We were alerted by a reader that the Brendy’s in the Polo Club Shoppes was closed temporarily due to an inspection on the 26th. The inspection report includes this description:
Observed Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found, 5 roaches on the shelf and boxes by the top of the two door refrigerator, next to the ice cream cone dispenser. Approximately a hundred roach droppings on the shelf above the chest freezer where all the cookie toppings boxes are stored. Approximately 27 roaches came out of the boxes. There was also 1 roach by the electrical panel.
On the bright side there were only five violations in total, which would normally be a pretty good result. An inspection the next day found zero violations and Brendy’s reopened. The Polo Club Shoppes are on the northwest corner of Military Trail and Clint Moore:
We will be publishing the rest of our inspection reports in the next day or so.
It has been a busy season for Greensboro real estate agents as a lot of homes have been sold. The real estate market is in a very good place right now which is giving realtors a lot of customers who are eager to move into a new home – and this includes homes in the 33496 zip code. Additionally, due to how well the real estate market is doing currently, there are more and more people trying to get a career in real estate by using the online training opportunities on courses.com.au. This is always good news for the industry.
The 33496 zip code seems to be doing extremely well lately. They are located between 441 and Military Trail, north of Yamato Road to the Delray line. Neighborhoods in this area include Long Lake Estates, St. Andrews, The Oaks, Woodfield Country Club, Newport Bay Club, Boca Gardens, Broken Sound, Whisper Walk, The Polo Club, Lakeridge and Seasons of Boca Raton. Students attend Omni Military School, and Spanish River High School. Real estate agent Bonnie Shimel tells us that the market for the 33496 area as well as the rest of Boca remains strong. “We are seeing fast sale times and top prices for homes at all levels of the market.” The following homes sold in July 2014: This single family home at 6837 Queenferry Circle, St. Andrews Country Club, sold for $800,000. This ranch has 3 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms in 4429 sq. feet. Built in 1991, it has an open floor plan – and a 2 car garage. Situated on the lake, it has an in ground pool with a screened in porch. It was originally purchased for $340,000.
5184 Suffolk Drive in the Manchester section of The Polo Club sold for $397,500. The ranch has 2 bedrooms plus a den and 2.5 bathrooms in 2702 sq. feet. It has an in ground pool and a large backyard. This 2 car garage home has a new roof and marble floors.
This Mediterranean style home at 4196 Briarcliff Circle sold for $650,000. Located in Woodfield Country Club, it has 5 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms in 3977 sq. feet of living space. Built in 1998, it has a 3 car garage and stainless steel appliances.
6442 NW 31st Terrace, located in The Seasons, sold for $725,018. This one story home has 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in 2897 square feet. Built in 1989, the kitchen has granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a bombay island. This lakefront home is on the cul-de-sac and has an in ground pool. It was last purchased in 2000 for $452,500.
This beautiful two story home at 17705 Middlebrook Way sold for $1,050,000. Located in The Oaks, it was built in 2004. It has 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths and 2 half baths with over 5,600 sq. feet of living space. The house has a kitchen with top of the line appliances, a salt water pool and an outdoor kitchen. This home was purchased new in 2004 for $913,035. Wachovia Bank took it over in 2013 possibly from a foreclosure.
Built in 1989, this home at 17200 Newport Club Drive sold for $430,000. It has 4 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms in 2670 sq. feet. Located on a lake, it has a screened wrap around porch. The kitchen has cherry wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a beautiful granite island.
All defendants are innocent at this stage of the process. We have several incidents to report his week. We broke them up into two stories. This is the first. For the second please see: A Questionable Assault. Perhaps the most notable is Nick Lieske (left, 19), arrested Monday by Boca PD for “Felony Fleeing and Eluding.” As the officer described it, he saw a red motorcycle with no plate. When he attempted to pull it over the rider made a few U-turns to avoid him. On the third U-turn the bike went down and Lieske, an Olympic Heights graduate, was apprehended. He was also charged with a few traffic tickets. Lieske’s reported address is in Saddlebrook, just east of 441 and south of Boca Gardens. Valeria Urbina On the right in the top set of mugshots is Stephen D’Angelo (47), accused of marijuana possession on Monday evening. He had a prior marijuana arrest in 2010. We’ve met Mr. D’Angelo and like him. We’ve said many times in the past that the drug war is a failure and a waste of time. This is a great example. Kenneth Plevy (above left, 60) was arrested Wednesday for DUI. A business consultant, his reported address is in the Polo Club development northeast of Jog and Clint Moore. Above center is Emmanuel Padilla (27), accused of DUI on and booked Tuesday morning. He has had a couple felony cases in the court system from incidents in 2008 and 2010 involving grand theft and burglary. Back then he allegedly burglarized one of the high-end homes (8 beds, 11.5 baths, 18,000 square feet on 6 ½ acres) in the Boca Grande development behind Target. At least he went big. He wasn’t caught for that one until later when his DNA (from a subsequent arrest) matched blood found at the scene. Padilla’s reported address is in the Sandalfoot trailers. Darren Melendez (above right, 22) was arrested last night in Lake Worth. Allegedly he was speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, and nearly caused a crash before being stopped by a deputy. While being placed in custody for DUI, the deputy allegedly found cocaine and a Xanax on him. Melendez is reported to live off Dixie near Yamato. We have more cases to report but we’ll cover them in a separate story.
Four West Boca restaurants had perfect inspections in early May. Each had zero violations. The most popular of the three is probably Giovanni’s Pizza which is on the west side of Powerline just south of Boca Grove (between Glades and Palmetto Park). Domino’s Pizza, nearby in the Shops at Boca Grove, also had a perfect result. Keep in mind that it’s a little easier for a place with a limited menu and little or no seating to do well on the inspection, but nevertheless it’s a good sign. The third was Aladdin’s Eatery in Boca Village Square (on St. Andrews near Town Center). We think it’s new, and it describes itself as having a healthy Lebanese-American menu. We’re going to have to try this place. And the new House of Dog, also in Shops at Boca Grove, also scored a perfect zero on its first inspection. The new Brooklyn Water Bagel did well with only two minor violations. Mozart Cafe had a so-so inspection with 6 violations including one “high priority” having to do with “non-exempt fish,” and they will have to have a follow-up inspection. Last time we were there we were disappointed with the service, though the food was still good. Hunan City in Lakeridge (near Doris Market on Yamato between 441 and Lyons) had 7 violations with one high priority, but did not require a follow-up. As Asian restaurants go this is spectacular. Brendy’s in the same plaza had 9 violations with one high priority. We read the list and found a few that were comical. The high priority item was that they had a bottle of vitamins on the same shelf with containers of spoons and toppings. We’ll still go to Brendy’s. The second biggest number of violations in West Boca was also in that plaza, for Casa L’Italien. The inspection details a total of 18 violations. Most of them seem trivial, such as “Ice buildup in reach-in freezer.” However, there were two “high priority” violations that required a stop sale on tomato sauce – a big issue in an Italian place:
Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food found greater than 47 degrees Fahrenheit but less than 70 degrees Fahrenheit more than six hours. See stop sale. 50F container of cooked tomato sauce stored overnight in w/I cooler.
Of course if you read that closely, the sauce was only 3 degrees over the arbitrary 47ยบ limit. Ben’s Deli (Clint Moore and 441) had 8 violations with 2 “high priority” involving food not kept cold enough. One of them involved “food chicken” (is there another kind in restaurants?) that was reported as a repeat violation. The other involved short ribs and required a stop sale of that item. However, no follow-up inspection was required which seems odd. We’ve eaten at Ben’s many times and always like it. And the biggest number in West Boca belongs to Broken Sound Country Club Restaurant with 26 violations.
High Priority – No proof of parasite destruction or aquaculture documentation for cold smoked salmon served raw or undercooked. Fish must be fully cooked or discarded. **Corrected On-Site** High Priority – Potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. 45F egg salad, 47F grilled onions, 47F, 56F sliced tomatoes, 54F chopped lettuce, smoked salmon, in Buffett table. High Priority – 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. Soup 45F. Discarded by operator. **Corrected On-Site** High Priority – Self-service salad bar/buffet lacking adequate sneezeguards or other proper protection from contamination. Soup station by buffet area. **Corrected On-Site** High Priority – Toxic substance/chemical stored by or with clean or in-use utensils. Bleach container stored above lids by dishwasher shelf **Corrected On-Site** High Priority – Toxic substance/chemical stored by or with single-service items. Propane torch stored above coco powder. **Corrected On-Site**
As bad as that might look, it doesn’t really look that bad to us, and no follow-up was required. Moving outside West Boca, we saw some poor results for Max’s Grill in Mizner Park (12 violations with 3 high priority – no follow-up required) while the related Burt & Max in Delray Marketplace (11 and 3). On the bright side, Burt & Max had a follow-up inspection with zero violations. Also in Delray Marketplace, Terra Fiamma had 15 violations with 2 high priority. Seven of the fifteen items were listed as repeat violations, and there was a stop sale where the description is unclear – something to do with food temperature and hand washing. Our readers might be more concerned about the other one, a repeat violation: “Live, small flying insects in food preparation area.” One of our favorite Mexican dives in East Boca, Las Fajitas on Dixie Highway, had a high number with 15 violations. Ichiyami Buffet in Royal Palm Place had 15 violations with 4 marked high priority, though reading over the list it doesn’t look that bad. The biggest number in all of Boca for this report belongs to Pine Garden on Federal Highway, with 27 total violations including 6 marked high priority. Also on Federal Highway, Cavalieri’s was temporarily closed on May 16th after 11 violations including 4 high priority and one large finding of rodent droppings:
Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found.Rodent droppings present. 4 dry dropping underneath counter in front line, pizza station. Fresh 30 to 40 droppings underneath dish machine and 3 compartment sink. 5 fresh rodent droppings underneath stem table. Dry 15 droppings underneath shelf in kitchen area.
Inspectors came back on the 17th and found only 2 minor violations. This was reported on by WPTV as well. On the brighter side in East Boca, Estia Greek Taverna had only 2 minor violations. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Mizner Park had 4 violations with one labeled high priority, and that was corrected on site. Tucci’s Fire & Coal, just south of Mizner Park, had 4 minor violations. Seasons 52, near Town Center, had 5 violations including one marked “high priority,” but all were corrected on site. In the Polo Club Shoppes, Josef’s Table had 5 minor violations and Toojay’s had 6 violations, all also minor. Wok Out and Brendy’s had 4 minor violations each. Bangkok Thai had only 3, all minor. Mimosa and Kagura Sushi had the same numbers, 8 violations with one high priority for each. Kagura needs a follow-up inspection which we think relates to paperwork rather than any food safety issues. The Polo Club / Bistro had 7 violations with two high priority. Most were corrected on site. Barefoot Cafe had 11 violations, all minor. Terrace G / Steeplechase in the Polo Club had 12 violations with two listed as high priority.
