Roaches. Flies. Mold. Bad goat. South Florida’s failed restaurant inspections

The Sick and Shut Down List returns after a quiet week with unsafe food, roaches, flies and our old friend, the ice machine with mold.

So, let’s get down on it.

HOW WE HANDLE OUR BUSINESS: 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 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 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 humor sauce.

In alphabetical order...

The Cheese Course, 1679 Market St., Weston: Complaint inspection, 21 total violations, five High Priority violations.

Apparently, the skills to mold cheese into various dishes in suburbia don’t come with the skills to use paper towels and Lysol on mold: “Observed shelves with mold and dust buildup throughout.”

The hot holding area’s reach-in cooler had torn gaskets and “mold buildup and dripping inside...”

Another reach-in cooler, the one with wines, milk and orange juice, had “17 or more dead flies on the bottom...”

The inspector counted 22 live flies, three of which were landing on “clean, sanitized tea cups and plates” and another five flying around the dish area with “clean, sanitized utensils.” One fly was zipping about the hot holding area with uncovered bread and “clean, sanitized plates on shelves.” Four dead flies were on a bar area shelf with “clean, sanitized plates.”

The inspector slung around “clean, sanitized” in the way a post-dropoff coffee klatch uses “amazing” and just as inaccurately considering the dishwasher couldn’t get up to 160 degrees: “Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired.”

Showing diversity in failure to sanitize, the wiping cloth sanitizing solution measured 0 parts per million. So, it was pretty much just water.

As for prepared food not kept cool enough for to prevent bacteria growth, the inspector got out the Stop Sale Uzi and shot the prosciutto; 10 pounds of prosciutto Serrano ham; black forest ham; pastrami; sausage; chicken breast; and cooked chicken.

After cutting the cheese on this inspection (slang), they were back cutting the cheese (literally) after the following day’s re-inspection.

Chuli’s Bakery, 16367 Miramar Pkwy., Miramar: Routine inspection, 16 total violations, three High Priority violations

Another place that really could use a good wipe down.

“Entire kitchen area, tiles and four A/C vents with a buildup of grease, dust and a mold-like substance.”

The word “encrusted” screams “we just ignored this no matter how nasty it got, hoping someone else would do something about it.” Just a thought as we read, “table dough mixer machine mixer head encrusted with food debris...”

Now, let’s go fly spotting. Seven flies were “landing on clean utensils, above the three-compartment sink area, inside the kitchen,” four plopped down on the dough mixer machine and another five were landing on the bread-making machine (ouch). Another 32 flies wer counted.

Chuli’s passed re-inspection the next day.

Flavors Island Restaurant, 3897 Haverhill Rd., West Palm Beach: Routine inspection, 11 total violations, six High Priority violations.

Cookware and utensils weren’t sanitized because “equipment and utensils not washed, rinsed and sanitized in the correct order in the three-compartment sink.”

That’s like blowing “lather, rinse, repeat.”

Bags that weren’t food grade were used to hold, in direct contact, okra, pepper and vegetables in a reach-in freezer.

Proper food safety says store food either above 135 degrees (hot holding, short term) or below 41 degrees (cold holding, short term or longer term). So, the Stop Sale shower got the 73-degree goat and 74-degree pork in the Enron stock worthless reach-in cooler as well as the 71-degree cooked vegetables, 72-degree chicken, 69-degree pork, 72-degree fish, 56-degree goat and 70-degree sauce in the just turn-signal-in-Miami-Dade worthless walk-in cooler.

Speaking of the walk-in, a live roach walked on the lid covering the goat. Another 10 live roaches were under a stove drawer.

Flavors was back in action after the next day’s re-inspection.

Taste of India, 7750 Okeechobbe Rd., West Palm Beach: Routine inspection, eight total violations, three High Priority violations.

Almost got out of this list without it, but...”Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

Nothing says “too cheap for Tupperware knock-offs” like “cooked items in the walk-in freezer not covered.”

There were four dead roaches spotted, one of which was on a (formerly) clean sheet pan. Four live roaches were inside the gasket of a flip cop cooler. Another two running roaches were under a prep table next to cutting boards.

“Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.” Uck, where’s you see that? “Observed at cutting boards throughout.”

The Taste passed re-inspection the next day.