Eight South Florida restaurants were temporarily shut last week with issues ranging from live ants under a meat slicer to an expired gallon of milk to lots of rodent droppings.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
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. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.
Black Rock Bar & Grill, Coral Springs
2554 N. University Drive
Ordered shut: Sept. 15; reopened Sept. 16
Why: 10 violations (four high-priority), including at least 12 rodent droppings “at dry storage on floor” and “one dead rodent underneath dry storage shelf on floor.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss a gallon of milk, which had “expiration date as 9/6/23.”
The state let the grill reopen after a next-day inspection discovered zero new issues. The restaurant was previously ordered shut twice last June for unrelated live fly woes.
Titie Restaurant & Lounge, Fort Lauderdale
300 W. Sunrise Blvd.
Ordered shut: Sept. 15; reopened Sept. 16
Why: 11 violations (five high-priority), including two flies “landing on prep tables in kitchen prep area,” as well as five live roaches “on wall next to and under triple sink in kitchen.” Also found: three rodent droppings “along wall next to kitchen prep area at reach-in cooler.”
The state noted issues such as “ceiling/ceiling tile shows damage or is in disrepair over prep area,” torn chest freezer gaskets, “accumulation of debris behind all chest freezers” and a “hole in or other damage to wall by cook line hand sink.”
A next-day reinspection found one intermediate and a trio of basic violations, but the restaurant was allowed to reopen. The eatery was previously ordered shut twice in December 2021 for similar live fly and rodent dropping issues.
Crazy Uncle Mike’s, Boca Raton
6450 N. Federal Highway
Ordered shut: Sept. 15; reopened same day
Why: Two violations (both high-priority), including 32 flies in the prep area of the kitchen, “landing on the wall next to the ice machine,” “landing on the wall over the potatoes and clean glass racks.”
The state also spotted six live cockroaches crawling “on the wall next to the clean pans storage rack,” “under the dish machine in the kitchen” and “under the breaker boxes in front of the cook line behind expo in the kitchen.”
The restaurant reopened later that day after zero new issues were discovered.
Saffrano Crepes, Plantation
1831 N. Pine Island Road
Ordered shut: Sept. 14; reopened Sept. 15
Why: Eight violations (six high-priority), including 16 flies “landing on prep tables, clean dishes and coming for inside flip-top cooler” and “landing on cans and prep table in kitchen area.”
The restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash items such as cooked turkey bacon, cooked pork, shredded cheese, cooked couscous, raw beef, raw shrimp, raw chicken, milk and cream for “temperature abuse.”
Finally, inspectors red-flagged “containers with turkey bacon and cooked pork lined with paper towel and napkins” instead of food-grade paper.
The restaurant reopened the next day after inspectors found zero new issues.
Addiction Kitchen, Lighthouse Point
2131 NE 48th St.
Ordered shut: Sept. 14 and Sept. 15; reopened Sept. 15
Why: Four violations (three high-priority), including eight live ants “under slicer on cook line in kitchen,” and “on ground under cook line equipment in kitchen.”
The state also spotted seven live cockroaches in the kitchen — on the ground, “on glass slide top freezer on cook line” and “in gasket at drawers under flat top unit on cook line.”
At least 18 dead roaches were seen “inside of not-in-use steam table on cook line” and on a shelf in the same area, “in between kitchen reach-in coolers,” “on sheet pan holding raw beef inside of cook line reach-in cooler,” “under cook line equipment” and “on rail in between drawers under flat top unit on cook line.”
The restaurant was ordered shut a second time on Sept. 15 for unresolved live and dead roaches, but was allowed to reopen when a re-inspection later that day yielded zero new problems.
Tarpon River Brewing, Fort Lauderdale
280 SW Sixth St.
Ordered shut: Sept. 13; reopened Sept. 14
Why: Five violations (two high-priority), including at least 140 rodent droppings “along wall and behind pallets of empty cans and bags of grain” and “on top of shrink-wrapped pallet of empty cans” near a sliding door within a warehouse area “separate from kitchen food-prep area and food-storage areas.”
Additionally, improper food storage was found, with “raw shell eggs stored over raw fish in right side cook line flip-top drawers.”
The report noted one basic violation during a next-day inspection and cleared the restaurant to reopen.
Restaurante La Monja Blanca, Palm Springs
4186 Lake Worth Road
Ordered shut: Sept. 13; reopened Sept. 14
Why: 17 violations (11 high-priority), including nine cockroaches crawling around the kitchen — “on floor in dry storage room … next to sealed and opened bags of rice and beans,” “behind reach-in cooler” and “on wall at rack storing clean equipment.”
The state caught one employee “plating ready-to-eat avocados for immediate service with bare hands.” The restaurant was also cited for storing raw chicken inside nonfood-grade “thank you grocery bags.”
Finally, the restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash its chocolate bananas and ice creams in freezer chest in dining room because “operator states food made in home kitchen.”
The state red-flagged one basic violation during the restaurant’s next-day inspection and let it reopen.
Mulligan’s Beach House, Riviera Beach
2551 N. Ocean Ave.
Ordered shut: Sept. 11; reopened Sept. 12
Why: 15 violations (six high-priority), including at least 38 rodent droppings in the kitchen — “at dry storage located at the rear,” “on top of dishwasher” and “behind chest freezer.”
One employee was seen “touching sliced cheese with bare hand, no gloves” while the “operator continued to serve food” and ordered the operator to stop selling and throw away the cheese. The restaurant was also ordered to stop selling and toss its cheese sauce “due to temperature abuse.”
Finally, the report noted that the “kitchen manager doesn’t know how to keep track of shellfish tags, and reheating within 2 hours,” and lacks “general knowledge in performing their assigned duties.”
Despite four basic and intermediate violations spotted during a second inspection, the eatery was cleared to reopen the next day.