Can opener roaches, Jersey Mike’s, Outback among worst South Florida inspections
Roaches in a can opener, mold on food and a couple of well-known chain restaurants are on this week’s list of restaurant failures.
The ”Sick and Shut Down” list is the only one in South Florida that tells you the worst of state inspections from Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties.
As always, we remind readers that the Miami Herald doesn’t do the inspecting nor do we choose the restaurants inspected. The former is done by Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation inspectors. The latter is done by the DBPR and by customers who file complaints, which you can do online.
Most of the following chow houses reopened the next day after re-inspection. When places needed more swings at passing inspection, we note that.
In alphabetical order:
Cedano’s Cuban Cafe, Broward Mall, 8000 W. Broward Blvd., Plantation
Complaint inspection, four total violations, one High Priority violation.
You don’t like to see an uncovered container with cut onions in a walk-in cooler, where the sudden chill sometimes causes people to sneeze.
You don’t like to see wiping cloths that should be in sanitizer solution sitting out on the cookline.
But what nobody — especially customers and other Broward Mall food court neighbors — wants to see is “60 rodent droppings in dry storage next to a rice container.” Another four pieces of rodent poop were under a cookline food prep table.
A same-day re-inspection got Cedeno’s back open.
MORE: Bringing back ‘the golden era’: Glam new supper club opens in Miami Beach
China Buffet, 18690 NW 67th Ave., Northwest Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 21 total violations, four High Priority violations.
“Observed the employee bathroom soiled.”
A dead roach breathed his last on a beverage station floor. One living roach “crawled on an open lid of a reach-in cooler” and another one “crawled on the kitchen floor in front of a walk-in cooler” A dozen roaches hung out inside a broken reach-in cooler across from the cookline. Maybe they came in through the “multiple holes in the wall throughout the kitchen.”
Standing water stood on the hibachi station floor.
So with all those roaches, is it smart storage to have bags of onions and carrots on the walk-in cooler’s floor or an oil container on the kitchen floor? The container lids for rice and flour were “cracked or broken.”
Meanwhile, the dishwasher sanitizer measured zero parts per million.
Stop Sales came down on chicken breast and raw fish that remained above 41 degrees despite being in the reach-in cooler for more than four hours.
Upon re-inspection, there were more live roaches (two, each crawling on a wall) than dishwasher sanitizer (still zero).
Two roaches on the wall under the hibachi station handwash sink scuttled the third inspection.
Finally, the restaurant passed Inspection No. 4 on July 10.
Jersey Mike’s Subs, 2260 W. Woolbright Rd., Boynton Beach
Routine inspection, nine total violations, three High Priority violations.
Monday’s visit didn’t have many violations, but had the wrong ones for staying open, at least by state inspectors working in Palm Beach County.
“Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris under the bread oven and to the right of the bread oven.”
An employee came through the kitchen back door, grabbed clean dishes without washing hands and began sanitizing them at the three-compartment sink.
Seven live roaches were spotted, three under the three-compartment, two on the wall under the triple sink, two on the floor.
Le Bon Gout Restaurant, 1230 S. Dixie Hwy., Lake Worth Beach
Routine inspection, 15 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
This was Le Bon Gout’s third failed inspection in 16 months. The restaurant failed inspection with three roaches crawling on refrigerator gaskets and two more crawling on walls. Two dead roaches lay on a reach-in cooler door frame. Another one was on top of the fryer. One died on the wall behind the fryer, which the inspector knew because the roach remained there.
A bin of cut plantains and some oil sat directly on the kitchen floor.
“Raw pork thawing in standing water.”
The inspector saw a pot washed, rinsed, then not sanitized. Then again, there wasn’t any hot water at the three-compartment sink, so tough to sanitize.
The water at the employee handwash sink didn’t get hot enough for proper washing.
On the other hand, the wiping cloth solution, which should be at 100 parts per million, measured a gooey 200 parts per million.
Seven bottles of cremas weren’t labeled at the front counter. Stop Sales came down on those.
Following those into the trash were cooked rice (65 degrees) and tomato sauce (59 degrees). They needed to be 41 degrees.
No hot running water at three-compartment sink.
On the re-inspection, two live roaches were spotted crawling across the floor to disappear under the reach-in cooler. That was enough for another inspection failure.
The restaurant reopened after the second callback inspection.
Ol’Days Farm to Table, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Routine inspection, 19 violations, eight High Priority violations
We already told you about the ancient, moldy food and piles of flies at Ol’Days that might still be there aging and spawning new life forms if the inspector hadn’t dropped by on July 9, then again on July 10 after the first failed inspection.
MORE: Mold on tuna salad and over 100 flies: filth at Fort Lauderdale’s Ol’Days
Later July 10, Ol’Days passed one of those convenient same-day inspections more commonly done by the state inspectors working in Broward than their Miami-Dade or Palm Beach stationed counterparts. That got Ol’Days open again by the Friday morning breakfast rush.
Orient House Express, 5970 SW 18th St., Unincorporated Palm Beach
Routine inspection, six total violations, three High Priority violations.
Monday’s inspection noted “approximately 15 dead roaches on the floor” under the three-compartment sink and another three dead roaches on the floor near the front handwashing sink.
A quintet of roaches socialized on piping under the cookline. Three hit on the wall behind a reach-in cooler.
Surprising the roaches didn’t make a rapid run to the “bin of raw chicken stored on the floor near a walk-in cooler.”
Outback Steakhouse, 6266 Lantana Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach
Complaint inspection, three total violations, three High Priority violations.
The flies must be big Blooming Onion fans as the inspector counted 23 of them “in the hallway leading to the kitchen, landing on photo poster board and wall...”
Another six landed on the wall and shelves at the server exposition station. Five darted around the dishwashing area.
After touching his face and not washing his hands, an “employee handled wrapped food product in the walk-in cooler.”
Souvlaki Fast, 1741 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd., West Palm Beach
Routine inspection, 17 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Been a while since we’ve seen the old favorite: “Observed the ice machine soiled with mold-like substance or slime.”
The cookline can opener contained four roaches, one dead and three confused.
Speaking of confused, the “certified food manager does not know to probably restrict an employee from coming to work with permanent diarrhea or flu symptoms.”
The manager should get the blame for “an employee has not received adequate training related to their assigned duties as evidenced by lack of general knowledge in performing their assigned duties.”
The person in charge of ware washing “doesn’t know how to set up the three-compartment sink. He washed, then rinsed, then mixed chlorine with soap, soaked, and rinsed.”
Taco Shop Mexican Grill, 16010 NW 57th Ave., Miami Lakes
Routine inspection, 15 total violations, one High Priority violation.
“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.” The inspector came light on the details, not letting us know which food contact surface.
Over eight roaches were spotted “crawling underneath the steam table on the front line.” More than six roaches were near the kitchen prep table. Four roaches did the same on dry storage shelves over the three-compartment sink.
Four roaches died on the front line floor of the cookline.
Also on the kitchen floor: a bag of onions.
The walk-in cooler floor and the kitchen floor were described as “soiled with an accumulation of grease, food debris and/or dust.”
This place failed inspection on Friday. The Taco Shop didn’t reopen until after Monday’s re-inspection.
Tacos El Vijon, Food Truck, Palm Beach County
Routine inspection, six total violations, one High Priority violation.
“Operator has an electrical problem and there is no running water.”
That means “no hot running water at three-compartment sink,” so no proper washing or sanitizing.
And, no proper handwashing with hot water.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 4:39 PM.
