A live rodent and food fit for the trash. Worst inspections at Miami metro restaurants
Vermin, ice machine mold and "temperature abuse" causing the trashing of enough food for a family cookout in the park lowlight this week's Sick and Shut Down List of South Florida restaurants that failed state inspection.
So, let's get to the worst of the Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach restaurant inspections (Monroe, you're relatively clean this week).
A reminder that the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation chooses whom to inspect and does the inspecting.
In alphabetical order:
Chowder Heads, 2123 S. US 1, Jupiter: Complaint inspection, 16 total violations, five High Priority violations.
First restaurant on the list and the first of several appearances this week by that old staple, "Heavy accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin at the bar."
The sticky tape caught the roaches (three) on the wall and the flies (20) on the floor but check out "60 dead flies in plastic containers with homemade fly solution containing vinegar and other ingredients." Effective, but, yeah, the fly collection counts as a violation.
Another 30 flies, these living and zipping about, were in the bar by the tap beer cooler and landing on clean cups and glasses. Two flies hung out at the cookline.
An "employee touched a clam tag submerged in clam juice and touched soup pots to pour in steam table" without washing hands.
"Cloth towels were used to line nonfood-contact shelves used to store clean glasses at the bar." That's a violation, even if the towels weren't "heavily soiled with debris."
Cookline cutting boards were "soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime."
Apparently, Chowder Heads went retro-1975 refrigerator with "Cracked lid used to cover flour and cracked plastic container used to store butter."
In other storage problems, an afternoon storm of Stop Sales came down on food suffering from "temperature abuse" because they weren't cooled to 41 degrees or below. So, into the garbage as unsafe food went tuna salad, clam stuffing, boiled eggs, clam strips, shacked oysters, scallops, clams and claim strips.
Dimitri's Farmer's Market Restaurant, 1257 W. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach: Routine inspection, seven total violations, five High Priority violations.
If the inspector wanted to know what rodent left dung in dry storage and next to a kitchen freezer, there was a live suspect stuck in a trap near the freezer.
Also nearby, a plastic container of cooking oil was stored on the floor.
Stop Sales for temperature abuse crashed down on chicken soup, gravy, green beans, carrots and mashed potatoes.
Five Stars Caribbean Cuisine, 6265 County Line Rd., Miramar: Routine inspection, 12 total violations, three High Priority violations.
Clean plates in the kitchen featured two dead roaches. The inspector didn't note what the attraction was in a paper bag on a kitchen shelf, but did note 10 live roaches in the bag. A kitchen napkin dispenser contained seven live roaches. Four roaches scaled a kitchen wall. Also in the kitchen, two live roaches were dancing on the ceiling.
Cooked spinach with meat needed to be under 41 degrees after six hours of cooling. Instead, it measured 68 degrees after an overnight in a lowboy cooler. Stop Sale on that. Food trashed.
Then again, the place had "no probe thermometer provided to measure temperature of food products."
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Green Papaya Vietnamese Cuisine, 16893 NW 67th Ave., Palm Springs North: Routine inspection, 19 total violations, four High Priority violations.
Once again, we have an "accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin."
Under a prep table, the inspector spotted five rodent droppings.
"Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance."
"Observed box of noodles on the floor," which was described as "soiled or has an accumulation of debris."
The inspector didn't say exactly where, but there was a "food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime."
White rice and chicken broth got hit with Stop Sales for being 8 to 17 degrees too warm for safety.
La Dona, 1800 Sawgrills Mills Cir., Sunrise: Routine inspection, 18 total violations, five High Priority violations.
Once again, an "ice machine with an accumulation of black, mold-like debris."
A spoon handle wasn't kept above cooked rice in a cooler and an ice scoop handle wasn't kept above the ice in the bar entrance ice bin.
A "soiled, dry wiping cloth was used on a prep table." Of course, the wiping cloth wouldn't have been dry if it had been in sanitizing solution as it was supposed to be. This sanitizer in the solution, however, measured at zero point zero.
Now, we get to the Orange Bowl Parade of Stop Sales.
Five flies flew from lettuce on a prep table. Stop Sale on the lettuce.
Tuna packed in reduced oxygen packaging with a label ordering the restaurant to keep the tuna frozen until cooking time was seen thawing in a walk-in cooler. .
Speaking of the walk-in cooler, there and the flip-top cooler possessed all the cool of a Dad telling a joke while driving a beige Chrysler. After several hours of cooling, instead of being at a safe temperature, cooked onions, pork, cooked pork, cooked chicken, pastor, cooked beef, cooked ribs and ricotta cheese all measured too warm.
That finished the Stop Sale parade, but on re-inspection the next day, the ice machine remained a moldy mess and nine flies clinched another failed inspection.
La Dona passed a same day third inspection to get back open for Saturday night after being closed for the Friday night dinner action.
Rotelli Pizza & Pasta, 15064 Jog Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County: Complaint inspection, six total violations, one High Priority violation.
Those weren't wayward sprinkled seasonings on the floor at the front pizza station, but five dead roaches. Another four were behind a cookline cooler
As for the live roaches, 10 of them snuggled inside a wheel of a cookline cooler. Another cooler had three roaches in its wheels. Three roaches were on the ground behind a kitchen cooler. Another eight roaches existed inside of a condenser/filter at the right side cookline flip top cooler. One roach scurried on the underside of the shelf next to the pizza oven and another did the same under a cookline ticket printer.
A can opener blade counted as a "food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime."
"No probe thermometer provided to measure temperature of food products."
Royal Palm Grill & Deli, 806 Krome Ave., Homestead: Routine inspection, 43 total violations, eight High Priority violations.
We told you on Tuesday about this place's roaches on prep tables, stink and sewage water.
