Two Palm Beach County bagel shops were forced to temporarily close last week after failing their inspections. Violations included about 190 rodent droppings and more than 150 live insects “on boards used for bagels” at one, and live flies “landing on bagels and bagel storage racks” at the other.
They were among six South Florida eateries ordered shut by the state.
The 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 spot 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.)
BROWARD COUNTY
Tropical Smoothie Cafe
1609 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale
Ordered shut: Oct. 21
Why: Two violations (one high-priority), including:
- About 33 rodent droppings in back storage room that’s open to kitchen, in areas such as “on plastic container containing packages of almonds,” “on exterior of case of potato chips,” “on case of lids,” “on box of utensils” and “under dry storage shelving.”
- “Ice buildup in walk-in freezer — around circulation fan and accumulated on floor.”
Status: Closed Oct. 22 after a follow-up inspection found two violations (one high-priority). Reopened Oct. 23 after a third visit found one basic violation.
La Brise des Antilles (inside Lauderhill Mall)
4269 NW 12th St., Lauderhill
Ordered shut: Oct. 21
Why: Seven violations (four high-priority), including:
- 20 roaches in kitchen crawling “on water heater,” “on floor near mop sink,” “underneath stove” and “on box of oil.”
- “At reach-in refrigerator, raw chicken stored over unwashed produce.”
- Time/temperature issues involved cooked rice and pikliz.
Status: Reopened Oct. 22 after a second visit found one basic violation.
PALM BEACH COUNTY
East Ocean Cafe
412 E. Ocean Ave., Boynton Beach
Ordered shut: Oct. 22
Why: 13 violations (four high-priority), including:
- More than 24 rodent droppings “on plywood, covering grease trap, next to triple sink” and “on floor under right flip-top cooler at cook line.”
- One live fly “on clean bowl in dish area.”
- Stop sale ordered for “banana or plantain with mold-like growth in reach-in cooler.”
- “Cook cracked raw shell eggs and then handled ready-to-eat home fries and started plating food without washing hands.”
- “Objectionable odors in dish area at grease trap.”
Status: Reopened Oct. 23 after a reinspection found one basic violation.
Bagel Boss
22107 Powerline Road, Boca Raton
Ordered shut: Oct. 22
Why: 12 violations (three high-priority), including:
- About 30 live flies “on mop sink equipment,” “landing on dry storage area racks and items” and “on bagels and bagel storage racks at back kitchen area.” A stop sale was ordered for the bagels.
- Time/temperature issue involved liquid egg whites.
- “Accumulation of black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin.”
- “Floor area(s) covered with standing water underneath triple sink.”
- “Employee cellphone stored on kitchen prep table.”
Status: Reopened the same day after a follow-up inspection found five basic violations.
Brooklyn Water Bagels
201 N. U.S. Highway 1, Suite C-5, Jupiter
Ordered shut: Oct. 21
Why: 20 violations (nine high-priority), including:
- About 190 rodent droppings “on boards used for bagels on the speed rack in bagel production area adjacent to front counter” and “behind the speed rack next to the reach-in cooler and prep table in bagel production area.”
- More than “150 live insects crawling on boards used for bagels on speed rack in bagel production area.”
- “Employee touched face and then engaged in food preparation, without washing hands.”
- “Employee used visibly soiled towel to wipe food contact surface, and continued preparing food without changing gloves and washing hands.”
- Observed “salt stored in container with heavy mold-like substance” and “heavy food debris stuck on salt scoop inside container” at bagel production area.
- Time/temperature issues involved cheddar cheese, provolone cheese, potato salad, egg salad and tuna salad; also, “Butter and Asiago Bagel had no time mark.”
- Stop sale ordered for “butter dated 10/7 at cook line.”
- Observed “heavy layers of mold-like substance and growth on bagel boards” and “heavy food debris” on conveyor belt and butcher block.
- Women’s “bathroom facility not clean.”
Status: Reopened Oct. 22 after a follow-up visit found one high-priority violation.
Ceviche Arigato
1447 10th St., Lake Park
Ordered shut: Oct. 21
Why: 20 violations (six high-priority), including:
- About five live roaches in kitchen “on floor next to deep fryers,” “under steam table” and “crawling on container of wood skewers for meat.”
- About 22 dead roaches “on floor at entrance to kitchen” and in kitchen “under flip-top cooler on floor,” “under hand washing sink,” “under steam table on floor” and “on floor around fryers.”
- “Roach excrement droppings” at hand washing sink.
- Two live flies in kitchen “landing on wall next to dishwashing area.”
- “In walk-in freezer, non-commercially packaged raw beef stored above bags of french fries and ice cream.”
- Stop sale ordered because “commercially processed, reduced-oxygen packaged salmon bearing a label indicating that it is to remain frozen until time of use [was] no longer frozen and not removed from reduced oxygen package.”
- Time/temperature issues involved cooked rice, cooked potatoes and cut lettuce.
- “Hand washing sink used to store dirty dishes.”
Status: Reopened Oct. 22 after a follow-up inspection found two basic violations.