How would you like to eat at a restaurant where the kitchen is crawling with rodents and bugs, where the walk-ins are filthy, and the line hasn't been cleaned in months? Not to scare you, but it happens, and more often than you think. Florida inspectors have been hitting the motherlode of filthy restaurants lately, shutting down 15 restaurants in the past month alone. And some of them are very close to home.
The Florida Department of Business and Regulation is in charge of random, routine health inspections for South Florida restaurants. It keeps detailed records of the violations on its website. You can search records to look up past inspections at specific restaurants. You can also view records by date and division.
When a restaurant receives an inspection, the department worker
notes where violations are critical or noncritical. Critical
violations are more severe and often require follow-up inspections to
ensure the restaurant has fixed them. Pile up enough critical
violations and the FDBR will temporarily shut you down.
In the
past month alone, we've found 15 restaurants have been shut down
temporarily for violations that would make anyone's stomach turn. They
include storing raw, uncovered food in close proximity to construction,
live roaches crawling all over food containers, and dozens of rodent
droppings found in kitchens and dishwashing areas.
One blog that covers restaurants in violation extremely well is Jeff Weinsier's Dirty Dining Blog.
Weinsier, a reporter for WPLG-TV 10 in Miami, will often head down to
the closed establishment, cameras in tow, and snap photos and video of
the offending elements. Some of the photos are truly revolting.
Here's a list of those 15 places shut down in the past month by the FDBR.
Café Creole Restaurant
5460 N. State Road 7, Fort Lauderdale
Why shut down: Rodent droppings observed and gnaw marks seen on raw food.
Campa Pizzeria and Restaurant
5679 W. Flagler St., Miami
Why shut down: Rodent droppings in kitchen.
Caribbean Cafe
498 W. 28th St., Hialeah
Why shut down: Rodent droppings in food prep area.
Chez Le Bebe Restaurant
114 NE 54th St., Miami
Why shut down: Rodent droppings and live roaches observed.
Chuchi's Cafe of Hialeah
3694 W. 12th Ave., Hialeah
Why shut down: Live rodent observed in kitchen.
Fritanga Managuita
11372 SW 211th St., Miami
Why shut down: Roaches found crawling in wooden containers used to store rice and beans.
La Nueva San Salvador Restaurant
4601 W. Flagler St., Miami
Why shut down: Live roaches and fresh rodent droppings found in kitchen.
1432 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors
Why shut down: Rodent droppings found on prep table, in water
heating area, near handwashing sink, and even on top of a bag of flour.
Max Pizza
15455 SW 137th Ave.,
Miami
Why shut down: Live roaches found in kitchen.
Prime Time Cafe
860 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach
Why shut
down: Perishable food not stored at proper temperatures, food left
uncovered during construction, food storage area exposed to back alley
due to construction.
Restaurant El Gallo Pinto
4747 Flagler St., Miami
Why shut down: 25-plus live roaches found in kitchen.
Salerno Diner
4783 SE Dixie Highway, Stuart
Why shut down: Rodent droppings found near grill, steam unit, and refrigerator.
Sea Cafe
740 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach
Why shut down: Build-up of slime in ice machine and on soda machine nozzles, dead roaches in dishwashing area.
Seaside Grill Patio Bar
1406 N. Ocean Blvd., Pompano Beach
Why shut down: Rodent droppings found in pots in the dishwashing area.
Strip House
1435 Simonton St., Key West
Why shut down: Over 50 rodent droppings observed in various areas of the kitchen.
