Tag: inspection

Inspections: Rocco's Tacos, Uncle Tai's, Panera and More

Uncle Tai's in Shops at Boca Center
Uncle Tai’s in Shops at Boca Center

None of the inspections last week (we’re behind) were bad. The worst of the bunch goes to Rocco’s Tacos with thirteen violations including three high priority:

  • Dishmachine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. – tested at 0 PPM on two cycles. **Warning**
  • Employee handled soiled equipment or utensils and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. – multiple. cooks on line, multiple times gloves put on and/or changed without handwashing. **Warning**
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. WALK IN COOLER – shrimp/scallop mix 52° kimchi 51° garlic cream sauce 46°shredded cheddar 45° goat cheese 46 Avacodo ranch 43° – iced down out of temp foods. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**

Looking those over we’re more concerned about the inspector’s misspelling of avocado. Rocco’s is still one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, though a little too far east.
Also near the top was Uncle Tai’s in the same plaza, with nine violations, and also three high priority:

  • Dishmachine not sanitizing properly. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Tested at 0 PPM. **Warning**
  • Employee handled soiled dishes or utensils and then handled clean dishes or utensils without washing hands. – cook handling cellphone to food service without handwashing. **Warning**
  • Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature in walk-in cooler. – in walk in cooler, raw marinating chicken pieces above raw beef and raw pork **Warning**

Nine violations is usually middle of the pack in our weekly summaries, so this is nothing and would not discourage us from eating there.
On the good side a few Boca restaurants did well. The Panera in the same plaza had only two minor violations. In Town Center, Pummerola had the best result with only one minor violation. And Firehouse Subs in East Boca (NE 5th) had two violations.
As usual our full spreadsheet for this report is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/allinsp-11-15-2015.pdf”]

Inspectors Knock Bamboo Wok

bamboo-wok-west-boca
Bamboo Wok was (and still is) our favorite Chinese restaurant in West Boca. But they’ve had a couple of bad inspections. Last week they got popped for 19 violations including three marked high priority and a stop sale.

  • Employee handled soiled dishes or utensils and then handled clean dishes or utensils without washing hands. Moving product, small wares and utensils while at the same time filling and wrapping egg rolls.
  • Employee touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands – food was not being heated as a sole ingredient to 145 degrees F or immediately added to other ingredients to be cooked/heated to the minimum required temperature to allow bare hand contact. Establishment has no approved Alternative Operating Procedure. – filling and wrapping g egg rolls with bare hands.
  • Stop Sale issued due to adulteration of food product. – Egg Rolls, Wontons and Green Beans all placed in the covers/lids of corrugated box tops from cases of raw chicken.

They also had 20+ violations in July.
Despite these bad reports, we still like Bamboo Wok. Hopefully this experience will make them be more careful. Keep in mind that they were the most popular Chinese restaurant west of the Turnpike in our 2014 survey.
The worst number in our report goes to Wanfu Chinese in Pompano Beach with 21, and the next-day follow up still had 11 violations.
China Spring on 441 in West Boca, had 12 violations but only one was marked high priority. The sign at that address reads China Spring II.
Another notable inspection goes to Uncle Julio’s in Mizner Park with 9 violations including 5 high priority.

  • Cooked potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit within 2 hours. Chicken stock 140° cooled to 120° after 1.5 hours. Operator placed chicken stock in freezer. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cooked/heated yesterday/on a previous day not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within a total of 6 hours. Food has been cooling overnight. See stop sale. Beans stored in walk in cooler overnight 55°-57°. Operator discarded. **Warning**
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. House made salsa 91°. Operator provided paperwork from 1994 stating that salsa has a pH level of 4.22. Operator must use time/temperature control for salsa. **Warning**
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety), food in the process of reheating for hot holding for more than 2 hours has not maintained 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Cubed chicken at steam table on cookline at 125°. Operator reheated chicken to 165°. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**
  • Raw animal food stored over cooked food. Raw shell eggs stored over ready to eat chicken stock and beans in walk in cooler. Operator repositioned eggs to lowest shelf. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**

The next-day follow-up for Uncle Julio’s was a perfect inspection.
We also see a new restaurant, Oishii Bento, on St. Andrews near Town Center. They were reported with five violations including one marked high priority. That’s not great for a licensing inspection, but still not terrible. We’re a little skeptical about this place. It has a “pan-Asian” menu. For some reason the Korean Bul Go Gi is cooked in a wok rather than on a grill. That’s just wrong. But we’re still going to try the place out.
Good inspections were reported for:
Renzo’s of Boca, on Federal Highway – Two minor violations on a licensing inspection. We’re told they have a new chef and the ownership may have changed.
Nearby Hotdog-Opolis also had two minor violations on a routine inspection.
Our weekly spreadsheet is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/allinsp11-8-2015.pdf”]

More Problems for Golden Corral; Sushi Masa

Golden Corral in Margate; image by Google
Golden Corral in Margate; image by Google

Two weeks ago we reported on a bad inspection at the Golden Corral in Margate on October 15th. A day later they had improved somewhat to 10 violations.
In our latest report they’re still having problems. On October 30th inspectors found 12 violations, and on the 31st they still found 8. Golden Corral in Margate has had 7 unimpressive inspections in just a two-month period.
This is odd in our experience. Most restaurants seem to recover quickly after a bad inspection and the follow-up inspections are often perfect or near-perfect.
Sushi Masa in Boca Raton; image by Google
Sushi Masa in Boca Raton; image by Google

Sushi Masa was the worst of Boca in this inspection report but really not that bad. They got hit with 12 violations, but by our count 4 of those 12 were for the same problem, a cooler that was just a few degrees warmer than the required temperature:

Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit, bamboo shoots 45°, cooked chicken 46°, baby corn 45°, bean sprouts 46°, cut tomatoes 45°, cut cabbage 46°, reach in cooler on cookline. Operator iced down, TCS food in cooler less than 4 hrs. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above, batter 75° on cookline. Owner time marked and will discard at 7 pm. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**

The comparison with Golden Corral shows what we said above. Sushi Masa has had six inspections since July and three of those were perfect or near-perfect. In this particular incident on October 29th they were inspected again later the same day and everything was corrected – zero violations.
After seeing these reports we would not hesitate to eat at Sushi Masa, but we wouldn’t eat at Golden Corral if it was free.
Other relatively bad inspections with more than 10 violations were reported for:

  • Wok N roll on Military Trail in Deerfield Beach
  • Duffy’s on Hillsboro and Lily Garden Chinese on 441 in Coconut Creek
  • Bagel Brothers on 441 in West Boca, a licensing inspection for what was previously known as Long Island Bagel near Target.
  • And Boca Kosher Bagel in Boca Grove.

Subway in Lakeside Centre at 8220 Glades Road; image by Google
Subway in Lakeside Centre at 8220 Glades Road; image by Google

The best inspection in West Boca for this report goes to Subway at 8220 Glades, which had only one minor violation. Others with good inspections include:

  • Fresh Harvest on NW 40th in Coconut Creek
  • Papa Johns on Atlantic in Delray
  • Chuck E Cheese’s on 441 in West Boca
  • Black Rose Irish Pub on Federal Highway
  • Original Pancake House in Somerset Shoppes (and we just ate there)

Restaurant Inspection Report – Mostly Good News

Talia's Tuscan Table on Dixie Highway; image by Google
Talia’s Tuscan Table on Dixie Highway; image by Google

Last week was pretty good for restaurant inspections. The worst of the bunch – and not that bad – was Talia’s Tuscan Table on Dixie Highway in East Boca, just north of Spanish River Blvd. They had nineteen total violations, but only two of those were high priority. The worst of it was the buffet table:

Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit, all on buffet, Cut lettuce 75°, cooked eggplant 78°, Greek salad 76°, cooked beans 76°, cooked cauliflower 78°, ham 80°. Operator stated all food placed on buffet at 12:00, 2 hours, discarded. **Warning**
Self-service salad bar/buffet lacking adequate sneezeguards or other proper protection from contamination, several deli salads along with vegetables. **Warning**

Whistle Stop in Boca; image by Google
Whistle Stop in Boca; image by Google

Next worst was the Whistle Stop near Dixie Highway in the plaza on the north side of Camino Real. They had fifteen violations, with four marked high priority:

Employee touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands – food was not being heated as a sole ingredient to 145 degrees F or immediately added to other ingredients to be cooked/heated to the minimum required temperature to allow bare hand contact. Establishment has no approved Alternative Operating Procedure. Employee placing lettuce on a taco. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
Nonfood-grade containers used for food storage _ direct contact with food, spay bottle used for oil on cookline, intended for chemicals. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food in reach-in cooler, whole she’ll eggs over cooked pasta in reach in cooler. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit, raw beef over raw fish in reach in cooler. Tall 2 door True unit, in prep area. **Warning**

Good News
On the positive side, Brendy’s in Lake Ridge plaza (near Doris Market) had a perfect inspection with zero violations. The McDonald’s on Military Trail in Delray was also perfect.
Near perfect inspections were reported for:
Relish & More on NE 5th in East Boca, with one minor violation on a licensing inspection
Walmart in Coconut Creek, with one minor violation
Dolce Cafe on Military Trail, with one minor violation on a licensing inspection
Carrabba’s on SW 18th with three violations, a very good number for a big place with a broad menu
Our spreadsheet from this inspection is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/allinsp-10-25-2015.pdf”]

Jap Traps: 30+ Violations at Ichiyami and Yakitori

ichiyami-mizner-park
Two Japanese restaurants in Royal Palm Place had bad inspections this week. Ichiyami Buffet had the biggest number with 39 total violations including 9 high priority. This is not the first sign of trouble. Last year they had one of the worst inspections we’ve seen, getting shut down with 49 violations including rodents and roaches and caught salvaging fish from old sushi for reuse. They have had some good inspections in between.
Another big number was recorded by Yakitori Sake House in the same plaza, with 31 violations including 6 high priority and a couple of “stop sales”. They had a not-so-great inspection in May with 16 violations.
Although these were bad, the worst inspection of the week goes to Golden Corral in Margate. They had 28 violations including some doozies, and were closed for a day. The worst of it:

  • Dented/rusted cans present, 1 can pineapple and mandarin oranges. See stop sale.
  • Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area, in dessert area. **Warning**
  • Roach activity present as evidenced by 5 plus live roaches found in kitchen nestled between tiles in crack by hand wash sink, 1 on wall by chicken prep area, in kitchen 4 plus nestled between wall and crack in tiles by chicken and fish reach in cooler, in kitchen, 1 crawling on wall by buffet area, 1 on floor by reach in cooler, in kitchen, 4 plus in coffee prep area, off ware washing area. **Warning**
  • Roach excrement and/or droppings present, in various areas of the kitchen. **Warning**
  • Small flying insects in men’s restroom, approximately 10 plus. **Warning**
  • Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition, yeast bread dough, with flies on dough, in dessert area. 25 pounds.

Golden Corral “recovered” the next day with only 10 violations, still the 5th worst inspection of the week.
Back in Royal Palm Place, Boca Breakfast & Lunch Club had 12 violations including 4 high priority.
Good News
Turning to the good news, it looks like we’re getting a new steakhouse. Mr. Prime Steakhouse had a perfect licensing inspection. The address puts it in the same location as the former Grill Time on the north side of Glades just west of the Turnpike (near Party City).
The Subway in Sandalfoot had only one minor violation.
Mama’s Pizza in Logger’s Run Plaza had only two violations.
Moving to the not-terrible inspections, Stir Crazy in Town Center had 6 violations with 2 high priority; and Saquella Caffe in Royal Palm Place had 8 violations with 2 high priority.
As usual, our spreadsheet for the week is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/allinsp-10-18-2015.pdf”]