5 Polk restaurants fall short of standards. But 2 had more violations and passed. See why

Five Polk County restaurants failed to meet inspection standards during the week from July 8 to 14, according to state inspection reports.

Of 39 total inspections logged during the week, 34 met standards and six had perfect initial inspections with zero violations. (An initial inspection is one that isn’t a follow-up mandated by previous violations.) There were no violations for rodents or insects.

Not all violations are the type that would make the common diner cringe.

Among the five restaurants that fell short, there were 13 total violations, five of which were clerical-type violations, such as operating with an expired license or failure to provide proof of the manager’s food certification or state-approved employee training. Those violations weigh heavy in inspections, and this week, they’re likely the only reason most of the five vendors failed to meet standards, as you’ll see below.

The Ledger typically focuses on the restaurants that fell short of standards, listing their violations in detail so readers can decide for themselves. But this week, we offer a comparison: Listed after the five that fell short are the two restaurants that tallied the most violations. Both of those restaurants met standards, an indication of just how big of a role licensing, certification and training play.

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As always, we invite you to look up inspection reports for any restaurant or food truck in Polk County in our searchable database: https://data.theledger.com/restaurant-inspections/polk.

The five that fell short and why

• K&B Top China, 28075 U.S. 27 S., Dundee: On July 8, the restaurant had just one violation, but it was high priority: Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. An administrative complaint was recommended and a follow-up required.

• Brake Burger Garage, 206 State Road 60 E., Lake Wales: On July 11, the restaurant had two violations. One was a basic violation for floors that were soiled with onion debris. The operator swept up the debris. The other was an intermediate violation for the person in charge lacking proof of food-manager certification. A warning was issued and a follow-up required.

• Winghouse Bar & Grill, 4515 S. Florida Ave., Lakeland: On July 11, the restaurant had four violations, three of them related to a malfunctioning dishwasher. One was simply for the dishwasher in disrepair (basic). One was for the dishwasher failing to mix chlorine sanitizer (high priority). The other was for the water not being at least 120 degrees (intermediate). Finally, one other intermediate violation was for failure to provide proof of state-approved employee training. A warning was issued and a follow-up required.

• Tradewinds Restaurant, 400 Gran Bahama Blvd., Davenport: On July 12, the restaurant had three violations. One was intermediate, the person in charge lacking proof of food-manager certification. And there were two basic violations: one for a box of oil stored on the floor in dry storage, another for single-service containers that weren’t stored “inverted or protected from contamination.” The operator turned the items face down. A warning was issued and a follow-up inspection required.

• Mambos, 400 Gran Bahama Blvd., Davenport: On July 12, the restaurant had three violations, including two intermediate violations. Those were for the manager lacking proof of certification, and there was no chemical test kit provided for sanitizer at the three-compartment sink or warewashing machine. One basic violation was for damaged ceiling tiles.

The most violations

The two restaurants with the most violations had 14 and 12, respectively, but still met inspection standards. (A reminder that the five restaurants that failed to meet standards had 13 violations total.) What these two restaurants lacked were violations related to licensing, certification and employee training.

For instance, the International House of Pancakes #36-117, at 3427 U.S. 98 N., Lakeland, had 14 violations, the most during the period. Those included 13 basic and one high priority. The high priority was for the dish machine failing to mix chlorine sanitizer, much like Winghouse above.

Among the 13 basic violations, the inspector noted: an accumulation of debris on the ice machine’s interior shield; debris on the exterior of the dishwasher; broken cove molding; soiled floors in dry storage, the cook line, under the dish machine and in the service station; grease on the ground near the grease receptacle; ice buildup in the walk-in freezer; a missing drain plug at the dumpster; soiled gaskets in an upright unit; an open dumpster lid; soiled shelves in a reach-in cooler on the cook line; single-serve items not stored inverted or protected from contamination; standing water in the bottom of a reach-in cooler; and an unused reach-in cooler stored on the premises.

The restaurant met standards.

The next most violations were at Beijing Family Restaurant, 3005 Cypress Gardens Road, Winter Haven. On July 8, the restaurant had 12, including two high priority, two intermediate and eight basic.

The two high-priority violations were for raw meat held in grocery bags — nonfood-grade bags — in several reach-in freezers; and a bowl of raw beef stored over cooked chicken in the walk-in cooler.

For the intermediate violations, the inspector noted cutting boards “heavily soiled with food debris” and a bag of towels stored in the hand sink in the kitchen (indicating the sink was used for something other than handwashing).

And the eight basic violations were for: cups without handles being used to dispense food in bulk containers; cardboard used to line shelves in the reach-in freezer; an employee with no hair net preparing food; bags of rice and onions and boxes of chicken stored on the floor; in-use wet-wiping cloth used under a cutting board; single-serve containers not stored inverted or protected from contamination; rust on the shelves of the walk-in cooler; and containers of rice, flour and corn starch removed from their original containers and not labeled with the common name.

The restaurant also met standards.

Perfection

Of the six food vendors that achieved the elusive perfect initial inspection with zero violations, four were food trucks.

• Sassy Sugie LLC, mobile vendor, 4210 Shadow Wood Drive, Winter Haven
• The Lake House Kitchen 8, 308 4th St. S.W., Winter Haven
• El Sazon De La Gordis, mobile vendor, 2255 U.S. 17-92 N., Haines City
• Taqueria El Campesino, mobile vendor, 302 E. Main St., Dundee
• Cabana Ice Cream LLC, 2610 Ave. G N.W., Winter Haven
• Patel Rental, mobile vendor, 3035 Thornhill Road, Winter Haven

Keep in mind as you read

Remember that in some cases, violations are noted are technical issues not directly linked to hygiene or cleanliness. Remember, too, that broken refrigerators, chipped tiles or fast work may add up to unintended mistakes.

Regardless, if you notice abuses of state standards, report them and DBPR will send inspectors. Call 850-487-1395.

The terminology

What does all that terminology in state restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: “Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over.”

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license and the establishment may reopen only after inspection shows that all high-priority violations that caused the suspension are corrected.