Flies landing on pans of baked cake, dozens of rodent droppings seen in dry storage and Clorox wipes stored next to sauces were just some of the violations reported at South Florida restaurants last week.
State inspectors temporarily shut down six eateries — four in Broward County and two in Palm Beach County.
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 violations such as improper food temperatures or cockroaches.
Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spot a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, visit myfloridalicense.com. (But please don’t contact us: the Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
Broward County
Häagen-Dazs (inside Sawgrass Mills)
12801 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise
Ordered shut: July 29
Why: Seven violations (three high-priority), including:
• 11 live roaches in preparation area “in trash bag under triple sinks,” “under vacuum cleaner stored under triple sinks” and “crawling under triple sinks.”
• About 10 dead roaches “in sticky traps under triple sinks.”
• “Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Employee put on gloves after using personal phone. Employee proceeded to get a cup to serve drinks to guests without first washing hands.”
Status: Reopened July 30 after a follow-up inspection found three violations (one high-priority). A follow-up inspection was required.
Rendez-Vous Bakery and Bistro
1576 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park
Ordered shut: July 27
Why: 10 violations (three high-priority), including:
• About five rodent droppings “on dry storage shelf next to dry pancake mix” and “on top of box of pancake mix.”
• One live roach “under dry storage shelving.”
• Five dead roaches “next to front-counter ice machine,” “under dish machine” and “under dry storage shelving.”
• Time/temperature issues involved cheese and milk.
• “Floor soiled/has accumulation of debris” in multiple areas, including “under dry storage shelving,” “under triple sink and dish machine,” and “behind booths along front windows.”
Status: Reopened July 28 after a next-day visit found two intermediate and basic violations.
Lucky Cat Street Eatery
6322 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Ordered shut: July 28
Why: 13 violations (nine high-priority), including:
• About 10 roaches “crawling on the floor on wall behind reach-in freezer, under reach-in freezer on cook line next to cooler with food.”
• “Operator left kitchen area into dining room … touched dirty surfaces then touched face, then [put on] gloves and started to make food without washing hands.”
• Raw fish stored over cooked salmon, “raw shell eggs over cooked chicken” and “raw chicken over cooked chicken wontons.”
• Stop sale ordered for cooked bamboo, raw breaded chicken, hard-boiled eggs and pork-stuffed bun “due to temperature abuse.”
• Time/temperature issues also involved raw tuna, cream cheese, raw salmon, raw shrimp, raw beef, eel, cooked rice, cooked noodles, cooked pork and cooked chicken.
• “Clorox wipes [stored] next to sauces and on top of sodas on expo side.”
Status: Reopened July 29 after a reinspection found no violations.
Gourmet Creole Caribbean Restaurant
416 NE 36th St., Pompano Beach
Ordered shut: July 27
Why: 13 violations (three high-priority), including:
• About 35 rodent droppings in dry storage area “on floor behind fridge” and “on food storage container packing on bottom shelf of food prep table next to fridge.”
• About 20 dead roaches “on glue board on floor in closet” and “on a glue board under food prep table next to fridge in dry storage area.”
• Stop sale ordered for cooked chicken, cooked beef and pikliz “due to temperature abuse.”
• Time/temperature issue also involved black beans.
• “Observed buildup of spilled dry rice and beans on floors and under tables and equipment in dry storage area.”
Status: Reopened July 28 after a second visit found four basic violations.
Palm Beach County
Brass Monkey Sports Bar & Grill
7781 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth
Ordered shut: July 28
Why: 12 violations (eight high-priority), including:
• About seven rodent droppings “under dishwasher across from soda bibs” and “under shelf where clean dishes and pans are stored in kitchen.”
• About 13 dead roaches “beside dry storage rack where clean plates and pans are stored in kitchen,” “in the back of flip-top cooler unit on cook line” and “behind water heater in chemical storage closet.”
• Stop sale ordered for cooked potatoes and diced tomatoes “due to temperature abuse.”
• Stop sale also ordered for clam chowder and gravy because they were “marked with a date that exceeds 7 days after opening/preparation.”
• Time/temperature issues also involved sliced tomatoes, heavy cream, au jus, chili, French onion soup and cooked chicken.
Status: Reopened July 29 after a reinspection found three violations (two high-priority). A follow-up inspection was required.
Seabra Bakery & Café
465-475 NE Spanish River Blvd., Boca Raton
Ordered shut: July 27
Why: 21 violations (12 high-priority), including:
• About 25 live flies “at dry storage used for flour and other canned foods, not landing” and “at cook line, not landing”; they were also seen “at front counter landing on fresh juice squeezer,” “landing on the paper towel dispenser at handwash sink” and “landing on baked cakes by walk-in cooler,” among other areas.
• About four live ants “crawling on fresh fruit-squeezing machine at front counter.”
• About six spiders “on the ceiling in dry storage used to store flour and other canned foods.”
• “Observed employee numerous times cracking raw shell eggs and touching clean utensils and plates before changing gloves and washing hands.”
• “Observed employee doing dishes in the three-compartment by cook line [then switch] to working with foods without washing hands first.”
• “Employee doing dishes manually and not properly rinsing and sanitizing them.”
• Stop sale ordered for “pans with cake on the speed rack by walk-in cooler” because of flies landing on them.
• Time/temperature issues involved sliced cheese, cheese pie, fried chicken, cooked chicken and raw shell eggs.
• No time marking on cheese balls, potato balls and empanadas “in the display case at front counter.”
Status: Reopened July 28 after a next-day visit found one intermediate violation. A follow-up inspection was required.
Dining and Cooking