began handling bags of beans and pulled pork” without washing his hands.
About 15 rodent droppings sat on a dry storage shelf “among food items and single service items.” Another three were behind a reach-in cooler near the cookline.
Stop Sales ended the day for baked beans and cooked collard greens, each over 20 degrees too cool and unable to be reheated properly. Also, a dented can of baked beans got zapped with a Stop Sale..
Rhum Shack, 802 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach: Routine inspection, two total violations, one High Priority violation.
Bad: “The ice scoop handle was in contact with the ice in the ice machine.”
Worse: “Nine rodent droppings on top of the electric panel next to the glass door cooler in the kitchen.”
Ruby Chen’s, 913 W. State Rd. 84, Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, 10 total violations, five High Priority violations.
Two cans of soy sauce sat uncovered at the cookline. Not sure you should be leaving anything uncovered when you’ve got Pixie and Dixie leaving rodent poop on a dry storage shelf, on a kitchen floor and three of them “on top of the framed DBPR license at the front service counter.”
They literally pooped on the the inspector’s employer.
“Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food.” How so? “Crab rangoons and BBQ pork were stored inside to-go bags” inside a kitchen freezer.
One of those Broward on Friday, same-day re-inspections got Ruby Chen’s back open for the weekend.
Sonic Drive-In, 6200 W. Sample Rd., Coral Springs: Routine inspection, four total violations, two High Priority violations.
Flies and trash. As for the latter, “between the ice machine and the wall, there was an accumulation of soiled cups, paper towels/napkins and lids.”
The former numbered around 35, 25 of which were “landing on the shelving for clean utensils over the three-compartment sink across from the ice cream machines in the kitchen.” Another two were landing on the soda cup lid at the kitchen soda machine station.
When the inspector returned later in the day for a re-inspection, the fly count decreased to six, but that’s six too many to pass re-inspection.
Sonic passed re-re-inspection the next day.
Sushi Jungle, 8373 NW 12th St., Doral: Routine inspection, 31 total violations, nine High Priority violations.
The inspector counted over 110 rodent dung nuggets, including more then 25 “in a corner by the sushi area.” Over 25 rodent droppings were on a bucket of sanitizer, another 15-plus on top of a container with detergent
Two flies played on walls and the dishwasher, one was landing on the prep table.
“Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable” which might explain why they also were a violation for being “soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.”
The front counter handwash sink lacked paper towels or a blower.
“Raw animal food stored in same container as ready-to-eat food.” Yes, it’s a problem that the “raw tuna was stored inside a container with cooked octopus.”
The floor “has an accumulation of debris.”
“All the coolers and the chest reach-in cooler are soiled.
Thai Moon by the Sea, 3026 E. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, nine total violations, two High Priority violations.
Two dead roaches, three live roaches, two of which were on a counter part of a flip top grill on the cookline.
The “kitchen hood filters were soiled with a grease buildup.”
Vicky Bakery, 4 W. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale: Complaint inspection, six total violations, one High Priority violations.
A different Vicky Bakery than last week, this one with three dead roaches and five live roaches. The most visible of the latter was either the one next to the orange juice machine at the front counter or the one on the floor of the front counter.
The “knife handle was touching pastries on the cooling rack at the cookline.”
Yard House, 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Ave., Palm Beach Gardens: Complaint inspection, 15 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
Yard House, the last place alphabetically on this week’s list, had no rodent problems. Going by the inspection, maybe it wasn’t clean enough for the rodents.
There were roaches, five live (one in the dining room by the booths) and 16 dead (five at the dessert station, two in the dining area). But there was also an “in-use utensil used with moist food stored in running water with insufficient velocity to flush food particles away.
Maybe because that appliance’s drain pipe was “leaking wastewater onto the floor.”
“The same tongs used to flip seafood were wiped with a dirty towel between uses and reused to work with burgers and steaks. The same towel also was used to clean the food prep area.”
An employee doubled-gloved, apparently thought that made it just fine to touch raw chicken, remove one pair of gloves using her hands then “touch clean plates to plate food without washing her hands.”
Another employee “wiped gloved hands with a soiled towel at the cookline and proceeded to touch pickles and clean plates without changing gloves and washing hands.”
Someone else, “touched a trash can and wiped his hands on a dirty apron and proceeded to bag sauce.”
Oh, that wiping cloth? If it was kept in the sanitizing solution, it still wasn’t sanitized enough. The bucket measured 50 parts per million when it needed to be at 200.
Even when something was cleaned and sanitized properly, well...the “soup bowls stored next to the handwashing sink were exposed to splashing when the sink is in use.”
