McDonald’s Wins: Restaurant Inspections

Two McDonald’s restaurants in West Boca had perfect inspections in our latest report. There were nearly 70 inspections and this week is full of West Boca joints. There was nothing terrible to report, but some places did better than others.

Find out who’s best and who’s worst – for paid subscribers.

McDonald’s Shadowood (left) and on Palmetto near Powerline (right)

The two McDonald’s pictured above had perfect inspections in July, with zero violations.

There were also some near-perfect inspections. Chipotle on Military Trail and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt on Palmetto near Powerline both had one violation each.

Five restaurants in West Boca had just two violations:

  • Einstein Bagels on Powerline
  • Brooklyn Water Bagel on Powerline
  • Chipotle off Palmetto near Powerline
  • Fit Foodz Cafe on Clint Moore near 441
  • Bolay in Polo Club Shoppes

Others who did pretty well with three violations were:

  • Bamboo Wok on Glades
  • Press Creamery on Clint Moore near 441
  • Tijuana Flats on Powerline
  • Manhattan Joe’s Pizzeria in Polo Club Shoppes
  • Offerdahl’s on Military Trail

On the not so good side of things, Tempura House had 12 violations with 3 marked high priority.

  • Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit….raw chicken , raw shell eggs above raw beef at walk in cooler . Operator properly stored food at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit….sweet and sour chicken 50° in a reach in cooler at kitchen. Employee stated it was out for little time that’s made temperature high. Advised operator stored food in cooler or control with time . Other food temperature 41° at same cooler. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation**
  • Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food….Raw chicken above mushrooms, raw chicken above teriyaki sauce at reach in cooler . Employee properly stored food at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site** **Repeat Violation**

In January we reported that Tempura House was temporarily closed by inspectors. They also had 20 violations in October.

Gyromania on Palmetto near Powerline had 12 violations with 5 high priority.

  • Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, food storage area and/or bar area. Observed 2 live flying insect in kitchen area landing on food contact surfaces and on some dishes. See stop sale.
  • Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit. Observed raw chicken stored above raw lamb, shrimp and beef. Operator moved chicken to lower shelf. **Corrected On-Site** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
  • Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Observed one small flying insect land on prepared salad while mid preparation. Operator discarded salad. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Time/temperature control for safety food hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above. Observed hot line standalone steam table with lentil soup, chicken soup, string bean soup, pea soup below 135°F. Per operator items prepared and placed in unit approximately 1 hour prior to observation. Operator removed all items and reheated on cook top to or above 165°F. Listed temperatures and fixed temps: lentil soup (115°F – Hot Holding)reheated to 190°F; chicken soup (98°F – Hot Holding)reheated to 170°F; string bean soup (90°F – Hot Holding)reheated to 174°F; pea soup (100°F – Hot Holding)reheated to 168°F. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Vacuum breaker missing at mop sink faucet or on fitting/splitter added to mop sink faucet. Observed mop sink with a splitter, no backflow preventer on open hose line.

Mozart Cafe, Powerline at Camino Real, had 11 violations, 4 high priority. Cheesecake Factory at Town Center had 10 violations, 1 high priority.

La Luna, in Polo Club Shoppes, had 9 violations, 7 of them high priority.

  • Employee touched bare body part and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands….touching mask and then engaged slicing cheese . Discussed with manager. **Corrected On-Site**
  • 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….slicing cheese with bare hands . Stop sale issue . Employee discarded food at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Nonexempt fish offered raw or undercooked has not undergone proper parasite destruction. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded.
  • Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit….raw chicken above raw veal at reach in cooler . Employee properly stored food at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition…. 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….slicing cheese with bare hands .
  • Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse…. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit….cooked chicken 48°, eggplant 48° , raw sausages 47°, raw veal 47°, raw chicken 46°, raw sea food 48° in walk in cooler , cut tomatoes 47° in reach in cooler by the corner at kitchen,food being held more than four hours. **Repeat Violation**
  • Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit….cooked chicken 48°, eggplant 48° , raw sausages 47°, raw veal 47°, raw chicken 46°, raw sea food 48° in walk in cooler , cut tomatoes 47° in reach in cooler by the corner at kitchen,food being held more than four hours. Stop sale issue (except raw food .) employee discarded food at time of inspection…….creamy dressing 48°, balsamic dressing 49°, feta cheese, Caesar dressing 49° in flip top salad reach in cooler….blanched broccoli 56°, pasta 58° , pasta 55° in ice at cook line . Per operator food being held less than four hours hours. Employee time marked on food. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation**

Ben’s Kosher Deli on 441 at Clint Moore also had 9 violations, 4 of them high priority:

  • Shell eggs held at room temperature with an ambient air temperature greater than 45 degrees Fahrenheit at cook line being held less than four hours hours. Employee moved it to reach in cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse…. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit…. garlic in butter 71° at kitchen being held more than four hours. **Repeat Violation**
  • Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit….coleslaw 50°, potatoes salad 51°, hot dog 48°, corn beef 45° in a flip top reach in cooler next to steamer at front line. Per employee food being held less than four hours. Employee moved food to acceptable cooler at time of inspection. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Time/temperature control for safety food hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above…. for hot serving meat loaf 133°, potato cake 87°, French fries stored in room temperature at kitchen. Per employee food being held less than four hours . Time marked on food. **Corrective Action Taken**

It’s All Greek in the same plaza also had 9 violations, 4 high priority:

  • Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food….raw lamb above falafel in reach in cooler. Manager properly stored food at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse….. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit…. butter 75°, gyro fat 81° on prep table at prep station being held more than four hours.
  • Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit…. butter 75°, gyro fat 81° on prep table at prep station being held more than four hours. Stop sale issue . Operator discarded food at time of inspection. open can grape leaves 61° by the handwashing sink at front line being and garlic in 61° at prep station held less than four hours. Employee moved it to reach in cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Toxic substance/chemical stored by or with food….windex spray bottle stored with salt , oil , vinaigrette by the coffee machine at front. Employee moved it at time of inspection. **Corrected On-Site**

Three places had 8 violations – Bangkok Thai in Polo Club Shoppes, Kee Grill on Military Trail, and Brendy’s at Yamato and Lake Ridge.

There were several others in the middle with 5-7 violations:

  • Lucille’s BBQ at Yamato and Jog (7)
  • Rice & Spice Thai Bistro in the same plaza (7)
  • Flash Fire in the same plaza (5)
  • Chez Marie in Polo Club Shoppes (7)
  • Brendy’s in Polo Club Shoppes (6)
  • Habit Burger on Military Trail (6)
  • Bento Asian Kitchen in the same plaza (6)
  • Jersey Mike’s Subs on Palmetto (5)
  • Fire House Subs on Beracasa (5)
  • La Ferme on Yamato at Lake Ridge (5)

Our full spreadsheet is below.

inspections-7-26-2020

Author: Warren Redlich

Warren Redlich is a real estate agent and an attorney. He focuses on selling homes in West Boca Raton. Call or text Warren at 561-536-3645. Warren is also a tech YouTuber covering Tesla, SpaceX and more. His YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/c/WarrenRedlich/ and he sells Elon Musk related t-shirts and other merchadise at https://ElonBits.com. Warren also publishes videos about politics at https://warrenredlich.locals.com/