8 Leon County restaurants get perfect scores; 7 fail inspection

Staff reports

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our Leon County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Leon County, Florida, for the week of March 4-10, 2024. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our Leon County restaurant inspection site.

Which Leon County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?

These restaurants met all standards during their March 4-10 inspections and no violations were found.

** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week

Which Leon County restaurants had high priority violations?

El Cocinero

1303 Thomasville Rd, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on March 8

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

8 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed rice 46F held in reach in cooler at kitchen area. Per manager held since 03-07-24. See stop sale.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed multiple food items held over 41F in the following locations: Reach in Cooler at Kitchen Area: rice 46F at 11:30. Per manager held since 03-07-24. See stop sale. Reach in Cooler Under Grill at Cook Line: turkey 45F, ground beef 49F, and shredded mozzarella 50F at 11:45. Per employee grill has been turned on at 10:00 causing food to be at improper temperature. Employee placed bags of ice on food items during inspection. New temperatures at 1:00: turkey 38F, ground beef 43F, shredded mozzarella 43F. Per manager food items will be iced until maintenance repairs reach in cooler to maintain proper temperature while grill is on. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed food items held below 135F in some spots on steam table at kitchen area: refried beans 119F and black beans 120F. Manager covered food items to maintain proper hot holding temperature. New temperatures at 1:00: refried beans 113F and black beans 114F. Observed water level low at steam table. Manager filled steam table with hot water during inspection. **Corrective Action Taken**

El Viroleno LLC

2910 Kerry Forrest Parkway Suite B1, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on March 5

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

5 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Beef over cheese.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Cheese 52°, less than 4 hours per operator, put in cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Rice 73°, beans 52°, less than 4 hours per operator put in cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**

J'S Asian Street Food

402 E Tennessee Street, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on March 6

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

8 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - 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. Tested at 0ppm. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Raw eggs over soy sauce, and raw shrimp over cooked chicken in walk-in cooler. Raw pork over corn in 2 door reach in freezer

  • High Priority - 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. Cook line counter: rehydrated rice noodles 83F, per employee, set out over 4 hours prior. See stop sale.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook line counter: rehydrated rice noodles 83F, per employee, set out over 4 hours prior. See stop sale. Cooked/rehydrated tapioca pearls on wait station counter 62F, per employee less than 10 minutes. Returned to reach in cooler during inspection. New temperature 55F after 30 mins **Corrective Action Taken**

Peppers Mexican Grill Inc

1425 Village Square Blvd #5, Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on March 4

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

14 total violations, with 5 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Queso at 46°,45°,49°, carnita 49°,51°, coming from previous day. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Raw beef over cooked chicken. Properly stored during inspection. **Corrected On-Site**

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Queso and carnitas. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Spray bottle above container of cinnamon.

  • High Priority - Vacuum breaker missing at hose bibb or on fitting/splitter added to hose bibb.

The Iron Daisy

507 W Gaines St, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on March 6

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

11 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Front counter : salsa 48F, less than 1 hour per employee. Moved to storage reach in coolers at time of inspection. **Corrective Action Taken**

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida 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.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee area restaurant and food truck inspections March 4-10

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