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The state temporarily shut two Palm Beach County restaurants last week after inspections found rodent droppings, flies and live and dead roaches, among other issues.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant and food truck 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 business that fails this 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.)
Amigos Mexican & Spanish Restaurant 4720 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach
Ordered shut: June 10; reopened June 11
Why: Six violations (five high-priority), including about 12 rodent droppings found in areas of the kitchen such as “on floor under triple sink,” “on floor in front of ice machine” and “on window sill behind clean dish storage rack,” as well as “on bar behind drink dispenser.”
The state also found “plastic-wrapped/portioned raw pork stored over uncovered pan of ready-to-eat cheese empanadas” in a reach-in freezer and a plastic bucket “designed/labeled for chemical use only” being used to store rice in a dry storage area. Additionally, cooked rice that the operator said had been “prepared two days prior” had no date mark.
Amigos was allowed to reopen the next day when a follow-up visit found no violations. The restaurant previously was ordered shut three times in April.
Maxwell’s Plum 12300 S. Shore Blvd., Suite 110, Wellington
Ordered shut: June 12-13, 17 and 21; remains closed pending reinspection
Why: 14 violations (nine high-priority), including five live roaches seen in areas such as “beside flip-top cooler across from oven,” “between make table across from cookline and single-door, stainless-steel freezer” and “out of drain in area in front of make table and deep freezers near cookline,” as well as on and under the “table where tabletop equipments are stored across from dough mixer.”
The inspection also found more than 30 dead roaches throughout the premises: behind a flip-top cooler “near beverage dispenser area,” “along cookline between flip tops and make tables,” “under hand-wash sink between make table and single-door, stainless-steel cooler,” “behind ice machine” and “under prep area table and sink where boxes of potatoes and onions are stored,” among other areas.
There were also about 19 live flies buzzing around “in kitchen, food preparation area, food storage area and/or bar area,” including approximately 10 seen “landing on various food items.”
Stop-sale orders were issued due to a dented can of ripe olives and “temperature abuse” related to gouda cheese, pizza sauce, soy sauce with fresh garlic and oil, spinach dip and shredded mozzarella.
The restaurant also was cited for “no hot water in entire establishment.”
Handmade Sink Kitchen Cabinet Maxwell’s Plum was ordered shut again on June 13 and June 17, and remains closed after a June 21 follow-up visit found one high-priority violation.