About 90 live flies buzzing around a dining room, cooks with no beard guards and rodent droppings “on bagel trays” were among the violations that forced the state to shut seven South Florida restaurants during the week of Aug. 4.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR . (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
BROWARD COUNTY
Quick Bite Thai & Sushi
470 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach
Ordered shut: Aug. 9
Why: 10 violations ( three high-priority ), including:
- About 10 live roaches in the restaurant’s ware wash area — “on floor in front of two-door reach-in cooler” and “on castor wheels of two-door reach-in cooler.”
- “Raw shell eggs observed stored over cooked chicken in reach-in cooler.”
- “Salmon, tuna, cucumbers and cut vegetables in direct contact with nonfood-grade paper towels.”
- One dead roach”on floor near dry storage rack in dry storage area.”
Status: Reopened Aug. 10
Smokey Bones
809 S. University Drive, Plantation
Ordered shut: Aug. 9-10
Why: Four violations ( one high-priority ), including:
- About 90 live flies landing in dining room areas such as “on hanging glasses over the service bar,” “on the hanging glass rack over the service bar” and “on the ice scoop, drink syrup bottles and clean drink glasses at the bar in the dining room.”
- Open employee beverage stored on a shelf with cooked chicken and plates in the reach-in cooler on the cook line.
Status: Reopened Aug. 12
Bagels & A Whole Lot More
10281 W. Sample Road, Coral Springs
Ordered shut: Aug. 9
Why: 10 violations ( four high-priority ), including:
- About 27 rodent droppings in areas of a storage room separate from the kitchen — “on window sill” and
“on bagel trays.” - Three dead roaches “behind entry door to office, away from kitchen,” “on floor behind ice machine in storage room” and “on floor by storage room exit door.”
- “All cooks with no beard guards.”
- “Employee pulled up clothing after washing hands and putting gloves on and continued to prep customers’ orders.”
- Temperature issues with butter, cut melon, tuna salad, cooked noodles, sausage and home fries.
Status : Reopened Aug. 9
Express Caribbean Restaurant
1401 S. State Road 7, North Lauderdale
Ordered shut: Aug. 8
Why: 15 violations ( two high-priority ), including:
- About 33 rodent droppings in areas of the kitchen such as “on floor next to the prep sink,” “on floor underneath the shelf that houses rice, flour, dried beans” and “on shelf above prep table,” as well as “on floor in storage room,” “underneath employee bathroom sink,” “on the floor at hallway leading into the kitchen,” “on the floor front counter,” “behind beverage cooler front counter” and “on the floor at the end of the bar.”
- “Bag of carrots and cabbage stored on the floor in the kitchen.”
- “Raw oxtail out at room temperature sitting in empty prep sink.”
- Temperature issues with sliced tomatoes, cut iceberg lettuce, pikliz, and cooked pork and turkey.
Status: Reopened Aug. 9
Bokamper’s Sports Bar & Grill
3115 NE 32nd Ave., Fort Lauderdale
Ordered shut: Aug. 7
Why: 28 violations ( three high-priority ), including:
- At least five live roaches around the sushi prep station, in areas such as “inside container of opened rice paper on table” (stop sale ordered), “on food prep table,” “in storage container with wrapped bamboo rollers for sushi” and “inside storage container with sauce bottles on table.”
- Two dead roaches “on food prep table behind rice cooker in back prep area near kitchen” and “on floor next to single-door, reach-in cooler in sushi prep area.”
- Temperature issues with burger meat and “frozen raw shrimp thawing in standing water at the triple sink in the prep area. “
- “Employee personal bags stored on top of cleaned utensils at food prep table in the sushi prep area.”
- Standing water on the floor in front of a two-drawer, reach-in cooler unit with cooktop grill on top at the cook line in the kitchen.
Status: Reopened Aug. 8
- A next-day inspection found six violations (one intermediate, five basic) and Bokamper’s was able to reopen.
Quarterdeck Seafood Bar & Neighborhood Grill
12310 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation
Ordered shut: Aug. 5
Why: Six violations ( four high-priority ), including:
- Six live roaches “crawling on storage rack and syrup boxes.”
- Stop sale ordered for “temperature abuse” related to chicken breast.
- “Raw shrimp (not commercially packaged) stored above sweet potato fries.”
- “Raw salmon (not commercially packaged) stored over whiskey-squared ice.”
Status: Reopened Aug. 6
PALM BEACH COUNTY
IHOP
312 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach
Ordered shut: Aug. 9
Why: Seven violations ( four high-priority ), including:
- About 50 flies “in dining room flying around/landing on walls/partitions.”
- Stop sale ordered for raw shell eggs. The reason: Three broken raw shell eggs were found in a walk-in cooler.
- Stop sale ordered for commercially processed, reduced-oxygen packaged salmon. The reason: It had “a label indicating that it is to remain frozen until time of use,” but it was no longer frozen.
- “At cook line, uncovered flavored spreads stored next to hand wash sink.”
- “At expo line, clean glasses stored under paper towel dispenser at hand wash sink.”
Status: Reopened Aug. 10
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