Roaches at the pizzeria. Dangerous ham in Miami Beach. Restaurant inspection fails
The Sick and Shut Down List of South Florida restaurants that couldn’t pass state inspection muster returns after a couple of weeks off for vacation and day drinking and we’re greeted mostly by roaches.
So, let’s see where they run as well as where inspectors found other problems.
WE PLAY BY THESE RULES: What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections of restaurants in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. These are the restaurants that fail inspection. A restaurant that fails inspection remains closed until passing a re-inspection.
We don’t do the inspections. We don’t control who gets inspected. We don’t control how strictly the inspector inspects. If restaurants in your part of South Florida are not included, we have nothing to do with that. If you see a problem and want a place inspected, contact the DBPR.
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 immediately after the inspector points them out. But in those situations, ask yourself, why did 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 with sauce flavored with humor (and dashes of indignation and exasperation).
READ MORE: A condenser dripping on pigs feet along with flies and mold at a Miami supermarket
In alphabetical order...
Boca Bagel Bar, 177 SE Minzer Blvd., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, three total violations, two High Priority violations.
The inspector clearly had a low tolerance for roaches on the move as five under the front counter cash register and three at the back door next to the kitchen three-compartment sink were enough to put a hole in the bagel bar’s schedule.
It took two re-inspections for the bagel boys to get re-opened.
Grandmas Brooklyn Pizzeria, 10045 Belvedere Rd., Royal Palm Beach: Routine inspection, 23 total violations, three High Priority violations.
This is not how the Brooklyn grandmas we know handle their business: only one handwashing sink and couldn’t manage to have soap at that one.
The dishmachine was a hot, wet mess from the “accumulation of lime scale” on the inside to the complete lack of sanitizer.
By the back door, on the floor (one violation) sat an open (another violation) bag of flour.
The can opener was “soiled with food debris.”
The inspector counted 10 live roaches, four behind a chest freezer, three by the kitchen cookline and three on the prep table by the cookline.
After being closed for the weekend, Grandmas came correct during Monday’s re-inspection.
Restaurant at Oceanside/The Tavern, 6084 Collins Ave., Miami Beach: Routine inspection, 12 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Who doesn’t realize that aluminum foil has many functions? “Stored food not covered...coleslaw and butter containers with no cover inside the reach-in cooler.”
While we’re on unsafe food, let’s check out the food in the reach-in cooler that needs to be kept under 41 degrees before they become the Good Ship Make You Sick.
The ham was 50 degrees, the sausage 52 degrees and you don’t want to play with pork like that. Neither cut cantaloupe (49 degrees) or cut honeydew (52) made the cut. Cooked quinoa, pico de gallo, caramelized onions, diced tomatoes and chicken wings all were above the legal limit. The shredded cheese was right on 41 degrees.
All got hit with Stop Sale orders. Garbage.
Hard to keep flies from an outdoor bar and this one had over six zipping about the area. As for the roaches, the inspector saw 11 live ones, three of which were crawling on the wall.
The handwash sink at the outside bar didn’t have paper towels or a blower for drying hands. Guess they expected Miami Beach’s humid, seaside air to do the drying.
This place got re-opened after a re-inspection.
