California Pizza Kitchen. Flies. Rodent poop. Miami to Palm Beach restaurant filth

The Sick and Shut Down List never had had a place scolded for cooking too much food or food in the restroom, so let’s dive into this week’s list.

THIS ISN’T JUST TO FILL SPACE BUT FOR YOU TO READ: What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. A restaurant that fails inspection remains closed until passing an inspection.

If you see a problem and want a place inspected, contact the DBPR. We don’t do the inspections, control who gets inspected nor how strictly the inspector inspects.

We don’t include all violations, just the most moving, whether internally or literally moving (because it’s alive or once was alive). Some violations get corrected immediately after the inspector points them out. But in those situations, ask yourself, why did the violations exist in the first place? And, how long would they have remained if not for the inspection?

We report without passion or prejudice, but with two scoops of humor.

In alphabetical order...

California Pizza Kitchen, 11401 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines: Complaint inspection, 16 total violations, four High Priority violations.

The floor under the dishwashing area handwashing sink and the sink itself were “soiled with mold-like substance,” which seems to scream low handwashing traffic or bad water, neither of which screams “Let us make your pizza with these hands!”

Stop Sales struck four dented cans of red pizza sauce on the dry storage area shelf.

That just meant four fewer places for flies to land in the Amityville Pizza Kitchen.

The inspector saw less than 10 flies “landing on sanitized cups, plates and utensils in service/prep side station” and under 20 landing on the wall by the service/prep station and another flock under 20 “single service pizza boxes, coffee in sealed bags, wall and storage racks in the dry storage area.” A squadron of five buzzed the dining area, landing on tables and seats.

Tilt your head back and see the “less than 100 dead flies on two insect strips hanging from the ceiling in the dry storage area above single service pizza boxes, sealed coffee in bags, and boxes and another batch of less than 10 corpses on a strip “hanging from the ceiling in the dry storage room.”

They apparently found a fly solution in time to pass the next day’s re-inspection.

Little Caesars Pizza, 924 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach: Routine inspection, seven total violations, two High Priority violations.

Another pizza chain with a fearless fly problem also had an employee handling cash (dirtiest paper there is) then make a pizza “without changing gloves or washing hands.”

Now, to the fly count, lowlighted by “20 flying insects on pizza trays in secondary prep area next to hand washing sink away from kitchen” and “10 small flying insects inside a dough mixer...”

Little Caesars was back giving you two pizzas for the price of one the following day.

La Granja Parilla and Seafood, 127 SE Second Ave., Miami: Complaint inspection, 10 total violations, two High Priority violations.

Whatever pursuit of cleanliness there is here didn’t affect the “accumulation of lime scale on the inside of the dishmachine” or the “ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.”

There were six dead roaches, one of which was in pots and pans. About 15 live roaches beat the kitchen heat by hanging out under a out of operation reach-in cooler.

La Granja came correct the next day.

Q’bola Cafe, 10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington: Routine inspection, 10 total violations, two High Priority violations.

Spoiler alert on a later violation...“Cabinets in the front counter area soiled with rodent droppings.”

Not only were stir straws unwrapped and on the front counter, able to catch all the minute bits of spittle and mucus you can expel, not only were deli paper and takeout boxes stored in the restroom, but they stored chips in the restroom!

Is this a restaurant in Wellington or a studio apartment in Manhattan?

“Uncleanable knife block in use to store knives.”

And, as promised, “approximately 38 rodent droppings by rear prep/dishwashing area...approximately 150 rodent droppings inside cabinets at front counter prep area.”

Q’bola passed inspection enough the next day to get open, but a follow-up inspection is still required.

Sandel, 13842 76th Rd. N., West Palm Beach: Routine inspection, six total violations, four High Priority violations.

Small problem when an “employee touched an open door, a water cabinet door and then put hand sanitizer on the gloves and then grabbed hot dog bun.” Stop Sale on the bun.

Big problem when there’s “no hot or cold water provided in handwashing sink.”

This shut down Sandel for eight days before it passed re-inspection on Wednesday.

Talay Thai & Japanese, 2233 E. Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach: Routine inspection, 11 total violations, five High Priority violations.

Not good — two dead roaches in a small refrigerator without food under the sushi bar small fridge under sushi bar and one dead roach behind the front counter.”

Kind of bad — About 35 dead flies under the sushi bar area microwave.

Truly ugly — 114 rodent droppings, 15 of which were on the spice shelf, 30 under (under) both kitchen microwaves, three of which were rodent droppings on top of the bread crumb plastic container.

Tropical Island Restaurant, 400 E. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach: Routine inspection, 21 total violations, six High Priority violations.

Not often that storage is a joint’s main problem.

“Rice stored on the floor at cook line.”

“Cracked container containing plantains.”

The inspector flat out said the “establishment is cooking too much food, with no means to properly cool or cold hold items.” Three bus bins with cooked pork and coleslaw couldn’t find refrigerator space.

“Steam table is to small to hot hold all foods being cooked.”

Chicken, fish, beef stew, pork bones which had been cooked two hours previous and were left out of any hot holding because they didn’t have enough space outside of the steam table and the “steam table is already full.”

Stop Sales landed when the flies did on the cooked fish, in the pot containing beef stew and on the fried plantains.

Tropical passed inspection the next day.