4 restaurants shut: State finds flies, roaches, Raid next to dry goods, plus WD-40 & a pair of sneakers on a cooler

Flies landed on clean teacups and plates, cockroaches crawled on a container of cooked goat, and employees left a can of WD-40 — and a pair of sneakers — on a kitchen cooler. These were among the violations that led to four South Florida restaurants being ordered shut by state inspectors last week.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections in Broward and Palm Beach counties from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. We cull through hundreds of restaurant and bar inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.

[ FULL DATABASE: See Florida restaurant inspection reports from the last 30 days ]

Sun Sentinel readers can browse full Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade county reports through our state inspection map, updated weekly (usually Mondays) with fresh data pulled from the Florida DBPR website.

Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR here. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)

Chuli’s Bakery, Miramar

16367 Miramar Parkway

Ordered shut: Sept. 7; reopened Sept. 8

Why: Inspectors uncovered 16 violations (three high-priority), such as 48 live flies swarming and “landing on clean utensils,” “on bread-making machine,” “on dough mixer machine,” and on “closed box of guava pulp and two closed bags of flour” in the kitchen, as well as on the “corridor wall by bathrooms.” An inspector spotted an employee’s “pair of sneakers on top of” a kitchen reach-in cooler, and red-flagged a can of WD-40 oil on the same cooler, citing improper storage of a “toxic substance/chemical.” Finally, the state noticed “food debris, grease, dust or mold-like substances” on the kitchen tiles, four air-conditioning vents and reach-in cooler shelves. The restaurant was able to open the following day after the state’s reinspection found a handful of basic and intermediate violations.

The Cheese Course, Weston

1679 Market St.

Ordered shut: Sept. 7; reopened Sept. 8

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Why: The state reported 21 violations (five high-priority), including about 22 live flies “landing on clean sanitized tea cups and plates,” on “shelf with baskets, sealed coffee bags and uncovered clean sanitized utensils at bar area,” “on disinfectant bottle” at the bar’s handwashing sink, and flying around kitchen near “uncovered bread and clean sanitized plates on shelves,” as well as under the kitchen dishwasher. An inspector ordered the restaurant to stop using its dishwashing machine until it was repaired. The state also found 21 dead flies “on shelf at bar area” where clean plates are stored and on the bottom of “reach-in cooler with wines, milk, orange juice.” Finally, the restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash its prosciutto, Serrano ham, sausage, Black Forest ham, pastrami, chicken breast and cooked chicken “due to temperature abuse.” Despite a handful of major and intermediate issues found during the follow-up inspection on Sept. 8, the restaurant was cleared to reopen.

Flavors Island Restaurant, West Palm Beach

3897 N. Haverhill Road

Ordered shut: Sept. 7; not yet reopened

Why: The report indicates 11 violations (six high-priority), including 11 live cockroaches crawling “on the [container] lid for goat at walk-in cooler” and underneath the stove drawer of the kitchen prep room, as well as one dead roach on floor of walk-in cooler. The restaurant was also ordered to stop selling and trash its goat, pork, cooked vegetables, chicken, fish and sauce “due to temperature abuse.” The restaurant remains closed pending a second inspection.

Taste of India, West Palm Beach

7750 Okeechobee Blvd.

Ordered shut: Sept. 6; reopened Sept. 7

Why: Eight violations (three high-priority) were reported, such as seven live cockroaches found crawling inside a “flip top cooler” near the kitchen cook line, “on ground behind oven” and “under prep table directly next to cutting boards.” (Inspectors ordered the operator to clean and sanitize the cutting boards before using them again.) The state also found four dead roaches “on clean sheet plan in” the dishwashing area, “under prep table” near the cook line and on the side of a chest freezer. Finally, an inspector red-flagged a can of aerosol Raid “improperly stored” on a shelf next to dry goods, which the operator also removed. Inspectors spotted an intermediate issue during its reinspection on Sept. 7 but green-lit the restaurant’s reopening.