Rodents in Little Caesars pizza dough among the worst South Florida inspections
Rodents with dramatic deaths and active bowels dot this week’s list of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurants that failed state inspection.
What we call The Sick and Shut Down List comes from routine and complaint inspections by the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. To file a complaint about a place, go to the agency’s website.
Restaurants reopen after passing re-inspection, usually the next day.
In alphabetical order:
Blue Ginger Seafood Steakhouse, 14395 Miramar Pkwy., Miramar
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, five High Priority violations
We start this week’s list with a death scene.
A “live rodent came from the back entrance door, collapsed on the floor and died.”
This led to another violation when the “manager picked up the dead rodent, went outside to dispose of it, came back to the dishwasher area and failed to wash his hands.”
Meanwhile, “two live roaches crawled on a storage rack in front of the dishwasher machine.”
In-use cooking utensils were stores “inside soiled water.”
The dishwasher sanitizer measured 10 parts per million, about 10 percent of what’s needed for proper sanitizing.
In the bar area, the handwash sink lacked paper towels (strike one), soap (strike two) and hot water (strike three, you’re out).
Cardboard used to line food-contact shelves. Under prep table shelf, storage of bulk onions.
Hometown Barbecue, 1200 NW 22nd St., Miami
Complaint inspection, 12 total violations, two High Priority violations
Perhaps the fine reviews of this Miami favorite just north of the Miami health district drew the rodents who left the 10 droppings in the kitchen around the cooking equipment.
Meanwhile, 12 dead roaches, “both large and small,” dotted the floor under and around an out of use fire pit near the front counter. Another dead roach was behind the hot holding cabinet. Two dead roaches were around the bar area floor drain.
Near that drain, seven flies filled the air. Four buzzed the food prep line. Three were “landing on the food preparation table and cutting boards around the front counter food prep line.”
Equipment was wet-nesting on a drying rack.
“Soiled walls throughout the kitchen.”
“Ceiling tiles and vents were soiled throughout the kitchen.”
“Excessive cut marks on the cutting boards on the prep table.”
Ichimi Ramen Bar, 2330 Salzedo St., Coral Gables
Routine inspection, 30 total violations, nine High Priority violations
The inspector didn’t see enough roaches to fill a roach motel, but certainly saw enough roach poop to fill some roach toilets. Ichimi failed the first inspection and a re-inspection before getting it right the third time.
READ MORE: 500 pieces of roach excrement at another Coral Gables restaurant failing inspection
Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine, 7015 Broward Blvd., Plantation
Routine inspection, three total violations, two High Priority violations
The inspector saw “wastewater coming up from the floor through the drains on the ground in the kitchen by the main entrance to kitchen ... employees walking through the wastewater. Unable to isolate the area.”
Little Caesars, 1436 Lantana Rd., Lantana
Complaint inspection, seven total violations, four High Priority violations
“Dough prepared with open, gnawed-on dry dough mix.”
That’s gnawed-on, as in rodents. The same rodents who left more than 10 pieces of poop “inside a box containing deep dish mix on a shelf under the dough prep area” and more than 30 pieces in and around “boxes containing deep dish dough sheets.” Another six poop pieces got dumped on a prep table.
Stop Sales came down on the gnawed-on bags and the box of dough press sheets with rodent droppings.
“Paper towel dispenser at the pizza prep area handwash sink didn’t work.
Miyi La Cubanita Cuban Cafe, 1553 E. Sample Rd., Pompano Beach
Routine inspection, 13 total violations, three High Priority violations
“Accumulation of black mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine.”
A roach died in a cleaned bowl in the clean dishes rack. Two others died on a clean plate and behind a large oven.
Another violations notes “clean utensils stored on the cleaned utensils rack at the cookline was soiled with food debris.”
Three roaches were living in wheels under a prep table, and seven were in wheels under the oven.
“Ceiling tiles and vents were soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance in the kitchen.”
An “employee cracked raw shell eggs and then handled clean utensils at the cookline” sans proper handwashing.
If the employee had engaged in proper handwashing at the kitchen sink, there was no way to dry hands.
Nana’s Food For You, 312 N. Federal Hwy., Hallandale Beach
Routine inspection, seven total violations, two High Priority violations
Four live roaches played in a bucket with dirty wiping clothes. Three live roaches were in the soap above the three-compartment sink in the kitchen, and two roaches were on the wall above the triple sink.
The dead roach in the employee handwashing sink in the kitchen tells you how often that sink gets used. When the inspector got there, not only were there no paper towels or blower, but the “hot water was turned off at employee handwashing sink in the kitchen, resulting in employees using only cold water to wash their hands.”
Old Tom’s Sports Bar Restaurant, 9525 North Kendall Dr., Kendall
Routine inspection, 23 total violations, seven High Priority violations
This is the Kendall clone of the Old Tom’s on Northwest 36th Street, which used to be “Tom’s NFL Club” back before everybody in the NFL except Phillip Rivers was born.
Over 50 flies were frolicking in the dishwasher area. Over 40 flies were “flying and landing on the shelf underneath the steam table where tortilla chips are stored across from cook line inside kitchen.” Another eight flies were “flying around the reach-in cooler and landing directly on top of sliced tomatoes and sliced onions in flip top portion of reach in cooler.”
Stop Sale on the tomatoes and onions.
Commercially processed reduced oxygen packaged fish has a label stating that you’re supposed to keep the fish frozen until you use it or take it out to thaw. That label’s there to prevent bacteria building conditions in the reduced oxygen packaging.
But the inspector found “raw mahi and raw tuna thawed completely inside the reduced oxygen packaging inside the walk-in cooler.” Stop Sales on the mahi and the tuna.
The reach-in coolers, tasked with keeping food at or under 41 degrees, held food that got smashed by Stop Sales for “temperature abuse:” mashed potatoes (46 degrees), raw chicken (64 degrees), shredded cheese (55), blue cheese crumbles (48), sliced American cheese (64), cut lettuce (63), cooked shrimp (58).
Standing water was under the cookline, in the dishwashing area and in the bottom of a reach-in cooler.
The floor under cooking equipment was “heavily soiled with old food debris and grease buildup.”
The concept of “single use gloves” needed to be explained to the employee who “grabbed raw Philly steak meat, put it on the grill then continued to grab clean utensils and touched the reach-in freezer door without changing gloves and washing hands.”
The deli slicer blade was “soiled.”
No soap provided at handwash sink.
Oyanko Sushi, 6655 Boynton Beach Blvd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Routine inspection, nine total violations, two High Priority violations
The wontons in the reach-in freezer weren’t covered. , which is something you’d want to do if you have active rodents in the establishment. These rodents left 15 pieces of dung on top of the dishwasher.
Eight dead flies hung on sticky tape near the warewashing area.
Pack Supermarket & Cafeteria, 8235 NE Second Ave., Miami
Routine inspection, 22 total violations, four High Priority violations
The inspector spotted a hole in the wall by one of the walk-in coolers. Apparently, the rodents spotted the hole from the outside. They came in and left more than 53 pieces of rodent regularity inside.
More than 15 poops were under a counter by the coffee station. More than 10 behind sodas in a reach-in cooler near the cookline. Another 10-plus under a counter near that reach-in cooler. Another 10-plus on the floor by the walk-in cooler. One under a prep table. About eight were on top of a counter near boxes of single service spoons.
An “employee came from another prep area and started serving food by the cookline” without washing hands.
The handwash sink near the restrooms didn’t have paper towels or any way to dry wet hands.
Two live roaches were spotted.
Standing water covered the floor by the three-compartment sink and at the walk-in cooler.
The kitchen, prep area and the dining room had “ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or a mold-like substance.”
Re-inspection: At least 17 rodent droppings were again behind the sodas in the reach-in cooler (at least five); under the front counter across from the reach-in cooler (at least six); and on the floor next to a walk-in cooler and under a prep table (at least six).
Re-re-inspection: The rodents got bolder, dropping 10 pieces on the floor in front of the cookline and only four-plus in the reach-in cooler. Eight live roaches roamed the walk-in cooler.
Punta Cana Restaurant, 9119 Taft St., Pembroke Pines
Routine inspection, 16 total violations, three High Priority violations
Of the 12 roach corpses the inspector counted, one was “on the wall between the kitchen triple sink and the prep sink.”
Five live roaches were spread among the kitchen handwash sink, a wall over clean pans, a wall by the ice machine; and the area behind a flip-top cooler.
Standing water was on the floor under the kitchen handwash sink and the three-compartment sink.
Walk-in cooler shelves were “soiled with spilled food debris.”
You don’t often see “uncovered food stored near a sink, exposed to splash,” but here open vinegar and oil bottles were next to a handwash sink and “directly below the paper towel dispenser.”
“Wiping cloth sanitizer solution exceeds the maximum concentration allowed,” which is 200 parts per million.
RC Caribbean Restaurant, 3760 NE Third Ave., Deerfield Beach
Routine inspection, 10 total violations, three High Priority violations
The floor had a “heavy accumulation of grease and food debris under the cookline equipment” and prep tables.
That inattentiveness to cleaning the floor extended to the bottom shelf of a kitchen prep table and the top shelf of a prep table next to the cookline, each shelf dotted with 100 rodent droppings.
About 20 live roaches were on and under a bain-marie that wasn’t being used.
