This is one of the worst group of inspections we’ve seen in a long time. 3 restaurants were closed by inspectors. 12 restaurants had 20 or more violations. Two had 10 or more high priority violations.
And there’s some good news, mostly at Town Center Mall.
It’s a bad report overall so we’ll start with some good news. Several places in Town Center Mall did really well. Maoz Vegetarian in the food court was perfect with zero violations. Chick-Fil-A and Charley’s Philly Steaks had one minor violation each.
Boston Market, Haagen Dazs, 40 Carrots and Macy’s Taste Bar all had 2 violations each. Shen’s Peking in West Boca (Glades at Lyons) also had only 2 violations.
Basilic Vietnamese Grill on Federal Highway has appeared multiple times in our reports with big numbers and this time they got the top spot. Previous appearances include 40 violations in 2017, 24 violations in 2018, and 21 violations also in 2018.
This time it’s 45 violations with 11 marked high priority including food temperature issues, dish machine not sanitizing, hand washing, and food storage.
They had four inspections in a period of three days and were temporarily closed by inspectors on one of them.
And we’re just getting started.
Rebel House on Palmetto had 32 violations, with 9 high priority and two follow-up inspections in the next couple days. They got hit with a stop sale order on several items for food temperature abuse.
Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter 77F at cookline under no temperature control. Food left outside overnight. Not maintaining 41F or below for longer than 4 hours. Raw chicken 45F, coooked wings 45F, cheese 45F, and cooked Brussels sprouts 45F at cold holding drawers in front of fryers at cookline. Food held in cooler overnight. Food not maintaining 41F or below for longer than 4 hours,. Accumulation of water observed inside cooler. Chicken 45-50F at Metalfrio cooler at cookline. Food held in cooler overnight. Food not maintaining 41F or below for longer than 4 hours,. Walk-in cooler closest to cookline – rice 45F, Brussels sprouts 46F, cheese 46F, tomatoes 46F, vegan steak 46F, tomato mix 46F, Roman broth 46F, piquillo sauce 45F, fries 45F. Food not maintaining 41F or below for longer than 4 hours.
In West Boca next to Home Depot, Dominic’s was hit with 29 violations, 5 of them high priority. We’ve never seen anything like this one before:
Food contaminated by employees/consumers and operator continued to serve food. See stop sale. – approx 25lbs. Ground Beef placed into soiled contaminated large Hobart mixer bowl for preparation
The follow-up inspection 5 days later still had 10 violations.
Next up, Al Reef Hookah and Grill near Royal Palm Place had 28 violations, with 10 high priority. They got a temporary closure from inspectors. Here’s a doozy from that one:
Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. – more than 25 flies through kitchen and landing on equipment, prep tables and cutting board.
Another place that often appears in our reports – and we went there recently against our better judgment – is Ichiyami Buffet in Royal Palm Place. This time it’s 28 violations, 7 high priority including stop sale for food temperature abuse.
The third place that was closed was Aerojuice on Federal Highway after inspectors found about 10 live roaches.
There’s too much to cover every inspection so our spreadsheet is at the bottom for those who want to see them all. West Boca lowlights and other notables include:
- Bagelworks on Glades at Boca Rio (21 violations, 3 high priority)
- Saiko-I Sushi Lounge on SW 18th (20, 3)
- Lucky Express on Clint Moore (20, 3)
- Santo’s Buffet in Coconut Creek (16, 4)
- Puccini’s on Yamato (16, 2)
- China Cafe in Loggers Run (15, 2)
- Ramen Lab Eatery (one of our favorites) near Mizner Park (14, 5)
- Panera on Federal Highway (15, 1) and 441 in Coral Springs (14, 4)
- Jersey Mike’s Subs on Palmetto near Powerline (12, 0)
- Wendy’s in Loggers’ Run (11, 2)
- Pollo Tropical on St. Andrews (11, 2)
There is also more good news. Several places had pretty reasonable inspections including:
- Zingers Deli in Shadowood and Pei Wei in Westwinds (3 minor violations each)
- Tobu Teriyaki and Earl of Sandwich in Town Center (3 violations each)
- Steve’s Wood Fired Pizza in Boca Lyons and Pummarolla in Town Center (4 violations)
- Dominics at Boca Rio, Zinburger in Town Center, and Chipotle on Palmetto at Powerline with 5 violations each
And in the not-terrible category, Rotelli’s near Target had 9 violations, 4 high priority. Kingdom Acai in Mission Bay had 9 violations. Einstein Bagel on Palmetto had 8 violations.
Pizza Hut on 441 and Teriyaki Madness in Mission Bay each had 8 violations, all minor.
Our spreadsheet is below.
inspections-8-4-2019