rodents – West Boca News

Roaches and Rodents Shut Down Baja Cantina

Baja Cantina at 201 NW 1st Ave in Boca Raton; Image by Google

We used to like this place but …
Baja Cantina in East Boca was closed by inspectors two days in a row, on December 21st and 22nd, due to roaches and rodents.
On the 21st inspectors found 32 total violations including 9 marked high priority. The worst of it:

Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. 21 live roaches under handwash sink at bar.
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 64 fresh rodent droppings on the bottom shelving of the prep table where rice and beans containers are stored in the rear prep area, 8 fresh droppings on top of containers of rice and beans in rear prep area, 16 dry rodent droppings on top of dishmachine, 10 fresh rodent dropping in container with onions in rear prep area, 28 dry and 39 fresh rodent droppings in coffee filter storage in front of walkin cooler, 100 dry and 100 fresh rodent droppings in water heater room, 15 dry rodent droppings in ice machine room, 30 fresh and 50 dry rodent droppings in storage area by liquor room, 10 fresh and 30 dry rodent droppings by wait station, 10 fresh rodent droppings on shelving where fajita wood boards are stored and 7 fresh rodent droppings in rolled utensils in bar area. **Warning**
Rodent rub marks present along walls/ceilings. Near hole with soda lines by walkin cooler **Warning**

It initially looked good to reopen during the callback inspection on the 22nd with only a few violations, but then:

At time of the callback on 12/22/15, no evidence of droppings, however a rodent ran through the gap of the back door at time of the callback.

They were able to reopen later the same day with only one minor violation.
It was a 3-day week for inspectors so there were fewer inspections overall.
Another place in East Boca that we like (and still like) is Taverna Kyma. Their inspection on the 21st had 22 violations including 4 marked high priority.

Cooked poultry not reaching a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds….chicken . Cooked again 167° **Corrected On-Site**
Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly….00ppm. Changed sanitize bucket . **Corrected On-Site**
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit…cooked spinach , roasted pepper 53° in reach in drawer below grill in cook line less than an hour. Removed food to another acceptable cooler . **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation**
Raw animal food not properly separated from ready-to-eat food….raw tilapia top of chicken contacting each other in reach in cooler in kitchen. **Corrected On-Site**

Taverna Kyma has had some other not-great inspections in the past, including problems with food temperatures and storage. Their last inspection in June was perfect. But the April one had 15 violations, and the one before that in August of 2014 had 17 violations. We’d like to see them do better on inspections but otherwise it is a great place to eat.
The other noticeably bad inspection was for Chaiyo Thai Bistro on Military Trail in Delray Beach, with 26 violations including 5 marked high priority involving hand washing, food temperatures and food storage.
On the good news side of things, there were no perfect inspections. Subway in Lakeside Centre (Glades near Boca Rio) had 4 minor violations, which is about the best of it.
Other notables this week include:

China Buffet & Grill on Hillsboro in Deerfield Beach, with 19 violations including 4 high priority
Mario’s Osteria at 1400 Glades Road (13 violations, 3 high priority)
Brewzzi at 2222 Glades (9, 2)
J Alexander at 1400 Glades (7, 2)
Mama’s Pizza & Pasta at Kimberly and Hampton, with 6 violations including 1 high priority on a callback from last week’s 12 violations.

Our spreadsheet for this week is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/allinsp12-27-15.pdf”]

Delray: Rodent Droppings at Brooklyn Water Bagel

Dozens of rodent droppings were found in various places at the Military Trail location of Brooklyn Water Bagel in Delray Beach. Overall they were hit with 36 total violations last week, including 10 marked high priority. The worst of the bunch was not just the number of rodent droppings found (well over 100) but the locations of them:

Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Approximately 10 fresh rodent droppings in a food storage container with open bag of powder sugar, 2 fresh and 3 dry rodent droppings under food storage shelf in kitchen by 3 compartment sink, 2 dry in tea carton, 1 fresh on top of mustard container, 1 dry in powder sugar cup on kitchen shelf, approximately 30 fresh and 10 dry droppings on top soda syrup boxes, in kitchen, approx 100 dry droppings in muffing pan on wire shelf in dishwashing area, approx. 30 dry and 20 fresh droppings on floor in dish wash area, 2 fresh on top of cinnamon container in rear prep area, 15 fresh/moist and 20 dry droppings under prep sink in rear prep area, 15 dry in corner on the floor by the kitchen door to the hallway, approx. 2 fresh and 10 dry droppings under reach in cooler and microwaves on sandwich station, 2 and 3 dry droppings in dough prep area on top of chocolate chip bag, 3 fresh on floor in dough prep area, 3 dry on floor on frontline, approx 30 fresh and 20 dry droppings in dry storage room.

That’s a lot more than a Baker’s dozen. The other 9 high priority were:

Employee failed to wash hands beforechanging gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. Sandwich prep station. **Corrected On-Site**
Evidence of mop/cleaning wastewater dumped onto ground.
Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Rodent droppings. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized.
Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. In rear prep area near back door.
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter at room temperature in prep area at 72°f, butter was placed in to reach in cooler immediately. Smoked salmon at 48°f and ham at 50°f (both over stacked in containers in flip top cooler. Both items were placed in bottom of reach in cooler). **Corrected On-Site**
Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw salmon over egg salad in walk in cooler. **Corrected On-Site**
Spray bottle with chemical/toxic substance stored near/on/above food preparation surface or food. Blue liquid cleaner in prep area. **Corrected On-Site**
Toxic substance/chemical stored by or with food. Spray bottles with cleaner stored with and over food on shelf by dish wash area.
Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Outside by back door.

The inspection report indicates the restaurant was temporarily closed with “Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.” Normally a restaurant when a restaurant reopens we see a follow-up inspection in the data. ~~We don’t see one yet so it may still be closed.~~

Update – The company advises that they re-opened the next day and had a nearly perfect inspection, though the vacuum breaker still needs to be resolved.

Bagel Week (or maybe no-bagel week) continues as the second worst in the report was Gramercy Bagels, also in Delray (Jog Road), with 17 violations including 5 marked high priority. China Buffet on Hillsboro in Deerfield Beach was a close third with 16 violations (4 high priority).
As for the others, normally 3 violations would be a good inspection, but not for the Einstein Bagels on North Federal Highway in East Boca, which was shut down for a day due to live roaches:

Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found, Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found, 2 live roaches by front counter food storage area, 1 live by garbage can in dining room, 1 live under food / condiments display table in dining room, 1 live by broken base board in the front line food prep area, 3 live on counter next to yogurt case, 1 live on box containing register tape on the front line, 1 live under the food display case in the front line food prep area, 1 live under shelving by ovens in the food prep area, 1 live under reach in cooler on front line food prep area, 2 live under shelving in the food prep area.

They reopened the next day with a perfect inspection.
There were only 20 inspections this week, probably due to the holiday. None were in West Boca. The one good inspection went to Fit Food Fresh in East Boca, with just 2 minor violations.
Our spreadsheet for this week’s report is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/allinsp-11-30-2015.pdf”]

Worst Inspection for "Boca's Best Pizza"

Boca’s Best Pizza Bar on Palmetto Park in East Boca was temporarily closed by restaurant inspectors after 21 violations including 8 high priority. One of the “basic” violations may be the worst we’ve seen:

Basic – Dead roaches on premises. Approximately 30 dry rodent droppings inside of liquor room (former bathroom) in next door food prep room that is not on the original palms. **Warning**

And here are the 8 high priority ones:

Cooked potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours, pasta salad 51°, operator stated pasta salad prepped at 11:00 am, discarded at 4:40. Stop Sale issued. Lasagna 71°, operator stated prepped at 11:30 then kept at room temperature. Stop Sale issued. **Warning**
High Priority – Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Next door prep room without a hand wash sink. **Warning**
Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. In the kitchen and dish wash area near backdoor. **Warning**
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit, cheese 51°, pasta salad 50°, eggs 51°, cut tomatoes 50°, cooked chicken 50°, tuna salad 50°, ham 51°. Operator stated cooler flipped at 2:00 pm, iced down, 3 door True unit, front counter.Corrective Action Taken** **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**
Raw animal food stored over cooked food. Raw she’ll eggs over cooked chicken wings in walk in cooler. **Corrected On-Site** **Warning**
Roach excrement present on certified food manager card and employee training certificates on wall to the kitchen entrance. **Warning**
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Approximately 7 fresh rodent droppings in the next door food prep room under the dry food storage shelve and 2 fresh under the food prep table in the same food prep room. **Warning**
Sewage / waste water on ground of establishment outside by the backdoor and coming out of the drain pipe near the backdoor running into the soil,rocks in the back alley. **Warning**

There were several problems with “Tastee Express” food trucks with emergency orders recommended on two of them.
Meza Mediterranean (Yamato near the train station) had 20 violations including 5 high priority.
On the bright side of our weekly report, the Tutti Frutti frozen yogurt place in Shadowood had a perfect inspection. Near perfect inspections included Chipotle on Palmetto near Powerline and Packy’s in Logger’s Run Plaza.
Other notables in this week’s report include:
Rise, a popular sushi place on SW 18th, and Orient House Express across the street, each had 16 violations including 3 high priority.
Hong Kong Palace on Powerline had 14 violations including 2 high priority on a call back inspection.
12 violations each for Four Seasons Restaurant on Glades, Bruce’s of Great Neck on 441, and Gramercy Bagels on Jog in Delray.
On Beracasa Way, Nino’s had 10 violations and Pei Wei had 9. Zingers had only 2 violations on a complaint inspection.
Rafina on SW 18th had 4 violations, all minor. Ciluffo’s, nearby, had only 1 minor violation but somehow managed to get a warning. We’re guessing that’s just paperwork.
Our full spreadsheet for the week is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/allinsp-8-16-2015.pdf”]

Roaches, Rodents and Mold on an Epiphany? Restaurant Inspections for East Boca

Update: Villagio in Mizner Park was temporarily closed on May 20th due to roaches, and there was also a stop sale due to raw beef being left out all night. They had a total of 23 violations.

High Priority – Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 10 inside a broken oven that is not in use on the cook’s line.
Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. Piece of raw beef left at room temperature all night.

Stir Crazy at Town Center has had a string of rough inspections over the last several months. The worst of it, recently, was on April 27th when they were closed by inspectors for the day due to both roaches and rodents.

Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 10 live roaches by the walkin cooler, 3 live roaches by dry storage shelving, 10 live roaches by the dish machine, 16 live roaches by the cookline area, 1 live roach at the employee restroom and 2 live roaches by the mop sink.
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 15 dry rodent droppings in upstairs storage room.

The restaurant appears to struggling with inspections. We count six inspections since February with four requiring follow-ups. Four of those inspections happened in the last three weeks. Their first inspection in February found dead roaches and as we reported in August, they had problems with rodents on an inspection in July.
Usually when we see a place have a bad inspection they respond with near-perfect inspections for at least a little while. Stir Crazy seems to be having trouble getting things right. The April 27th inspection found 17 violations and only couple weeks later they had 16 violations.
While that was probably the worst inspection in this report, it is not the worst number. Yakitori Sake House in Royal Palm Plaza “wins” that prize with a total of 40 violations including 8 marked “high priority,” some of which are a bit unnerving:

Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. 0 ppm chlorine, corrected to 100 ppm chlorine. **Corrected On-Site**
Employee handled soiled dishes or utensils and then handled clean dishes or utensils without washing hands. **Corrected On-Site**
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 from handling dirty equipment to handling clean plates without washing hands first.
Employee washed hands with no soap. **Corrected On-Site**
Food stored in ice used for drinks. Water bottle and apple at bar.
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Sushi rice at 109° F in sushi bar area under no temperature control. Rice time marked. Assisted operator in completing application for time as a public health control. **Corrective Action Taken**
Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw shrimp over prepped veggies at walkin cooler. Raw fish over cream cheese and krab at sushi bar cooler. **Corrected On-Site**
Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature in reach-in freezer – all products not commercially packaged. Raw chicken next to and touching raw beef at Whirlpol cooler. Raw chicken over raw shrimp at Whirlpol cooler.**Corrected On-Site**

Yakitori Sake House did follow up with a near-perfect inspection a week later.
Second worst in total number was Chick N Chop on Federal Highway with 31 violations including the most interesting one we’ve ever seen:

Food with mold-like growth. See stop sale. Observed a gray mold growing on an epiphany in a case of eggplant in the rear prep area. **Warning**

We’re not sure how an epiphany would get into a case of eggplant, what it would look like, or how mold would grow on it. But we don’t think we’d want to eat that.

Another bad one goes to Nino’s of Boca II on NE 5th Ave (east of Federal Highway north of Glades). They had 13 violations and some kind of emergency order recommended. They’ve had some bad inspections as we mentioned in March, and October. This may have been the final straw because it looks like the restaurant has closed. Their website is gone and their phone number is disconnected. Because they’re closed we can’t find the latest inspection report, though it was covered by BizJournals.com:

ordered to close temporarily for a fourth time this year on March 16 for rodent problems, when inspectors found rodent droppings near cooking equipment in the kitchen

Now for the real winners:
Several places had perfect inspections, including the Cinemark theater, Strikes bowling, PF Chang’s, Estia Greek Taverna, Amitie Cafe, Lion & Eagle Pub, Funky Buddha Lounge, Skyview Cafe, Little Caesars, and several places within the Boca Raton Resort.
Other notables with good numbers include Shake Shack on Glades and Sushi Ray in Town Center Circle with just two violations each. Morton’s of Chicago in Town Center Circle had only three minor violations.
Others with 10 or more violations were:
Federal Highway:
Renzo’s Cafe Pizzeria, Sushi of Boca Raton, Taverna Kyma (including a stop sale due to temperature problems), Sinful Sandwich, Piezano’s Pizza & Pasta, Sonny’s Gelato CAfe, adn Sakura Thai & Japanese.
Mizner Park & Royal Palm Plaza:
Dubliner, Sapphire Indian, Casimir Bistro, Lemongrass
Other:
Dean Anthony’s Express Pizza (Yamato), Cheescake Factory, DaVinci’s of Boca (Town Center), Boca’s Best Pizza Bar, and Bogart’s Bar & Grille
As usual, our full spreadsheet is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/eastboca-5-2015.pdf”]

Ichi Not Yummy: East Boca Restaurant Inspections

Estia, the restaurant shown in the Facebook post for this article, had a perfect inspection. See below.

Ichiyami Buffet & Sushi had the worst inspection in East Boca in the last few weeks, and one of the worst we’ve ever seen. The inspector on October 27th found 49 total violations – including 14 marked high-priority – and temporarily closed the place.
The worst of it? Both roach and rodent activity was found:

Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Approximately 20 live roaches near walk-in cooler area by open containers of flour and chest freezer.
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. 10 dry and 2 fresh rodent droppings by chest freezer near walk-in cooler and 15 dry and 2 fresh rodent droppings in dry storage room.

But we found something that bothered us even more than that:

Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. All sushi rolls between 63 and 74° F in buffet sushi area. All sushi rolls are made with time marked rice from 11:30 AM. Sushi rolls were not discarded after the 4 hour limit. Sushi rolls were on display even after 4 hours. Also observed sushi rolls that were being discarded having fish removed for later use. This was then corrected by throwing the fish away. See stop sale issued. Observed tempura fried cucumber at 85° F at sushi bar under no temperature control. Raw beef and raw chicken by cooking station in buffet area at 49° F. … Observed employee attempting to save the fish and throwing the rice away on sushimi that should have been discarded.

They reopened the next day and the inspection showed only one violation, but we will not be visiting ~~for a while~~ ever. Ichiyami is on SE Mizner Blvd, south of Palmetto Park Road on the north side of Royal Palm Place. To be fair, their past inspections were much better.
Close by in both location and number of violations, Altanour Meditteranean had 43 violations including 5 high priority in early November. Two of those were picky, having the wrong kind of Raid insect spray in the wrong place, but there were also significant food temperature and storage issues.
Ordinarily 30 violations would “win” our inspection report, but TooJay’s on NW 19th near Town Center only managed third place. Six of the violations were marked high priority, and four involved hand washing. The inspection was this past Friday and was triggered by a consumer complaint.
The Olive Tree on Federal Highway had 26 violations with “small flying insects in the dish washing area” the worst of it. And somehow this is considered high priority:

First aid supplies improperly stored. By tea bags.

Back in Royal Palm Place, Giovanni’s Pizza had 26 violations including food temperature and storage, and mold found on a couple of vegetables.
In Mizner Park, Ruth’s Chris Steak House had 25 violations, with 6 high priority including dry rodent droppings found as well as small flying insects.
The last of those over 20, Taco Prince on Federal Highway had 23 violations, with a couple involving hand washing and food storage.
With “only” 13 violations, Ruby Tuesday’s in Mizner Park made bigger news. They were shut down for a day because:

Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Approximately 1 live by prep table, 2 live by warmer, 1 live by prep line, 1 live under prep table at cookline, 2 live by fryers, 1 live above fryers, 1 live at DELFIELD freezer, 5 live by ice cream freezer, 5 live by soda box storage, 1 live by fire extinguisher near cookline, 1 live by kitchen entry doors, 1 live by dishwasher, 1 live on dish table, 3 live under 3 compartment sink, 11 live on dish racks near dishwashing area, 1 live in clean utensil storage container in dishwashing area, 15 live on shelving unit in dishwashing area, 6 live on dry storage shelving, 1 live on rear prep table, 1 live by handwash sink in dishwashing area, 2 live on cookline cold holding drawer.

Our math isn’t great but that seems like a lot of roaches. They reopened the next day with zero violations.

Estia was perfect - Zero violations — Estia was perfect – Zero violations

Turning to the good news, the best of this report was Estia Greek Taverna with a perfect inspection – no violations. They also did well in our May inspection report with only two minor violations then. We’ve been to Estia a couple of times and it’s a nice place with good food, though it’s an awkward location inside Royal Palm Place.
Two licensing inspections were also perfect: The Sinful Sandwich on Federal north of Yamato, and the Subway in Palmetto Park Square (just east of I-95).
Honorable mentions go to Morton’s in Town Center Circle and Souvlaki Fresh on NE 2nd, both with 2 minor violations. Other notables include Seasons 52 (4 violations) and nearby Madison’s (9); Grand Lux Cafe (5); and LaSpada’s Hoagies (8).
Yard House in Mizner Park had 11 violations including one that makes us like them more:

Pet dog permitted in outdoor dining area without local ordinance allowing pet dogs in outdoor dining areas. No permit observed. Doggie bowls present.

A local ordinance is required to allow pet dogs in outdoor dining areas? And the city of Boca Raton doesn’t have such an ordinance? It’s a dumb requirement and also dumb that the city hasn’t dealt with this.
Our spreadsheet for this report is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/eastboca-november-16.xls”]