Flies on Dunkin’ Donuts, wastewater backup and South Florida restaurants caught unclean

So, inspectors walk into a Dunkin’, a taco joint and a Chinese restaurant...

That’s not the start of a joke, unless you consider the inspections to be the punch line. Welcome to this week’s Sick and Shut Down List.

HOW WE HANDLE OUR BUSINESS: What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. A restaurant that fails inspection remains closed until passing an inspection.

If you see a problem and want a place inspected, contact the DBPR. Do not call us. Do not email us. We don’t control who gets inspected nor how strictly the inspector inspects. Let us say that again — we do not control who gets inspected.

We don’t include all violations, just the most moving, whether internally or literally moving (because it’s alive or once was alive). Some violations get corrected after the inspector points them out. But, you have to ask, why do the violations exist in the first place? And how long would they have remained if not for the inspection?

We report without passion or prejudice but a doggie bag of humor.

In alphabetical order...

China Bistro and Sushi, 5650 Stirling Rd., Hollywood: Routine inspection, 15 total violations, four High Priority violations.

About 70 flies decided to have Chinese last Thursday, 40 of them in the dry storage area next to the kitchen.

Also, the inspector noted, “Small flies observed on a small fly trap, on the exterior of an open bag of brown sugar, bags of potato starch, flour, and sugar, on boxes of single service items, and on the walls and shelving in the area.”

We’re sure that no flies got into the brown sugar.

A cold storage unit malfunctioning because of a missing door gasket left raw chicken, raw beef, cooked chicken and chicken wings unsafely warm after two hours. The inspector didn’t smack this pile of chow with a Stop Sale, but allowed the restaurant to move it to a walk-in cooler for a quick chill.

The handwash sink near the three-compartment sink isn’t a high traffic area, judging by the table busing tub with the food storage container inside. At the handwash sinks near the sushi station and in one of the bathrooms, there was no way to dry wet hands (a roll of Viva, it’s not that hard, people.)

China Bistro passed re-inspection in time for the Friday dinner rush business.

Flies cause inspectors to shut down parts of a Hialeah bakery and a kosher bakery

Dunkin’ Donuts, 95 NW 167th St., North Miami Beach: Routine inspection, 19 total violations, five High Priority violations.

Much as we love a basic Dunkin’ glazed like the Stalker Guy in “You” and miss when a supervisor would bring in two dozen Dunkin’ Donuts each Thursday almost as much as we miss having a Herald building, it’s hard to ignore that Dunkin’ shows up on our list more than any other chain.

Usually, flies are the problem and, lookee here, over eight on the wall by the front counter monitor; over four in the sitting and eating area; over five on the wall by a reach-in cooler, more than seven on the walls of the front counter, drive-thru, back kitchen wall and three-compartment sink area; and more than six “sitting on multiple assorted donuts and muffins by the drive thru window.”

As those flies landed, so did the Stop Sales on those donuts and muffins.

And, glory be! An inspector finally hit some ice with the Stop Sale after seeing that the “ice machine has accumulation of black/green mold-like substance.”

Hope none of the employees killed those flies with the clap method. While it’s the way to do things if you absolutely, positively have to kill every fly in the room and don’t have a weapon, they couldn’t wash their hands properly. There was no hot water at any of the employee handwash sinks, the mop sink or the three-compartment sink.

“Water turned on for 15 minutes no hot water. Temperature at 69 degrees Fahrenheit.” In South Florida, that’s not even lukewarm. That’s colder than room temperature.

In other water issues, “Water treatment device has not been inspected or serviced according to manufacturer’s instructions.”

“Displayed food not properly protected from contamination,” a nice way of saying multiple trays of donuts, muffins and one tray of bagels and muffins weren’t covered, kind of bothersome with all those flies.

Can somebody grab a Swiffer, a towel, a t-shirt or something? “Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated dust, or mold-like substance.” “Wall soiled with accumulated dust” behind the coffee station, ice machine, back kitchen wall, dining areas, and drive thru wall.

Somehow, this place passed re-inspection Wednesday.

Star Seafood Restaurant and Cafe, 4750 NW 183rd St., North Miami-Dade: Routine inspection, nine total violations, two High Priority violations.

The eggs weren’t refrigerated and the reach-in cooler shelves had an “accumulation of soil residues,” but this failure really is about “Sewage/wastewater backing up through floor drains. Observed water backing up from floor drain located in front of three compartment sink.”

After some Roto-Rootering, Star Seafood passed a same-day re-inspection Wednesday though some of the other problems remained.

Taco Loco, 1058 W. Sample Rd., Pompano Beach: Routine inspection, nine total violations, five High Priority violations.

As far as live roaches, 10 were on the three-compartment sink shelving braces and another 10 were on kitchen corner tiles near the three-compartment sink.

Ground beef cooked six hours ago but left out at room temperature and measuring 68 degrees is only waiting to go down as beef and bounce back as barf. Stop Sale.

Another pet peeve, “In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment,” between a wall and the three-compartment sink.” Ew.

Taco Loco was back in business after Wednesday’s re-inspection.