Introduction to Restaurant Inspections
A roach that fell from the ceiling “onto an inspector’s iPad,” “raw chicken particles” in a handwashing sink and “water from the employees’ toilet backing up through floor” were among the violations that temporarily shut 11 South Florida restaurants and one food truck last week. The 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.
How Restaurant Inspections Work
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, contact Florida DBPR. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
Broward County Restaurant Closures
La Gourmandize Island Restaurant
7108 Pembroke Road, Miramar
Ordered Shut
July 24
Why
Seven violations (three high-priority), including:
- 11 live roaches “crawling on wall behind unplugged refrigerator in kitchen,” “under case of plantains next to triple sink,” “under chair next to cash register” and “on floor of dry storage.”
- “Employee, after switching from raw to ready-to-eat [food], washed hands with no soap.”
- “Bag of carrots stored on floor in kitchen.”
Status
Reopened July 25 after a follow-up inspection found two basic violations.
La Tia Restaurant
7100 Pembroke Road, Suite A, Miramar
Ordered Shut
July 25
Why
Nine violations (three high-priority), including:
- One dead rodent “under [double-door] freezer in kitchen.”
- 18 rodent droppings in kitchen areas including “inside drawer next to malanga,” “next to stove,” “under rack with clean dishes and containers,” as well as “next to water heater in dry storage area in a separate room.”
- Stop sale ordered for cheese and cooked oxtails, rice and chicken “due to temperature abuse.”
- “Wall between triple sink and stove soiled in kitchen.”
Status
Reopened later the same day after a second visit found two intermediate violations. A follow-up inspection was required.
Founey Caribbean Bar & Grill
6252 Pembroke Road, Miramar
Ordered Shut
July 23
Why
12 violations (three high-priority), including:
- 37 rodent droppings in the kitchen “under steam table,” “in front of triple sink” and “in dry storage area.”
- “Employee, after sweeping, washed hands with no soap and proceeded to handle clean containers to store cooked food.”
- “No soap provided at handwash sink in kitchen.”
- “Water leaking from faucet handle in triple sink.”
Status
Reopened July 24 after a follow-up inspection found six violations (one high-priority).
5th Element Indian Grill
1325 S. Powerline Road, Pompano Beach
Ordered Shut
July 24
Why
21 violations (eight high-priority), including:
- About five rodent droppings “on top of dishwasher.”
- About two live roaches “crawling on floor.”
- About 25 dead roaches “on floor stuck in sticky trap” and “on floor” in kitchen area.
- About 25 roach excrement droppings “on wall in kitchen by clean storage rack.”
- About 55 live flies “in kitchen area, landing on unwashed onions, cutting boards, clean utensils and flip-top coolers,” “in dishwashing room, landing on clean dishes” and “in bar area.”
- About 20 dead flies on sticky tape situated “over flip-top coolers and table used for prepping food.”
- Stop sale ordered for “a can of puréed tomatoes with a large dent on the seam.”
- Stop sale ordered for vegetable and lamb samosas, cooked chicken, cooked goat and cooked rice with vegetables “due to temperature abuse.”
- “Observed in dishwashing area several clean dishes with old labels attached to them.”
- “Observed in both walk-in coolers several different containers of food left uncovered.”
Status
Reopened July 25 after a follow-up visit found no violations.
Pinolandia
273 N. University Drive, Pembroke Pines
Ordered Shut
July 23
Why
16 violations (six high-priority), including:
- “Employee changed gloves after handling raw chicken and went to other task portioning prepared food item without washing hands first.”
- “Employees’ purses on top of canned and dry goods on back storage shelves.”
- “Employee cellphones on top of microwave in kitchen.”
- Time/temperature issues involved fried chicken, fried plantains, rice, grilled pork, fried cheese, stewed beef, beans, cooked yuca and raw marinated beef.
- “In storage-area Dukers reach-in cooler, container of cooked beef and pork uncovered.”
Status
Reopened July 24 after a second visit found one intermediate violation.
Madame Erick’s Kitchen
6047 Miramar Parkway, Miramar
Ordered Shut
July 21
Why
Nine violations (two high-priority), including:
- “Water from employees’ toilet backing up through floor causing standing water in front of exit door next to water heater in kitchen. Area cannot be isolated from kitchen. Employees dragging wastewater through kitchen.”
- “Floor area(s) covered with standing water” including “under triple sink in kitchen,” “in front of employees’ bathroom in kitchen” and “in employees’ bathroom.”
- “Employee washed hands with no soap and proceeded to cut tomatoes.”
- Time/temperature issue involved cooked pork “prepared onsite and held more than 24 hours [and] not properly date marked.”
Status
Reopened July 22 after a follow-up inspection found one basic violation.
Tropical Vibes Caribbean Restaurant
6033 Miramar Parkway, Miramar
Ordered Shut
July 21
Why
15 violations (four high-priority), including:
- “Establishment operating with no potable running water.”
- Stop sale ordered for cooked white rice, cooked rice and beans, pikliz, and cooked spinach and meat.
- Time/temperature issue also involved cooked liver.
- “Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.”
Status
Reopened later that day after a second visit found two intermediate and basic violations.
Palm Beach County Restaurant Closures
La Rosa Monja Blanca
913 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach
Ordered Shut
July 25
Why
Five violations (three high-priority), including:
- About 14 live roaches “in reach-in, three-door cooler” being used for storage, “above dry storage rack by three-compartment sink,” “on wall in and around electrical wiring” and on ceiling “above three-door, reach-in cooler.”
- “In walk-in cooler, raw shell eggs stored over raw beef.”
- “In kitchen, observed roach droppings on wall surrounding electrical wiring by storage rack and reach-in, three-door cooler.”
Status
Reopened July 26 after a follow-up visit found no violations.
El Jalapeño (food truck)
Ordered Shut
July 24
Why
Six violations (three high-priority), including:
- About 33 live roaches, including one that “fell from ceiling onto inspector’s iPad,” and others “walking on floor in between steam table and flip-top cooler” and “under three-compartment sink next to wastewater tank.”
- About 13 dead roaches “inside storage cabinet for single-service items,” “inside AC unit on ceiling” and “under three-compartment sink.”
- Time/temperature issue involved refried beans.
- Food truck “flooring has rusted away with holes through the floor making outside ground visible from interior.”
- “Employee handled gas can and, without washing hands, handled dried chilis.”
Status
Closed July 25 after a follow-up visit found two basic violations. Reopened later that day after a third inspection found one basic violation.
Sabor Latino Restaurant
1500 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100, Boynton Beach
Ordered Shut
July 23
Why
Eight violations (one high-priority), including:
- Eight live roaches “on the floor under oven next to hand sink at cook line,” “on the inside wall of garbage can in front of steam table,” “on the floor in front of prep table” and “on the inside door frame of reach-in freezer under horchata machine at entrance to cook line.”
- “Inside oven soiled with chip debris.”
- “Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses at front line.”
- “Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated grease, dust or mold-like substance to the right of ice machine.”
Status
Reopened July 24 after a follow-up inspection found no violations.
Sbarro
10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 102, Wellington
Ordered Shut
July 22
Why
Four violations (three high-priority), including:
- About 11 live roaches “crawling on the floor on preparation area by back door under shelves holding single-service items and also on dish rack inverted used to keep containers with salt off the floor.”
- Time/temperature issues involved chicken wings and tomato salad.
- “Pizza cook grabbed garbage can, dirty apron, and kept engaging [in] food preparation.”
Status
Closed on July 23 after a follow-up inspection found one high-priority violation. Reopened later that day after a third visit found no violations.
The Rock Irish Pub
614 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach
Ordered Shut
July 21
