Roaches on beer coolers, 160-plus rodent droppings in kitchen: 4 South Florida restaurants temporarily shut
Tainted seafood, roaches crawling on Miller Lite and Bud Lite beer coolers and an employee caught smoking while preparing food were among the issues that forced the state to temporarily shut four South Florida restaurants last week.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
The Inn Field Pub, Sunrise
11439 W. Oakland Park Blvd.
Ordered shut: Nov. 8, reopened Nov. 9
Why: Nine violations (four high-priority), including four cockroaches seen crawling “on top of Miller Lite cooler,” “on top of Bud Lite cooler,” “in front of cooler next to detergent containers” and “on mat in front of hand wash sink.”
The report also noted two dead roaches “behind detergent containers in bar area” and “in mat next to ice sink.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash its American, Swiss, cheddar and provolone cheeses, as well as coleslaw, sour cream, burgers and ham, turkey and roast beef slices “due to temperature abuse.”
Finally, the state red-flagged multiple issues such as “accumulation of black mold-like buildup in ice machine,” “black mold-like debris to the back of walk-in cooler” and “accumulation of stains on wall in walk-in cooler.”
The next-day inspection found an intermediate and a basic violation, but the pub was cleared to reopen.
Rave Pizza & Sushi, Boca Raton
7300 W. Camino Real, Suite 102
Ordered shut: Nov. 7; reopened Nov. 8
Why: The restaurant’s one high-priority violation involved eight live cockroaches spotted crawling “on the walls and floor around the ice machine in the kitchen.
The restaurant was allowed to reopen on Nov. 8 after its follow-up inspection yielded zero violations.
Carmela’s, Boca Raton
7300 W. Camino Road, Suite 100
Ordered shut: Nov. 7; reopened Nov. 8
Why: Three high-priority violations, including eight cockroaches spotted crawling “on the walls and floor around the ice machine in the kitchen.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its spicy tuna, baked salmon, spicy salmon, mushrooms, cooked rice, sea bass, cooked tuna and quinoa “due to temperature abuse.”
The state did not discover any new issues the next day and cleared the restaurant to reopen.
Ellie’s Desi Kitchen, Cooper City
12161 Sheridan St.
Ordered shut: Nov. 7; reopened Nov. 8
Why: 11 violations (two high-priority), including at least 163 rodent droppings “on dishwashing machine,” “underneath cooking equipment on cook line,” “underneath three-compartment sink” (next to cook line), “in prep area underneath handwash sink” and “in dry storage area between double-door refrigerators.”
An employee was seen touching cooked pita bread “with bare hands,” and a chef was wearing “no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.” Among other employee violations: “smoking (while) engaging in food preparation;” and “drinking from an open container (while engaging) in food preparation.” An employee’s cell phone was “stored on shelf next to sandwich bread.”
Finally, the state spotted an “accumulation of black mold-like substance buildup on AC vents and ceiling tiles throughout kitchen,” as well as “standing water in handwash sink at prep station draining very slowly.”
No issues were found during the followup inspection on Nov. 8, and the eater was cleared to reopen.
