Bread flies and sushi rodents among South Florida’s worst restaurant issues
A baker’s dozen of restaurants from Florida City to Greenacres couldn’t get rid of vermin, couldn’t follow handwashing rules and couldn’t get clean enough to avoid getting shut down.
These 13 restaurants Sick and Shut Down List that failed state inspection are in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation does the inspections, sometimes directed by complaints from customers.
Restaurants that fail inspection are closed until they pass re-inspection or the callback inspection. The first of those usually occurs the following day.
In alphabetical order:
Angry Moon Cafe, 2401 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens
Routine inspection, three total violations, two High Priority violations
Welcome back, Angry Moon, which made a Sick and Shut Down List appearance in February on roach and handwashing violations.
Apparently, staff learned to wash their hands, but the roaches returned to ruin another inspector’s visit. Of the 16 roach corpses, the most visible was — or should have been — the one “on top of a reach-in cooler at the front counter.”
Three were under an oven. Six were around a kitchen reach-in freezer. Two were under a front counter reach-in cooler.
The living roaches were hiding under a front counter coffee machine (one) and “crawling on a wall under the pastry case at the front counter” (two).
Brass Monkey Sports Bar & Grill, 7781 Lake Worth Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, 12 total violations, five High Priority violations
A hole in the wall restaurant in that “multiple areas in the kitchen had holes in the wall.”
Eight roaches died under a cookline cooler. One dead roach was on the floor inside the walk-in cooler. One expired “in between the reach-in freezer and the wall at the end of the cookline.”
The inspector saw “approximately five live roaches crawling out of the wall joint and door to walk in cooler.”
The “walls along the cookline are soiled with a build up of grease and food residues.”
Somebody walked into the kitchen from outside and “without washing hands, the employee handled various food products in the reach-in cooler.”
A pair of live roaches on the floor at the bar next to the reach-in cooler” caused a callback inspection fail.
Inspection No. 3 got the Brass Monkey swinging again.
Brick Alley Tavern, 7366 Lake Worth Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, five total violations, four High Priority violations
Live roaches were all over the place. One was on the floor under a storage table on the back side of the cook line. Another was on a corner of wall behind the flip-top cooler. Twenty-five live roaches partied on a soiled cloth behind the reach-in cooler across from the stove. Another 10 gathered on plastic trash and one was on an unused steam table.
Stop Sales were issued for food temperature abuse, more than 41 degrees, in the walk-in cooler. Goodbye, cooked pasta, cooked mushrooms, sliced cheese, ground beef.
Cheffrey Eats, 1141 S. Rogers Cir., Boca Raton
Routine inspection, 11 total violations, five High Priority violations
Cheffrey Eats but Cheffrey doesn’t wash without hot or cold running water at the handwash sink or the three-compartment sink.
A Stop Sale got slapped on a cheesecake “delivered from someone without any approved source.”
More Stop Sales cascaded on food in a reach-in cooler since at least the previous day. What should have been at or under 41 degrees ranged from 47 to 49 degrees, meaning a trip to the garbage for commercially packaged, sliced cheese; fresh mozzarella cheese; burrata cheese; blue cheese sauce; green salsa; and another cheesecake.
China Star, 4064 Forest Hill Blvd., Palm Springs
Routine inspection, 13 total violations, four High Priority violations
No soap or paper towels at a handwash sink is a problem anywhere. It seems an especially germy problem in a restaurant’s employee restroom.
The handwash sink by the three-compartment sink had a higher dead roach count (one) than hand-drying paper towel count (zero).
Under the three-compartment sink, 15 roaches were living it up. Three left the group, two going to a box by the three-compartment sink and one on a wall by the triple sink.
“Clean pans are stored on a rack that has oil residue.”
There were “food debris and trash under the cookline and steam well shelves.” The hood filters had an “excessive accumulation of grease.”
Things didn’t get better at the re-inspection. More dead roaches, as in three on the floor under a sink. Four roaches scaled the wall next to the three-compartment sink. But about 40 live roaches were “coming out of a gap in the wall and from under tiles.”
The third inspection got China Star twinkling again.
Don Camarón Seafood Grill, 501 NW 37th Ave., Miami
Complaint inspection, 33 total violations, nine High Priority violations
We told you earlier this week about old food, bad odors and dirty food containers at this popular Miami seafood restaurant.
READ MORE: Ancient tres leches among a popular Miami restaurant’s 33 problems
El Toro Loco Ranch, food truck, South Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 10 total violations, six High Priority violations
The service window and back door were open during the inspection.
And the flies took the invitation. Four landed on an open pack of bread near a service window (Stop Sale on the bread). Four landed on a “clean metal container used for pepper.” Two came down on “clean cooking pans above the handwash sink.” Another duo “landed on a clean plastic container and cutting board above the triple sink.” Four alighted on a paper towel dispenser. Five landed on a single service container.
Flan wasn’t covered in the reach-in cooler.
The handwash sink has one job and one job only. Using it as storage for buckets and other equipment is a no-no. So is not bringing paper towels or a blower to the handwash sink party.
The cooked ground beef in the reach-in cooler measured 50 degrees. It needed to be at or under 41 degrees. Stop Sale.
Four flies kept the food truck down for another day. The re-re-inpsection was passed.
Inka’s Grill, inside the Florida Keys Outlet Marketplace, 250 E. Palm Dr., Florida City
Routine inspection, 21 total violations, seven High Priority violations
The inspector saw “dead insect debris inside a sugar bin stored at white food storage shelf under microwaves in the back preparation area.”
Dead roaches on premises. More than eight roach bodies dotted the prep area floor. More than six roaches died inside reach-in coolers near the prep area. Another eight were behind front counter cookline cooking equipment.
As for the living, four roaches (at least) were on the food storage shelves with the above sugar bin. Two roaches crawled on a rice bin. One roach chilled inside a kitchen reach-in freezer.
“Observed an employee began plating food to serve to customers without handwashing.”
The front counter handwash sink was “soiled with grease and food debris” and had no soap.
The kitchen handwash sink was used for metal pan storage.
There was no way to dry hands at the handwash sink near the three-compartment sink.
Cooked beef in a reach-in cooler sat uncovered.
Thursday’s callback inspection didn’t get Inka back in business. Still no soap for you at the front counter handwash sink, but there were two live roaches at the cookline and five dead roaches under the kitchen area handwash sink.
Ironside Pizza, 7580 NE Fourth Ct., Miami
Routine inspection, 15 total violations, eight High Priority violations
Inspections can be found on the Department of Business & Professional Regulation site under “Pittzza at Ironside”
Live, small flying insects found. Over 50 flies clogged the kitchen area air above the three-compartment sink and 20 flies zipped about under the sink. The kitchen area of pizza prep had 10 flies. Four live flies flew about the prep area.
The inspector saw “no drainboards or equivalent provided for soiled items and/or air drying cleaned items.”
Someone got off their phone, then begin to cut pizza dough with their bare hands that should have been washed between phone and pizza.
“Accumulation of debris on the exterior of the warewashing machine.”
The reach-in cooler acting as a salad cooler could no longer maintain temperature. The walk-in cooler couldn’t brag as all these foods stored inside for more than four hours got hit with Stop Sales for being too warm: ricotta, pasta sauce, raw beef, mascarpone, ham and butter.
Kelly’s Cajun Grill in the Pembroke Lakes Mall, 11401 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
Complaint inspection, five total violations, two High Priority violations
When the inspector saw two roaches on top of prep table in the rear food preparation area, “an employee killed roaches and sanitized table.”
The cooked beans in the walk-in cooler weren’t covered.
An “employee touched raw beef then continued to prepare cooked chicken without washing hands and changing gloves.”
The wet wiping cloth wasn’t being kept in sanitizing solution between uses.
Mayajigua Restaurant Corp., 3828 W. 16 Ave., Hialeah
Routine inspection, 20 total violations, five High Priority violations
“Clean utensils were stored between equipment and a wall.” As in two metal utensils shoved between the three-compartment sink and the kitchen wall.
Four roaches crawled on the floor next to the reach-in cooler at the front counter. The roach behind a wooden paper towel installation above the kitchen area handwash sink got killed. Two roaches scooted on the floor next to the reach-in cooler at the front counter. Another roach crawled under kitchen dry storage shelves.
Containers of raw pork weren’t covered on a walk-in cooler shelf.
A can of tomato paste was dented enough for a Stop Sale.
The inside of the microwave was “soiled.”
Seasons 401, 401 Northwood Rd., West Palm Beach
Routine inspection, five total violations, four High Priority violations
An “employee entered the kitchen, put on gloves and began preparing/packaging food for customers without washing hands.”
The cookline handwash sink didn’t have any way to dry properly washed hands.
In the kitchen, “five live roaches were crawling on and behind clean utensils and a storage rack.”
Two flies flew around the dishwashing area in the kitchen while another three darted around the cookline.
Sushi Cafe & Shilla Korean BBQ, 7917 NW Second St., West Miami-Dade
Routine inspection, 31 total violations, 12 High Priority violations
We get to the last restaurant alphabetically before we get that staple violation: “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
The inspector spotted a “gap at the bottom of the back screen door.” That gap might’ve been the promenade through which entered the dumpers of 35 rodent droppings along the wall, underneath the sushi counter as well as all around the sushi bar area reach-in coolers.
Also under that sushi bar counter, eight roaches died. One live roach disappeared under a reach-in cooler.
The dishwasher had no sanitizer.
The wall in the sushi bar was “heavily soiled with grease” underneath the counter and the handwash sink.
The kitchen wall was thick with dust next to the hood.
The floor was “heavily soiled with old food debris inside of tile grouts and underneath the cookline/fryer.”
What was described as soiled? The inside of the oven and the microwave at the sushi bar. And the interior of all the reach-in coolers and a deli slicer blade were “heavily soiled with old food debris.”
“Reuse of single-service or single-use articles.” ... “Soy sauce buckets were being reused to store kimchi inside the walk-in cooler.”
There was a “very slow drain” in the sushi bar handwash sink.
An “employee changed a pair of gloves, then began to handle clean equipment and food without washing hands in between.”
An employee washed hands for less than 10 seconds at the sushi bar, and the inspector wants to see 10-15 seconds of your hands rubbing each other.
Another “employee washed hands with no soap” with gloved hands. Then, the worker went back to preparing food.
Observed two employees rinse hands while wearing gloves at hand sink in both sushi and kitchen areas.
