Once in a while we start with the good news. This week’s inspection winner is Armadillo Cafe, which had the best inspection of all major restaurants in West Boca. They had two minor violations.
Also with two minor violations is “Hollywood at the Hamptons” on Kimberly. They had a similarly good inspection last year and we still don’t know what the place is.
A few hotels did well, including the Best Western University Inn (1 violation) and the Quality Inn (3 violations) on Federal Highway; and with two each the Wyndham Hotel on Glades near I-95 (2 violations), the Holiday Inn Express on Glades near Lyons, and the Hilton Suite Hotel near the Turnpike.
TGI Friday’s in Mission Bay also had just 2 violations, though one was marked high priority.
The new Pei Wei in Westwinds of Boca had 3 violations, with 2 high priority. Dominic’s in the same plaza, near Home Depot, had 5 violations with 1 high priority.
Original Pancake House and Jimmy John’s had 4 violations each, still pretty good numbers.
Other notables include:
Jimmy the Greek with 6 violations, all minor
Shake Shack (Glades across from FAU) with 7
Cabo Flats (Delray Marketplace) and Farmer’s Table (Military Trail) each with 9 violations, all minor
On the down side, four places had 10 or more violations including Orchid’s Garden (near Century Village, 10 violations); City Fish Market (13); Saito’s Japanese Steakhouse (Somerset Shoppes, 13); and Sweet Dewey’s BBQ (25). Despite the numbers, we looked at the details and none of them looked that bad.
Our spreadsheet for this week’s report is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/allinsp-10-11-2015.pdf”]
Tag: inspection
24 Violations at Tempura House; Roaches at Lemon Tree
A couple Japanese places lead our inspection report this week in number of violations, though overall their reports aren’t really the worst of the bunch.
Tempura House on Clint Moore had the most violations with 24, including 6 marked high priority. Saito in Coconut Creek’s Promenade was next with 18 violations, 3 high priority.
The big violations for Tempura House were:
- Employee failed to wash hands before changing gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. – food handlers changing cloves without washing hands. **Repeat Violation** **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. – dishwasher dirty to clean without handwashing. **Warning**
- In-use utensil stored in unclean water at or above 135 degrees Fahrenheit. – Spoons for rice – **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. – REACH IN COOLER – (Cook Line Cold Table/Undercounter Unit) scallops 54° shrimp 54° raw beef 53° cooked shrimp 53° tripe 54° raw ground pork 53° AMBIENT COOLER TEMPERATURE 42° – COOK LINE – (Held Open at Room Temperature) mushrooms 74° noodles 73° sprouts 74° water chestnuts 72° corns 72° **Repeat Violation** **Repeat Violation** **Warning**
- Thermotape failed to turn black to indicate the sanitization temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit was achieved on the dish surface. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired. – tested on Three Cycles. **Warning**
- Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. – at rear mop sink. **Warning**
As we noted in our review a few years ago, Tempura House seems very popular. But we’ve never really liked it and we’re not alone – Jeff Eats hated it several years ago. Their inspection record has been spotty, with some good ones and some terrible, like in 2014.
We started going to Saito (Lyons and Glades) and haven’t looked back. The 18-violation inspection we just saw for the Coconut Creek location is a minor turn-off, but it’s a different spot and the details make the inspector seem picky.
Although it’s a lower number, the worst inspection this week goes to Lemon Tree Cafe, on Lyons Road just south of the Sawgrass. They were closed for a day after a 14-violation inspection including the dreaded roaches:
Observed: Roach activity present as evidenced by 5 live roaches found in dishwashing area, 4 live roaches in dry storage behind GE chest freezer, 5 live roaches in cookline under food prep table, 2 live roaches in service station next to Bianchi coffee machine. **Warning**
That was one of the high priority violations. Two of the “basic” ones are also troubling.
Observed: Accumulation of dead or trapped birds, insects, rodents, or other pests, in control devices. Dead flies **Warning**
Observed: Dead roaches on premises, approximately 30 dead roaches in dish washing area under dishwashing machine, approximately 10 dead roaches in storage under GE chest freezer, approximately 10 dead roaches under food prep table on cook line. **Warning**
Usually we wouldn’t consider 9 violations to be that bad but PF Chang on Glades in East Boca had four marked high priority:
- All potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods in reach-in cooler cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. 2 door glass reach in cooler- cookline cheese cake 52° vegetable spring rolls 49° egg rolls 53° salmon 46°. Moved all TCS foods to working cooler, all items in cooler >2 hours. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**
- Employee failed to wash hands beforechanging gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. On cookline. Hands washed properly. Single-use gloves not changed as needed after changing tasks or when damaged or soiled. On cookline. Hands washed properly. **Corrected On-Site** **Repeat Violation** **Warning**
- Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food in WALK in cooler. Raw pork over sauce and pasteurized eggs in WIC. All items stored properly. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
- Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature in walk-in cooler. Raw chicken over raw beef. All items stored properly. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
The Good News
Five places had perfect inspections, including a food truck (Tastee Express 10), two places inside Boca Pointe, one inside Boca Grove, and Cherry Smash Ice Cream in Coral Springs (we went there a few weeks ago and liked it).
Maggiano’s on St. Andrews by Town Center had another near perfect inspection, with only one violation.
Tricky Dick’s Pub, Boston Market (Beracasa Way), and Lime Fresh in Promenade each had only 2 minor violations.
Yokohama Sushi in Polo Club and Giovanni’s Pizza (Powerline) each had 3 minor violations.
A few other notable restaurants had inspections that were neither terrible nor great.
Burt & Max in Delray Marketplace had 7 violations but all were minor.
Chipotle in Westwinds had 9 violations, with one high priority (vacuum breaker). The one on Glades in East Boca had 7 violations.
Our full inspection spreadsheet is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/allinsp-10-2-2015.pdf”]
Roaches at La Bamba in Margate
The worst inspection of the week goes to La Bamba II on Sample Road in Margate, with 32 violations and live roaches. Six of the violations were marked high priority:
- Employee washed hands with no soap. Employee washed in prep sink without using soap. Rewashed hands correctly in proper sink. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
- Evidence of mop/cleaning wastewater dumped onto ground. Behind restaurant **Warning**
- Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. In ware washing area **Warning**
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Tuna 44° at prep line cooler in kitchen. Put on ice **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Warning**
- Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature in walk-in cooler. Ground beef stored over steaks. Moved **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
- Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed 3 live roaches in ware washing area next to the dish machine **Warning**
The worst West Boca inspection goes to Hashi Sushi Thai in Shadowood. They normally have decent inspections. We’ve never seen a particularly bad one for them. But on the 25th they got hit with 24 violations in a routine inspection. Four of the violations were marked high priority:
- Employees failed to wash hands before changing gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food.
- Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded. – 37.7 lbs. of fresh Scottish Salmon delivered on 9/24/15.
- Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit. – raw seafoods and raw chicken stored together in ice in a large ‘Coleman’ cooler
- Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. – at rear mop sink.
On the Good News part of the inspections, Southwinds Golf Course (west side of Lyons south of Yamato) had a perfect inspection.
The Pizza Hut delivery place on St. Andrews had only one minor violation.
Holloway’s Irish Pub on SW 18th on the east side of Powerline (near Carrabba’s) had 2 minor violations.
Maggiano’s on St. Andrews had only 2 violations, which is impressive for a restaurant that is so big with such a diverse menu.
Pinon Grill at Town Center had 3 violations.
Steve’s Wood Fired Pizza on the south side of Glades near Lyons had just four minor violations. Miller’s Ale House in the same plaza had seven violations.
In other not so great news, a couple places we like in Promenade did not do so well. Mama’s Asian Noodle had 16 violations, and Ethos Greek Bistro had 15.
Viking Steak and Seafood in Delray had 15 violations, after recording 22 in our last report a week ago.
Efe’s Bistro in Somerset Shoppes had 11 violations.
Bluefin Sushi in Parkland had 10.
Brendy’s (Yamato at Lakeridge, near Doris Market) had 10 violations.
Our full spreadsheet is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/allinsp-9-27-15.pdf”]
Roach-A-Cino? Restaurant Inspection Report
Many people get turned off by inspection reports. We usually don’t let one rough inspection bother us but this week’s report has a couple major turn-offs.
Leading off in the Yuck category is Bonaccino Café, a little place near one of the east entrances of Town Center Mall (by the parking structure and Willams-Sonoma). They were temporarily closed and the inspection report indicates a total of 24 violations including 10 marked high priority. Here are some of the lowlights:
- Employee failed to wash hands beforechanging gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. Cook washed hands and changed gloves upon request. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
- In-use utensil stored in unclean water at or above 135 degrees Fahrenheit, crepe wand 78°. Ice cream scoops 76°. **Warning**
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food identified in the written procedure as a food held using time as a public health control has no time marking and the time removed from temperature control cannot be determined. See stop sale. Crepe batter 68°. **Warning**
- Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found, 1 live on counter, expo station, 1 live smoothie station, 5 live under counter crepe station. 1 live in cupboard across from crepe station. **Warning**
- Roach activity present as evidenced by roach egg sacs found, 3 inside cabin at smoothie station. 5 under crepe station. **Warning**
- Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. **Warning**
If that’s not bad enough there was still one major problem the next day:
Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found, 1 live on counter, expo station, 1 live smoothie station, 5 live under counter crepe station. 1 live in cupboard across from crepe station. **Warning** At time of the callback on 09/17/15, 2 live by crepe station, 1 live by smoothie station, 1 live by ice machine. To deal with a roach problem, or infestation of any kind, bringing in the professionals like Economy Exterminators is a surefire way to deal with pests swiftly and cost-effectively.
Romano’s Macaroni Grill recorded another bad inspection. They had a total of 21 violations including 6 marked high priority:
- Live, small flying insects in kitchen near dry storage and prep table with slicer.
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Veal at 50° F at cookline , sauté 1 cooler.placed in walkin cooler. Butter 47° F to 48° within 1 hour at pizza prep cooler. Sent to cool down at walkin cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food prepared from/mixed with ingredient(s) at ambient temperature not cooled to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 4 hours. Lobster 52° F, prepped 4 hours ago. Discarded. Chicken 50° F to 50° F within 1 hour at sauté station 1 cooler. At current rate of cooling food will not reach 41° F within the four hour limit. **Corrected On-Site**
- Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food reheated for hot holding not reaching 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds within 2 hours. Lasagna at 110° F reheating for a total of 1.5 hr. At current rate of reheating food will not reach 165° F within the 2 hour limit at the steam stable. Reheated for to 193° F at oven. **Corrected On-Site**
- Quaternary ammonium sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. 100 ppm quat at 3 compartment sink. Corrected to 200 ppm quat. **Corrected On-Site**
- Raw animal food stored in top portion of make table over ready-to-eat food in bottom portion of make table _ no complete physical barrier between top and bottom. Raw chicken over sauce on top of make table where drippings from raw food can contaminate ready to eat foods. Moved raw chicken to bottom and sauce to top adjacent to cookline. **Corrected On-Site**
Romano’s was temporarily closed twice this summer for rodents, once not long ago, and earlier with a total of 48 violations. On the bright side they weren’t shut down this time.
Casa Tequila, on Glades just west of the Turnpike, had the highest number with 27 violations. Only 3 were high priority but one of them was for rodent droppings:
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. 8 dry rodent droppings in storage closet in shared mall hallway in common area. – outside (opened) kitchen rear door in long access hallway to trash area is evidence of infestation. Dried rodent feces.
In Delray just southwest of Military and Atlantic, the relatively new Vikings Steak Seafood and Sushi Buffet had 22 violations including 6 high priority.
The Good News
A few restaurants had excellent inspections. Two places on Military Trail near Atlantic did well. Philly Grill had a perfect inspection with zero violations.
The Subway on Military Trail nearby also had a perfect inspection, as did the Subway on Federal Highway in East Boca. And the café at Osprey Point Golf Course also rang up a perfect inspection.
In Town Center two places were near-perfect: Blue Martini and Cups Frozen Yogurt each had just one minor violation. The Pollo Tropical in Delray did well with just four minor violations.
Other notables:
TGI Friday’s in Mission Bay had 5 violations with 2 marked high priority.
Lemongrass just south of Mizner Park had 7 violations with 1 marked high priority.
Brickyard on Palmetto Park had 9 violations with 2 marked high priority.
Shinju Buffet had a high number with 17 violations, but only one was marked high priority.
Stir Crazy in Town Center had 14 violations with 3 marked high priority.
Our full spreadsheet for this week is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/allinsp-9-20-2015.pdf”]
Restaurant Inspections: Mostly Good News
This week’s restaurant inspection report was one of the best we’ve seen. Only two restaurants had more than ten violations. The worst of Boca was Aladdin’s Eatery on St. Andrews, with 11 violations including two marked high priority. This is not that bad and they’ve had good inspections in the past.
The other double-digit inspection was for Rob’s Bageland on Wiles Road in Coral Springs.
The best inspection in our report goes to the Denny’s on Palmetto Park Road just east of I-95, near perfect with only one minor violation. Fit Foodz Cafe also had an excellent result with just two minor violations.
Other notables this week include:
Boca Village Square on St. Andrews
Duffy’s: 7 violations
Wendy’s: 1 violation in a licensing inspection
Addison Court on Military Trail
Offerdahl’s: 5 violations
Kee Grill: 2 violations
Town Center Mall
DaVinci’s and Capital Grille each had 3 violations
Westwinds of Boca (441 & Glades)
Dominic’s: 7 violations
Our full spreadsheet for this weeks’ report is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/allinsp-9-13-2015.pdf”]