11 restaurants shut: Roaches on food, flies on bread
Rodent droppings found on a wine shelf, flies landing on bread buns and roaches crawling on boxes of limes, onions and clean containers were among the violations that forced state inspectors to temporarily shut 11 South Florida restaurants last week.
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 “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted 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.)
Bel-Air 509 Restaurant, Lake Worth Beach 7366 Lake Worth Road Ordered shut:
Oct. 4 and Oct. 5; not yet reopened
Why: Nine violations (four high-priority), including more than 20 live flies “underneath dish machine,” as well as 27 live cockroaches “underneath cleaned utensils shelves at dishwashing area,” “underneath hot holding steamer, reach-in cooler, fryer and burner” and around a “utility table at kitchen.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its cooked plantains “due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition” after an employee “grabbed with bare hands.”
Inspectors ordered the restaurant shut again on Oct. 5 for unresolved fly and roach issues. The eatery remains closed pending a new inspection.
Kabuki restaurant, Wellington
2465 S. State Road 7 Ordered shut: Oct. 4 and Oct. 5;
reopened Oct. 6
Why: Seven violations (four high-priority), including eight live cockroaches found “at dry storage area by back door near prep area” and “underneath buckets of sauce and dry bags of food.”
There were also 33 dead roaches above “dry storage shelf over food” and “in between shelves near clean plates and single-service items.”
An employee was seen washing “hands without soap then (proceeding) to handle clean dishes and serve customers.” The restaurant was also ordered to stop selling and trash a “dented can of baby corn.”
The state shut the restaurant the next day for improper use of foodgrade containers and for misidentifying menu items containing raw fish, but let the restaurant reopen after a third inspection found a single intermediate violation.
The restaurant was previously ordered shut twice in December 2021 for fly issues.
Banh Cuon Tan Dinh, West Palm Beach
2845 N. Military Trail, Suite 2 Ordered shut: Oct. 4 and Oct. 6;
reopened Oct. 6
Why: Six violations (three high-priority), including “50 rodent droppings on floor in dry storage area” and at least 170 dead roaches “at front line,” in the kitchen and in a dry storage area.
Nine cockroaches were spotted crawling “at front line on fliptop cooler,” “on floor outside of walk-in cooler,” “at front counter under cash register” and “behind prep table.”
The restaurant was ordered shut a second time on Oct. 6 for unresolved live and dead roaches, but was cleared to reopen later that day when a third inspection yielded one intermediate violation.
Avocado’s Food, Pembroke Pines
11401 Pines Blvd., Suite K-907 (inside Pembroke Lakes Mall)
Ordered shut:
Oct. 5; reopened Oct. 6
Why: Four violations (one high-priority), including 11 roaches found crawling “on food preparation table,” “on clean food containers,” “on box with limes and onions in service areas” and “on floor next to refrigerator.”
A single basic violation found during the state’s next-day inspection did not prevent the restaurant from reopening.
Samosa the Indian Cafe, Sunrise
13101 W. Sunrise Blvd. Ordered shut: Oct. 5; reopened Oct. 6
Why: Nine violations (three high-priority), including about “20 live roaches on shelving on the cookline.”
The restaurant was also dinged for improperly storing raw chicken in “Thank You” bags in the reach-in freezer instead of in food-grade bags, and for “raw shell eggs stored over cut vegetables and dough in the reach-in cooler.”
The state noted a single intermediate violation during the cafe’s next-day reinspection and it was cleared to reopen.
Picanha Brazil Restaurant, Boca Raton
22797 State Road 7 Ordered shut: Oct. 5; reopened Oct. 6
Why: Six violations (three high-priority), including one employee seen “preparing readyto-eat foods, exiting outside establishment, (placing) food in vehicle and (returning) to kitchen to prepare food without changing gloves or washing hands.”
The state also cited the restaurant for improperly storing raw pork over “unwashed carrots” and “ready-to-eat beef.”
One basic violation the next day didn’t prevent the steakhouse from reopening.
Basilic Vietnamese Grill,
Fort Lauderdale
218 E. Commercial Blvd. Ordered shut: Oct. 4; reopened
Oct. 5
Why: 10 violations (five high-priority), including two live roaches spotted near the kitchen prep area on a “dry storage shelf ” containing “packages of rice paper, peanuts and decorations.”
The state also spotted 10 rodent droppings on the same shelf, as well as on a wine shelf and “on shelving with electrical equipment” in a “front counter bar area.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash its cut cabbage, raw mussels, cooked rice, cooked white carrot, raw pork and raw beef “due to temperature abuse.”
The Vietnamese restaurant reopened the next day after zero new violations were discovered.
Wong’s, Pembroke Pines
601 NW 100th Place Ordered shut: Oct. 4; reopened Oct. 5
Why: 17 violations (four high-priority), including about 13 cockroaches spotted crawling in areas such as “under storage shelf next to bbq oven in cook line,” “under container of cooking oil on shelf under prep table,” “next to flour bowl on shelf under prep table,” “on floor at entrance of kitchen,” “under dumpling machine in cook line,” “under mop sink in kitchen” and “on floor behind chest freezer.”
The state also found two live flies in the kitchen — “on prep table next to hand wash sink” and “above dough mixer” — and 30 dead roaches behind a chest freezer, under a three-compartment sink and behind a flour mixer in the kitchen, as well as “behind dumpling machine” and “under storage shelf in cook line.”
The restaurant was cleared to reopen after a followup inspection found a pair of basic violations.
Singing Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, West Palm Beach
2845 N. Military Trail, Suite 11 Ordered shut: Oct. 3; reopened Oct. 4
Why: Eight violations (three high-priority), including six roaches “in kitchen prep area crawling on floor under/wall behind prep table,” as well as about 100 rodent droppings “at kitchen dry storage area under storage shelves” and on floor under two-door “stainless reach-in cooler next to ice machine.”
There were also seven dead roaches “in kitchen prep area on floor under prep table,” “at bar inside cabinet,” “at server station on floor, under hot water machine and behind ice cream freezer.”
Finally, inspectors red-flagged the improper storage of “multiple prescription and over-the-counter medications stored on shelf over bar.”
The state reopened the eatery the next day after discovering one intermediate and two basic violations. The restaurant was previously ordered shut twice in 2022.
Pollo Tropical, Boca Raton
21852 S. State Road 7 Ordered shut: Oct. 3; reopened Oct. 3
Why: Three violations (one high-priority), including 37 flies swarming in the “main kitchen dry storage room … around cases of paper towels, toilet paper and and landing on bread buns on bread racks.”
They were also seen “landing on closed container of BBQ sauce” and “on case of single-service, to-go utensils on dry storage shelf,” as well as “on wall at meat tenderizer machine” and “on open bag of rice inside rice bin and landing on clean plastic aprons.”
The fast-food chain was allowed to reopen the same day after its reinspection found zero violations.
La Salchipaperia DC, Wilton Manors
500 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Ordered shut: Oct. 2; reopened
Oct. 3
Why: Eight violations (two high-priority), including bathroom access denied to customers, “as toilets are in disrepair and not working” due to “plumbing issues.” According to the report, “manager explained that they go across the street to use La Granja’s bathroom.”
The inspection also noted that an “employee washed hands in a sink other than an approved handwash sink.” The cook “washed hands in three-compartment sink then went back to prepare food without putting gloves on.”
Also in the report: raw beef “not properly separated” from “chicken wings stored in same container.”
The next-day reinspection found two high-priority and three intermediate violations, but the restaurant was cleared to reopen.