Roaches, rodents among restaurant food in Broward and Palm Beach. See the inspections
Robust roaches and rodents survived all the unsafe food in restaurants cited by health inspectors, although about 100 roaches didn’t survive the cold of a walk-in cooler while they were contaminating food.
Welcome to the latest list of state inspection failures by restaurants in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. This week, the 305 came through clean.
Which brings us to the reminder that we neither choose which restaurants get inspected nor do we do the inspecting. That’s done by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. You can contact them with complaints about restaurants.
We do this without passion or prejudice, with a dash of humor and a pinch of judgment.
MORE: Inspector finds bugs in food and ‘rodent excrement’ on a Broward grocer’s shelves
In alphabetical order:
Anne’s Paradise Takeout & Catering Restaurant, 2428 N. State Rd. 7, Lauderdale Lakes: Routine inspection, 17 total violations, five High Priority violations.
“Observed employee speaking on a cell phone, then engaging in food preparation without washing hands.”
If employees washed their hands at the front counter or in the restroom, they’d have to let their hands drip dry because there were no paper towels or blow dryers.
“Interior of microwave has accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris.”
Underfoot, eight roaches were on the floor and baseboard behind kitchen prep tables. Another four roaches were moseying round a kitchen prep table shelf. Three others were on the floor, on the wall and behind the steam table.
A hole marred the wall near the back exit.
Paradise was back open after passing re-inspection the next day.
Bánh Cuốn Tân Định, 2845 N. Military Tr., Suite No. 2, Unincorporated Palm Beach County: Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations.
Bánh Cuốn made this list nine months ago by ignoring 170 dead roaches on the floors of the kitchen, dry storage and the front line and having more live roaches than restaurant guests.
This time, they didn’t sweep up 30 dead roaches under kitchen equipment and 10 dead roaches under dry storage floors.
Roaches didn’t live. Flies and rodents did, however.
About 10 flies swept and swooped around the kitchen prep area and five took their flying act to the dining room. At the front counter, 15 swarmed. Six checked out the three-compartment sink and landed on clean dishes on a shelf over the sink.
The rodents left three pieces of poop under the front counter, two on a dry storage floor, one inside a kitchen cabinet and one on a shelf with canned food.
Staff left fresh garlic in oil on a prep table overnight. That’s why it measured 62 degrees when it needed to be under 41. Stop Sale there and on the cooked pork and more fresh garlic in oil (both 46 degrees) in the cooler.
They took two days, then passed the callback inspection.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, 12100 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines: Complaint inspection, six total violations, one High Priority violation.
It isn’t a “Sick and Shut Down List” until we get some type of dark-or-green gunk in an ice machine: “Accumulation of brown-like substance buildup inside.”
And these findings from bad to worst:
▪ “Observed accumulation of old food residue buildup on walls at prep stations.”
▪ “Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable at cookline.”
▪ “Three rodent droppings behind the linen cabinet ... two rodent droppings underneath a table in the dishwashing area ... two rodent droppings at the service station next to the cookline.”
BJ’s apparently swept the floor, got one of those Broward same-day re-inspections and was back in business without missing a day.
Casa Santiago Latin Cuisine, 11150 Okeechobee Blvd., Royal Palm Beach: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
Two flies landing on kitchen cutting boards. About 20 dead roaches dotted the floor outside the walk-in cooler.
But the real show was inside the walk-in cooler — more than 100 dead roaches, about 50 live roaches — and they weren’t just there but apparently in the food as a “Stop Sale was issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition.”
All tossed: bread, uncovered and unbaked pastries, plantains, limes, onions, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, peppers, potatoes.
Also, the walk-in was broken. Eggs measured 78 degrees. The inspector hit those with another Stop Sale and ordered food needing to be kept under temperature control not be stored there until the cooler was repaired.
During the next day’s re-inspection, three roaches roamed in the walk-in. The flip-top cooler held Swiss cheese, cut lettuce, cut tomatoes, raw beef and raw chicken that measured either 53 or 54 degrees when they needed to be under 41. More Stop Sales.
Casa Santiago reopened after the second callback inspection.
Express Caribbean Restaurant, 1401 S. State Rd. 7, North Lauderdale: Routine inspection, 20 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
To find the inspections for this place, you’d have to look under “Express Caraibbean Restaurant” on the DBPR website.
It probably wasn’t intentional. But, if you anticipate having inspections like these, you’d probably want people to have trouble Googling your inspections, too.
“Plastic water bottles stored on floor front counter.”
Should you do that if you have little furries running around leaving a dirty dozen of dung pieces, including four under to-go racks in a storage area?
“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime ... the shelves over the kitchen flip top cooler has a surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.”
“Observed employee talking on a cell phone and then engaging in food preparation without washing hands.”
Something with no handle was used to scoop rice, dried beans and corn meal.
“Standing water in the bottom of the reach-in-cooler.”
Meanwhile, the flip-top cooler failed to do its job as cut tomatoes and cut iceberg lettuce measured 55 degrees despite being inside for four hours. Stop Sale and Stop Sale, and food tossed.
Not all bags are made equal. “Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food ... pork being stored in contact with a Glad Quick Tie bag.”
The Express ran again after re-inspection the next day.
It’s All Greek, 9704 Clint Moore Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County: Routine inspection, nine total violations, three High Priority violations.
One dead roach on a wall and about 20 in a roach-killing device on the prep area floor.
In that area, the inspector saw five surviving roaches and one bold soul was on the roach-killing device. One roach disappeared into the wall under a kitchen handwash sink. Another two were between the three-compartment sink and the warewashing area. Two more were in a freezer’s wheel.
All those roaches and “multiple items in the walk-in cooler were stored uncovered.”
“Wall soiled with accumulated grease, food debris, and/or dust.”
This place passed the callback inspection the next day.
La Gourmandize, 7108 Pembroke Rd., Miramar: Routine inspection, 10 total violations, six High Priority violations.
“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside.”
”20 rodent droppings under the vegetables reach-in cooler in a storage room away from the kitchen.”
Three live roaches were in a reach-in cooler.
In that vegetable reach-in cooler, cooked chicken measured 62 degrees after sleeping over. Stop Sale.
“Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense flour.”
La Gourmandize passed inspection the next day.
Latin American Grill, 12638 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines: Complaint inspection, 18 total violations, three High Priority violations.
In the dry goods storage area, bags of rice and sugar sat open to contamination.
Beyond that were the water problems.
No water for the handwash sink in the rear kitchen. So, “an employee came from the outside, wearing gloves, continued to prepare food without washing hands.”
“Standing water or very slow draining water” in a cookline prep sink.
The dishwasher sanitizer measured zero parts per million and the three-compartment sink had been removed so there were “no dishwashing facilities of any kind.”
Five flies interrupted clean airspace.
An “enclosed cooler with washed vegetables, cans and gallons of food was stored next to dumpster area,” which is a no-no.
The floor was described as “soiled with an accumulation of debris” because of “a substantial build up of food debris” in the front kitchen, rear kitchen, dry storage area and under the cooking equipment.
Latin American passed re-inspection the next day.
Rhum Shack, 802 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach: Routine inspection, nine total violations, four High Priority violations.
Rodents left 25 pieces of regularity on top of a water heater and nine on the floor in the dishwasher area.
About 10 flies bellied up to the dining room bar.
Chili got hit with a Stop Sale for being kept at 97 degrees, then 105 degrees when hot storage requires it to be 135 degrees.
“Cook preparing food without any hair restraint for loose head hair.”
Brisket cooked on Tuesday was not date-marked by the Thursday, July 18, inspection.
Rhum Shack passed re-inspection the next day.
Sbarro, 9411 Atlantic Blvd., in Coral Square Mall, Coral Springs: Routine inspection, seven total violations, three High Priority violations.
Nobody knew how long the pasta salad, the garbanzo bean salad or the cucumber tomato salad had been in the cooling unit. They just knew none of it was made that day. What the inspector knew was all of them were over 50 degrees when they needed to be 41 degrees or under, and Stop Sales were dropped on the salads.
A dead roach in front of the walk-in cooler, two under a prep area table were outnumbered by the living, four of which were on a floor next to a drain in the back prep area. Another one was next to a front counter handwash sink. Two more were next to an office.
At the back prep area handwash sink, you couldn’t dry your hands.
Re-inspection No. 1: A dead roach under a prep table and two live roaches. Failure No. 2.
Re-inspection No. 2: Eight dead roaches, six of them under the three-compartment sink.
Re-inspection No. 3: Passed it.
Solo BBQ & Seafood, 1561 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach: Routine inspection, 14 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Flies on cooked chicken and roaches in a sink, under a bag of onions and many other places put Solo on this list in December.
Solo still ran a strong roach motel with “20 live roaches in and underneath a salt box on a kitchen prep table” and 14 in a reach-in cooler and gasket. There were 18 live roaches in the three-compartment sink. Under the three-compartment sink, the inspector counted another 10 live ones. Four under the microwave. Three behind a freezer.
But this time, the rodents stole the show with two droppings by the microwave, 20 under a reach-in cooler and on “shelvings throughout the establishment.” The water heater had 39 droppings around it or on top of it.
“Exterior door has a gap at the threshold that opens to the outside.”
“Employee came from bathroom and then removed food to the reach-in cooler” without washing hands.
“Objectionable odors” in the kitchen.
“Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust ... all the handwashing sinks and the three-compartment sink.”
At Monday’s re-inspection, four rodent droppings at the water heater, 15 live roaches (including two in the dining area and two at the front counter) and 32 dead roaches (17 in the kitchen) kept Solo a no-go.
Solo resumed business after Wednesday’s re-re-inspection.
Sushi Sake, 7750 Nova Dr., Davie: Routine inspection, four total violations, two High Priority violations.
All about the bugs here.
A dead roach under the dishwasher and “three live roaches under the rolling bin of rice in the dishwasher area of the kitchen” got Sushi Sake taken out of action until Tuesday’s re-inspection.
Tarka Karahi & Kebab House, 7881 W. Sample Rd., Coral Springs: Complaint inspection, 17 total violations, three High Priority violations.
The “floor mixer bowl has food debris buildup.”
Maybe that food debris helped attract the rodents that left “17 droppings under the small hand sink by the floor mixer...”
“Multiple employees in kitchen are not wearing hair restraints.”
“Drain lines under handwash sink and triple sink at far end of kitchen were leaking” which is probably why there was “standing water on the floor” under those sinks.
“Container of fish thawing on back prep table at room temperature,” a bacteria builder.
“Employee left cook line to mop floor area and move items to cooler and returned to cookline without washing hands before putting on gloves.”
The next day’s callback inspection went much better.
Villa Rosano, 9858 Clint Moore Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County: Routine inspection, seven total violations, two High Priority violations.
Standing water — or water just draining very slowly — at a cookline floor drain.
About 10 roaches crowded in a pasta water boiler wheel. Another four were inside a drip pan area. Five live roaches were elsewhere.
The Villa was good after passing re-inspection the next day.
