Tag: inspection

25 Violations at Las Fajitas: Over 80 inspections in this report

Las Fajitas on Dixie Highway. Image by Google

Las Fajitas, a Mexican restaurant on Dixie Highway, had the worst numbers in our latest restaurant inspection report. Inspectors noted 25 total violations including 7 marked high priority:

  • All potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods in walk-in cooler cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed ambient temperature of walking cooler 47°. Food products were temping between 47° to 62°, Raw steak 47°, raw chicken 49°, boiled tomato sauces 49°, cut lettuce 62°. See stop sale for tomatoes sauce and cut lettuce.
  • Cooked potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit within 2 hours. Observed:Cooling cooked tomatoes: 1:15pm temperature range of 105-121 second temperature at 2:45pm temperature range if 99°-107°. At this rate tomatoes are not going to reach 70° within two hours. After reviewing with chef he is moving tomatoes to walk in cooler to speed up cooling process. Tomatoes are stored in walkin cooler in flat sheet with no cover.
  • Raw animal food stored over cooked food. Observed raw chicken in reach in freezer next to ready to eat cooked tomatoes. Tomatoes were just in a tray with no cover or protection.
  • Raw fish cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed raw fish at 49° in flip top cooler in front of the stove. Chef put ice bag over fish. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Raw meat/poultry cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. observed temperature in flip top cooler had an ambient temperature of 50°. Raw steak 47°, raw fish 50°, and raw chicken 46° After reviewing with chef ice bags were place on top of food **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. Observed food in walking cooler with temperatures between 47°-62°. Stored Items had over 24 hours out of temperature. Stop sale for shredded lettuce 49°, cut tomatoes 49°cut lettuce62° sauces base on boiled tomatoes 47°.
  • Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Observed spray battle stored in hand wash sink.

Follow-up inspections each of the next two days showed that nearly all of the problems had been resolved. We should note that Las Fajitas has been one of our favorite Mexican places and one inspection like this will not stop us from going there.
Three places in Town Center each had more than 10 violations. DaVinci’s was second on the list with 16 violations including 5 high priority. California Pizza Kitchen had 14 violations with 7 marked high priority. And Blue Martini had 12 violations, 3 high priority.
On the positive side of things, Lucille’s BBQ in Delray Marketplace had a perfect inspection with zero violations.

We also see a licensing inspection for Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream in the Woodfield plaza at Yamato and Jog.

Some other good inspections include Corner Bakery Cafe (2 minor violations) and La Spada’s Hoagies (3 minor violations), both just east of Town Center. Miller’s Ale House in Boca Lyons Plaza did pretty good with 4 violations, 2 high priority.
For all the inspections, see our spreadsheet, below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/allinsp-6-23-2017.pdf”]

Steak N' Shake Closed for Leak in Coral Springs: Restaurant Inspections


Our latest inspection report is one of the better ones we’ve seen, with no restaurant getting more than 15 violations and no more than 7 marked high priority. While its numbers weren’t that bad, Steak N’ Shake in Coral Springs was temporarily closed on June 7th, apparently due to a roof leak that got into the food. They will need someone like Ace Roofing Texas – Commercial Roofing to come and fix the leak as soon as possible in order to start trading again. Roof leaks can be dangerous, so it’s vital that this restaurant does all they can to prevent this from happening again. Hopefully, they will get the roof repaired and maintained soon, ensuring that it’s all secure. It’s likely that roofers will probably use some roof and gutter silicone to fill in any gaps that may be in the roof. This should prevent any more leaks from happening, keeping the restaurant safe, and they should be able to open again soon. If you have any leaks or other issues with your room, whether it’s a residential or commercial building, you can click here to find more info about getting it fixed. The sooner the problem is solved, the less damage it will cause.

Stop Sale issued due to adulteration of food product. Observed water leaking from ceiling light in walk in cooler, tray with packaged turkey slices, under leaking light, is sitting in accumulation of water in pan, operator stated that he is not sure if it’s from the leaking light. Operator instructed to discard turkey, about 3lbs.

Inspectors noted a total of 11 violations with one other “high priority” violation involving live small flying insects. The restaurant was cleared two days later in a follow-up inspection with zero violations.
Closer to West Boca, Bru’s Room on Hillsboro in Coconut Creek had the most high priority violations with 7:

  • Cooked meat/poultry cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed cooked chicken in walk in cooler between 44-47°F, as per operator, chicken has been cooling from yesterday. Observed cooked ribs in walk in cooler between 45°-47°F , as per operator, ribs has been cooling from Tuesday. See stop sale.
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Cooked pasta at 50°F in reach in cooler from yesterday . See stop sale.
  • 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. Observed cooked chicken in walk in cooler between 44-47°F, as per operator, chicken has been cooling from yesterday. Observed cooked ribs in walk in cooler between 45°-47°F , as per operator, ribs has been cooling from Tuesday.
  • Raw meat/poultry cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw chicken in reach in cooler from yesterday at 51°F. Raw fish in reach in cooler from yesterday at 52°F . See stop sale.
  • Spray bottle with chemical/toxic substance stored near/on/above food preparation surface or food. Sanitizer found in bar next to bottles with alcohol. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. Observed cooked chicken in walk in cooler between 44-47°F, as per operator, chicken has been cooling from yesterday. Observed cooked ribs in walk in cooler between 45°-47°F , as per operator, ribs has been cooling from Tuesday. Raw chicken in reach in cooler from yesterday at 51°F. Raw fish in reach in cooler from yesterday at 52°F . Cooked pasta at 50°F in reach in cooler from yesterday
  • Vacuum breaker missing at mop sink faucet or on fitting/splitter added to mop sink faucet. **Repeat Violation**

The Chipotle near Palmetto and Powerline had 7 violations, 5 high priority, mostly related to food temperatures (lettuce, sour cream and shredded cheese) with a stop sale.

Bar Louie in the Promenade center, Coconut Creek, had the biggest numbers with 15 total violations, 4 of them high priority. Duffy’s on Hillsboro also had 15 violations, 2 high priority.
We also noticed one interesting licensing inspection.
Bahama Grill will be opening on 441 in Parkland in the space formerly occupied by The Whale. We reached out to them but were not able to get a target opening date yet. Their inspection had 5 violations with 1 high priority.
Other notables include:
Fah Asian Bistro on Federal Highway (14 violations, 6 high priority)
Nick’s New Haven Style Pizza near Town Center (14, 4)
El Jefe Luchador in Town Center (13, 4)
Cooper’s Hawk in Promenade (11, 4)
Blue Agave on 441 in Parkland (11, 0)
Original Pancake House on Glades (7, 4)
Tilted Kilt near the Boca Airport (7, 3)
Panera in Town Center Circle, Military Trail south of Glades (7, 1)
Seasons 52 near Town Center (6, 4)
Sybarite Pig, Shadowood (6, 1)
Pinon Grill in Town Center (3, 0)
Tossed in Town Center (3, 0)
Sapphire Indian in Royal Palm (2, 0)
Five Guys Burgers near Town Center (2, 0)
As usual, our spreadsheet is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/allinsp-6-11-2017.pdf”]

Fresh Rodent Droppings and 35 Violations Close Sapphire

Four Asian restaurants in East Boca “top” our list for this report: Sapphire, Kanpai, Nori and Lemongrass.

Sapphire Restaurant in Royal Palm Place; image by Google.

It’s tough when we see a bad inspection for a place we like. Sapphire is our favorite Indian restaurant in Boca – and yes it still is even after this.
On May 18th Sapphire was hit with 35 violations (5 high priority) and a temporary closure. The worst of it was this:

Rodent activity present as evidenced by approximately 50 plus fresh rodent droppings under dry storage shelf. 30+ fresh rodent droppings under shelf next to walk in cooler 15 fresh rodent droppings under shelf contains bag in the box sodas 25+ fresh rodent droppings under fryer and grill at cook line 10+ fresh rodent droppings under prep table at cook line . No door between dry storage and kitchen.

They were able to reopen the next day with a total of 8 violations, none high priority.
Others with over 20 violations include:

  • Kanpai at Palmetto Park and Federal Highway (29 violations, 7 high priority)
  • Nori on East Palmetto Park (28 violations, 10 high priority)
  • Lemongrass, just south of Mizner Park (22, 7)

Good News
On the good news side of things, there were some perfect inspections with zero violations. Most notable were Lucille’s BBQ in Delray Marketplace and Chick N Chop in the Kmart plaza on Palmetto Park Road.

Also perfect: Rocksteady Jamaican on Federal Highway, the Marriott at Boca Center, and a perfect licensing inspection for Paladium Sports Bar on Sample in Margate.
Cafe 5150 and The Mirage at the Marriott were both near perfect with just one violation each. Other notable good inspections were as noted below.

  • Steak N’ Shake on 441 in Coral Springs: 1 minor violation
  • Sicilian Oven off St. Andrews near Town Center: 2 violations
  • Apura on Powerline near Olive Garden: 3 minor violations
  • Shake Shack on Glades near FAU: 3 minor violations
  • Sybarite Pig: 4 violations


Last but maybe not least, there appears to be a new restaurant replacing the short-lived West Boca location of Hot Dog Opolis. “Hummus Culture” had a licensing inspection on May 17th with 3 violations. We’re not sure if they’re open yet. We were in the plaza Friday and didn’t notice it. Regardless we hope to try it soon and wish them luck.
As usual our spreadsheet is below.
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/allinsp5-28-2017.pdf”]

Terrible Inspections in Delray Marketplace … Again

Japango and Bella Amici in Delray Marketplace; image by Google

This is one of the worst inspection reports we’ve done in a while and 6 of the worst 12 are located in Delray Marketplace, including the top 2.
It starts with Japango – 39 violations including 8 marked high priority:

  • Dented/rusted cans present. See stop sale. SUN TORI Baby corn, DOLE pineapple , HUNSTY. Bamboo shoots
  • 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. Chlorine at 0ppm.
  • Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Sushi cooler not maintains 41°F. fish eggs (59-62°F); ; cream cheese (63°-67°°F), cooked asparagus (63°°F), Krab (46°-57°°F ). Moved food to a working reach in cooler to attain 41°F. **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Raw animal food stored over cooked food. Raw fish stored over cooked duck in the walk-in freezer.
  • Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw chicken stored over ready to eat sauces, and washed vegetables.
  • 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 stored over raw beef.
  • Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb.
  • Wiping cloth sanitizer solution exceeds the maximum concentration allowed. Sushi chlorine sanitizer bucket at sushi counter at 300ppm.

We ate not that long ago at Japango Delray. I had the sashimi lunch. It was the worst quality sashimi I can remember having in my life. But – classic Boca – you get a lot of it for the money.
The second biggest number in the report goes to the nearby Bella Amici Pizzeria, with 36 violations, 7 high priority.

  • Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. license renewed during inspection. Verified with district office that the license was renewed. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. Approximately 5-7 flies in the kitchen.
  • Nonfood-grade lubricant in use on a meat slicer.
  • Pesticide/insecticide labeled for household use only present in establishment. Observed a can of flying insect under a counter in the dining room. Mgr discarded the can. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw shelled eggs stored over cooked broccoli and cooked eggplant in MASTERBILT reach in cooler. Raw chicken fingers stored over ready to eat pastry mix in walk in freezer. Raw fish stored over cooked meatballs in walk in freezer. All food were properly stored. Was warned on the last 2 inspections. **Corrected On-Site** **Repeat Violation**
  • Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature in reach-in cooler. Raw egg wash stored over raw calamari in reach in cooler by hand wash sink. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Spray bottle with unknown chemical/toxic substance stored near/on/above food preparation surface or food. Pink chemical in spray bottle on prep table. Unknown chemical in spray bottle on server prep area. Operator labeled all bottles. **Corrected On-Site**

Other big numbers at Delray Marketplace include:

Cabo Flats (28 violations, 5 high priority)
Apeiro (25, 4)
Shula Burger (24, 7)
Cinebowl & Grille (19, 2)

Stepping away from Delray Marketplace, Way Beyond Bagels on Jog in Delray was temporarily closed by inspectors. You can read the details in our Facebook post.
Also on Jog Road in Delray, Henry’s had 24 violations with 6 high priority and Rotelli’s had 24 violations, 4 high priority.
Rebel House (we were just there!) in East Boca had 19 violations, 4 high priority.
Turning to better news …

We see a perfect licensing inspection (no violations) for “Di Pizza” on 441 in Parkland, just south of the county line and Lox Road. It may be replacing a place that was called Venetian.
TW’s Lounge on the west side of 441 near SW 18th had a perfect routine inspection.
City Boys Pizza on Sandalfoot, just east of 441, had a near perfect inspection with just one minor violation.
Of course you can see all the inspections in our pdf, below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/allinsp-5-14-2017.pdf”]

Dukes's Hazards – Restaurant Inspection Report

It’s a close call for worst inspection in this report but the best known of the choices is Tucker Dukes Lunchbox on Powerline in Deerfield Beach. Their late April inspection showed 27 total violations including 7 high priority, live flying insects, and a stop sale order.

  • All potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods in walk-in cooler cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Pork (44°F – Cold Holding); turkey (44°F – Cold Holding); chicken (45°F – Cold Holding); pasta (49°°F – Cold Holding) ground beef 45°, cooked rice 49° Operator had told to place ice on the above items. See stop sale on pasta **Corrective Action Taken**
  • Employee failed to wash hands before changing gloves and/or putting on gloves to work with food. Chef touching raw chicken, raw ground beef and raw fish, change his gloves but failed to wash his hands, then pursue to portioned cheese unto sandwich buns. Chef was told to wash his hands. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, or food storage area. **Repeat Violation**
  • 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. Observed cooked rice and pasta in walk in cooler at 49° ; as per operator, both items were cooked from yesterday. See stop sale.
  • Raw animal food stored over cooked food. Observed raw ground turkey stored over cook ham and cut onions in walk in cooler, operator removed and stored properly. **Corrected On-Site**
  • Stop Sale issued on potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food due to temperature abuse. 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. Observed cooked rice and pasta in walk in cooler at 49° ; as per operator, both items were cooked from yesterday.
  • Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb. Outside at exit door.

Ironically the Tucker Dukes food truck at the same address had a nearly perfect inspection with only one minor violation.
Two Chinese restaurants also were in the running for bad news. Panda Gourmet on Jog in Delray had 26 total violations, 6 of them high priority including both a live roach and 40 dried rodent droppings. Their follow-up inspection two days later was much better.
Chinatown on Wiles in Parkland had 25 violations, 8 high priority. Their list included multiple dented cans (stop sale), live flying insects, dead worms and a live lizard.
The worst of West Boca was the TooJay’s near Town Center with 20 violations. 5 of them were high priority including 3 separate handwashing errors and this week’s most common problem – live flying insects.
Tempura House on Clint Moore did somewhat better but not great with 14 violations, 3 high priority including a stop sale that looks like a temperature issue with some ribs.
Other notables in this report include:

  • El Mariachi in Coral Springs (19 violations, 7 high priority)
  • Japango on 441 in Parkland (15, 3)
  • Ruvens on Jog in Delray (13, 1)
  • Shinju Buffet (7, 3)

Good News

On the good side of things, Sushi Jessie on Federal Highway had a perfect inspection. Their previous inspection was also very good. We may have to try this place.
The 16 Handles yogurt place on Glades near FAU also had a perfect inspection. Cups Frozen Yogurt in Town Center was near perfect with one minor violation.
Other near-perfect inspections were reported for Funky Buddha Lounge, Fresh Kitchen and Papa Johns on Federal Highway, Earl of Sandwich in Town Center’s food court, and Lemongrass Hotpot at Boca Grove.
Jimmy the Greek on Glades did well with just 2 violations. Bonefish Grill at Boca Grove had 3. Houston’s had a respectable 4.
Our spreadsheet for this report:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/allinsp-4-30-17.pdf”]