Flies in an orange juice machine and other South Florida restaurant violations

Flies swarmed through South Florida restaurant inspections this week as businesses had trouble keeping the insects outside and off the food.

We don’t do the inspections that appear on the “Sick and Shut Down List” nor do we decide who gets inspected. The inspections are done by the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation. Routine inspections are by rotation. Complaint inspections come from consumer inspections about restaurants, which you can make by going to the agency’s website.

Restaurants that fail inspection are closed until they pass a re-inspection, also called a callback inspection. The first of those usually occurs the next day. We note when a restaurant needed multiple re-inspections to get back in business.

In alphabetical order:

Asados El Paisa Broward, 4828 N. University Dr., Lauderhill

Routine inspection, 18 total violations, four high priority violations

Imagine pulling for a paper towel after washing your hands and getting the towel — and a roach. The inspector spotted four live roaches inside the cookline paper towel dispenser. Two other roaches were crawling on clean plates inside the three-compartment sink.

Containers of salsa and soup sat uncovered in a walk-in. In the prep area, a container of raw rice sat open. The inspection wasn’t clear if that was the rice container with an “accumulation of dirt buildup” or another rice container was soiled.

Someone “touched raw pork, then handled clean plates without changing gloves and washing hands.”

Food containers sat in the handwash sink. The kitchen handwash sink didn’t have any way to dry hands.

The “sink compartments of the three-compartment sink are too small to accommodate utensils or equipment.”

Bagel Express, 11616 SW 88th St., Kendall

Routine inspection, 38 total violations, 11 high priority violations

Bagel Express had a tough time until the inspector was satisfied. It was closed by inspection, failed another one, got back open with “Follow-Up Inspection Required” but, on Thursday, that follow-up turned out the lights again.

So, let’s start with the first inspection and the 30 flies “landing inside and on top of a bucket of molasses and on top of the crate where the bucket is stored.” Stop Sale on the molasses.

A swarm of more than 40 flies were “landing on a shelf with clean bowls and containers in the dish area.” About 10 flies used the back kitchen area oven as a landing strip. Another 11 flies were spread around dry storage, the kitchen and front counter.

A fly went legs up on top of a kitchen area oven. Another fly died inside a wax paper container in dry storage.

The inspector watched an “employee enter kitchen and begin handling food without first washing hands.”

Also, the inspector “observed an employee kill a fly with his hand and continue to prepare customer order without changing gloves and washing hands.”

Someone else “cracked raw shell eggs, rinsed hands without soap, then continued to prepare a customer’s order without properly washing hands.”

Another employee put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a bagel to prepare a customer order without first washing hands.

One employee did remove the single-use gloves, but then “washed hands with no soap.”

The “floor near the oven was soiled with molasses … the floor was heavily soiled by the bagel boiler with old food debris.”

A box of bagels and a case of water sat on the floor in dry storage.

The deli slicer near the walk-in cooler was “heavily soiled with old food debris.”

Neither the front counter handwash sink nor the back kitchen area handwash sink had paper towels or another way to dry hands.

“Throughout the kitchen area” the “ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents were soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust, or mold-like substance.”

Re-inspection 1: One fly was landing on bagels inside the display case. One was landing on the orange juice machine. And more than 50 were “landing on the shelf and clean equipment in the dishwashing area.” Over 15 were “landing on to-go bags inside the dry storage room.”

Re-inspection 2: Another fly landing on bagels in the display case.

Re-inspection 3: Despite failing inspection, Bagel Express kept “operating after issuance of an Emergency Order of Suspension of license … observed establishment open and operating, serving about three customers without approval for reopening.”

Re-inspection No. 4: “Observed 10 flies landing on top of dough mixer, the single service rack inside the dry storage room, and inside the bathroom.”

Also, three flies died inside the front counter orange juice machine. Two roaches died in dry storage.

D R Deli and Restaurant, 7942 Via Lampione, Unincorporated Palm Beach County

Complaint inspection, six total violations, three high priority violations

Sometimes, it’s the location of the living violation.

“Observed approximately two live roaches crawling out of the food handler certificate folder.” There was also one roach making its way across the kitchen prep area floor.

After a night in a cookline cooler, raw egg-dipped bread still measured 53 degrees. It needed to be down to 41 degrees for safe keeping. Stop Sale on the dipped bread.

There was standing water at the bottom of a reach-in cooler on the food exposition line, where you put food that’s ready to be taken to customers.

Giardino Gourmet Salads, 11624 SW 88th St., Kendall

Routine inspection, 10 total violations, five high priority violations

“Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”

These flies went gonzo for garbanzo beans. One fly landed inside a container of garbanzo beans at the front counter, but more than 10 were landing inside a container of garbanzos in the dishwasher area as well as cleaned equipment. More than 15 flies swarmed at the mop sink, coming down on a dry storage rack with canned goods and spices. And 15 flies landed inside a container of red onions under a prep table.

Stop Sales came down on the front counter garbanzo beans and the red onions under the prep table.

“Observed an employee put on a pair of gloves and begin to prepare a customer’s order without first washing hands.”

Ichimi, 3251 NE First Ave., Miami

Routine inspection, 23 total violations, three high priority violations

We told you earlier this week about the recurrence of Ichimi’s rodent issues, which also had sanitizing problems.

READ MORE: More rodent droppings than dishwasher sanitizer at this Miami restaurant

Ichimi also flopped a re-inspection before passing a re-re-inspection.

KFC, 7107 W. McNab Rd., North Lauderdale

Routine inspection, three total violations, one high priority violation

Three roaches were crawling on cove molding and the wall behind deep fryers in the kitchen.

Wiping cloth sanitizing solution, where the cloths should rest between uses, measured only 100 parts per million when the proper sanitizing strength is 200 ppm.

Miyi La Cubanita Cuban Cafe Chola Wengue Inc., 1332 NW Second Ave., Boca Raton

Routine inspection, 11 total violations, eight high priority violations

Rodents left 20 droppings on the kitchen floor and the single service article boxes at the dry storage area. Another eight poop pieces were behind the front counter, on the floor around reach-in coolers and cabinets. Two doo dots were left on top of packaged beer in the kitchen. Three were on a shelf under a prep table.

Now, to the handwashing shortcomings, such as a cashier handling customer’s payment, then preparing drinks and serving plates of food to customers without washing hands (cash and payment cards tend to be germ motherships).

An “employee entered the kitchen from outside or the dining room and began preparing food for customers without washing hands.”

In the kitchen, a cook “cracked raw shell eggs, then continued preparing and plating ready to eat, cooked food without washing hands.”

Then again, there were “no soap, paper towels or mechanical hand drying device provided at the kitchen or front line handwash sinks.”

Polite as they are, “Thank You” bags that house containers of food aren’t food-grade material. Non-food grade “Thank You” bags were in direct contact with raw pork, raw steak and bread.

The callback inspection on Aug. 27: Rodent poop on the floor behind the front counter, on the kitchen floor and in the dry storage closet.

Callback inspection later on Aug. 27: Miyi passed a same-day inspection, allowing it to be open for weekend business.

Taj Express Indian Cuisine, 1320 NW Boca Raton Rd., Boca Raton

Routine inspection, 11 total violations, seven high priority violations

“Hole in or other damage to the wall behind/between the double glass door lowboy cooler and the cold make top on the front cookline.” Three rodent droppings in the kitchen on the floor under the make up/lowboy reach-in cooler.” Six droppings were in the kitchen under a freezer. Another two were in a hallway and the dishwashing area.

“Blue chemical pesticide tracking powder was along all cove molding/baseboard/floor wall junctions in the kitchen/preparation/storage area.” Not only did it not work, it drew a citation.

A cashier handled money “then handled clean equipment, clean utensils and prepared/packaged food for customers without washing hands.”

Stop Sales struck cooked onion sauce and cooked chickpeas that remained above 41 degrees despite overnight in the walk-in cooler. They were in “full, deep containers, tightly covered,” which makes cooling an extremely slow process.

Thyme Machine, food truck, 13920 SW 139th Ct., Southwest Miami-Dade

Complaint inspection, 27 total violations, eight high priority violations

One fly dived into a bin with cooked chicken while another landed on top of the griddle station.

Even without the flies, it’s a big problem that the “mobile unit doesn’t have any sanitizer solution to sanitize equipment.”

An “uncleanable knife block is in use to store knives.”

The handwash sink was “blocked with a cutting board and flour tortilla on top of the sink.”

A bucket of tahini sat on the floor.

An “accumulation of grease and debris was under griddle and under saj (a convex griddle)” as well as over all the seasoning containers located on top of the three-compartment sink.

Thyme got hit with Stop Sales for temperature abuse with raw chicken measuring 76 degrees; ground beef 63 degrees; sliced turkey 67 degrees; and hummus 72 degrees. They needed to be at or under 41 degrees. All trashed.

Thyme waited two days and passed the callback inspection on Thursday.