Flies on bread, running rodent, a Jersey Mike's: Metro Miami restaurant filth

Miami Herald

26-06-2025

Mexican, Chinese, Cuban restaurants, a Jersey Mike's, a Sawgrass Mills eatery and a golf club restaurant that seems to have fibbed about why it was closed comprise the return of the Sick and Shut Down List.
This list comprises restaurant inspection failures in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, which have been small in number recently. Either restaurants have been cleaning up their acts or summer brings out the laissez-faire in inspectors.
As always, we don't choose which restaurants get inspected nor do we do the inspecting. This list is entirely reactive. If you have a problem with a restaurant, file a complaint with the Florida Department of of Business & Professional Regulation. Customer complaints spurred inspectors to show up at four of the six restaurants below.
Unless otherwise noted, each restaurant reopened after passing re-inspection the next day.
READ MORE: This bar from Argentina was named one of the best in the world. Now it's open in Miami
In alphabetical order...
Amigo's Mexican & Spanish Restaurant, 4720 Okeechobee Rd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Routine inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations.
Visibly soiled dry wiping cloth in use on cutting board at cook line.
The inspector counted 58 rodent droppings in the kitchen: three on the floor in the food prep/dishwasher area; five on dry storage shelves or boxes; three on the floor and 50 on the floor in dry storage.
Speaking of the dishwasher, it couldn't have had less sanitizer, zero parts per million.
Meanwhile, the wiping cloth solution exceeded the maximum sanitizer concentration and was 'stored in a location that could result in the cross contamination of food, equipment, utensils, linens, single-service, or single-use articles.'
A 'visibly soiled' wiping cloth was touched by an employee, who 'then handled clean utensils and plates to prepare food for a customer without washing hands.'
Havana Harry's, 4610 LeJeune Rd., Coral Gables
Complaint inspection, 13 total violations, two High Priority violations.
We told you last week about the running roaches at this longtime Coral Gables restaurant, the inspection of which can be found under 'Havanna Harry S.'
READ MORE: Roaches coming out of the walls helped get a Coral Gables restaurant closed
Jersey Mike's Subs, 455 A NE Fifth Ave., Delray Beach
Complaint inspection, 12 total violations, five High Priority violations
A Stop Sale got dropped on two loaves of bread on a rack at the front counter after two flies landed directly on them. As for the other 11 flies in the house, one was on a slicer blade, another was on a soap dispenser, two were on to-go paper bags.
More Stop Sales took out the tomatoes at the front counter, which lacked enough cool. They needed to be at or below 41 degrees for safe keeping. They measured 59 degrees.
The chute on the self-service soda machine qualified as 'Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime ice chute on self service soda machine.'
The wiping cloth sanitizing solution measured all water, no solution, as in zero parts per million.
Women using the restroom couldn't wash their hands. No soap for them!
Matchbox Sawgrass Mills, 1860 Sawgrass Mills Cir., Sunrise
Routine inspection, 14 total violations, 11 High Priority violations
About 10 flies were 'landing on open, in-use liquor bottles and the bar counter' at the downstairs dining room bar. In the upstairs bar and prep kitchen area, about 20 flies used the walls and bar counter as landing strips.
Other than those bar flies, eight flies in the downstairs dry storage area were 'landing on boxes of single service items and boxes of food.' Five flies in the downstairs prep and storage area were 'landing on clean dishes and single service containers.'
Not only did the dishwasher not sanitize dishes (sanitizer: zero ppm), but the plastic containers being stacked meant they were 'not properly air-dried — wet nesting.'
'At the front counter, the server grabbed dirty dishes, then proceeded to handle clean plates without washing hands.'
Meanwhile, at the cookline, someone handled raw beef, changed gloves and started plating food, but didn't wash their hands (yes, still required even with gloves).
Stop Sales fell like confetti at Amerant Bank Arena after the Panthers' Stanley Cup clinching win when inspectors found food being kept at temperatures that encourage bacteria growth.
Matchbox had to throw out enough food for a Panthers' fans Stanley Cup party: vodka sauce after an overnight in the walk-in cooler still wasn't at or under 41 degrees; ribs, sliced cheese, diced tomatoes, deviled eggs and chimichurri measured from 60 to 62 degrees; on the cookline, the oil and garlic needed to be at least 135 degrees and was at 93 degrees.
May Fu Chinese Restaurant, 15030 NW Seventh Ave., North Miami-Dade
Complaint inspection, 22 total violations, nine High Priority violation
About 70 pieces of rodent regularity —including 20 by cooking equipment— plus a men's restroom toilet that didn't flush and no soap at the restroom handwashing sink got May Fu closed on June 18. Another 36 fresh poop pieces ruined the re-inspection the next day.
At last Friday's re-inspection, May Fu got by enough to reopen with a Follow-Up Inspection Required. But, Wednesday's follow-up inspection at May Fu didn't go so well.
'One live rodent running under the cookline in the kitchen.'
'Three rodent droppings stuck on a greasy wall behind a table with bags of MSG behind the kitchen side door to the hallway. Three rodent droppings under the table in the same area. One on top of an MSG bag at the prep area.'
The inspector counted over 30 little hunks of rodent dung behind the chest freezers, and another 15 under dry storage shelves.
Also, rodents left rub marks on top of a walk-in cooler's electric conduit line in the kitchen.
Three dead roaches. One of the two live roaches was 'inside the starch container in the kitchen.'
Winston on the Greens, 6101 Winston Trails Blvd., Unincorporated Palm Beach County
Complaint inspection, 18 total violations, seven High Priority violations.
After this inspection, Winston on the Greens posted on their Facebook: 'Unfortunately, due to a gas leak Winston's is closed today and will hopefully reopen tomorrow.'
Seems like a restaurant at a golf club would know how to call penalties on themselves, unless the 'gas leak' truly coincided with the 18 violations the inspector found.
At the golf shack, there were 'approximately 11 rodent droppings on the floor in the food preparation area under a sink and dry storage shelves.' Next to the back door, there were about 20.'
The bar area had 'approximately 10 rodent droppings under bar top on the floor,' as well as 'six rodent droppings under the soda dispenser' and six under cabinets by the cigar box. Rodent poop marked another four places in the kitchen, including a server's exposition area next to clean and sanitized coffee cups.
Six pieces of oxygen-packaged fish, which should be frozen until time to use, had been thawed in a walk-in cooler. That counts as 'food not being in a wholesome, sound condition' and gets a Stop Sale.
'Food contact surface soiled...' How? Because an electrical fly swatter sat on top of a flip top cooler's cutting board.
Anybody who washed their hands at the nearby handwash sink or at the dishwasher area handwash sink, got left with wet hands. No paper towels or blower present.