Greasy grill, unwashed hands and fly traps: Miramar’s restaurant inspections

As health inspectors stopped by Miramar restaurants to assess whether they were up to code in January, some restaurants were hit with violations, although none were shut down.

Remember that violations are split into three categories: basic, intermediate and high. High-priority violations “could contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury and include items such as cooking, reheating, cooling and hand-washing,” according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Here are the restaurants that racked up the most violations since the start of the month. How did your favorite spots do?

Four restaurants with double-digit violations

Seafood restaurant Captain Max at 3700 S. State Road 7 received 15 violations at its Jan. 27 inspection, although none were high-priority.

The inspector mostly flagged the restaurant for a dirty kitchen, noting “black/green mold-like substance in the interior of the ice machine/bin,” as well as food debris, grease or dust on ceilings, vents and walls. The inspector also noted grease or food debris on the sides of the fryer, flat top grill and sauté burners.

The cooler door was also reportedly falling off its hinges, and some fish wasn’t properly labeled with the date it was prepared, according to the report. The restaurant received a warning.

Blue Ginger steakhouse at 14395 Miramar Parkway, which was notably shut down in December due to rodents and roaches, was docked for 13 violations during its Jan. 7 inspection.

The restaurant received two high-priority violations and a stop sale order related to sushi rice that was left overnight.

Other violations included a package of fish that wasn’t removed from its storage bag while being defrosted, lack of a probe thermometer to measure the temperature of food and an ice scooper handle touching the ice itself. Employees addressed some of these issues during the inspection.

Dumpling Panda at 11225 Miramar Parkway technically met inspection standards during a Jan. 5 visit but was still hit with 12 violations. Then a Jan. 26 inspection led inspectors to note a follow-up is needed.

A couple high-priority violations had to do with cross-contamination.

The inspector saw an “employee cracked raw shell eggs then handled a clean bowl without washing hands,” according to the report. Then another worker was seen “dropping off dirty dishes and then handled a bowl of fried rice and served it to the customer without washing hands.”

The restaurant was accused of defrosting chicken and pork filling at room temperature rather than in a cooler and of not having a clean and clear handwashing sink.

Lastly, Chuli’s Bakery at 16367 Miramar Parkway was cited for 11 violations. The inspector “observed fly traps stored on shelf above dry pasta at dry storage area” in addition to “black mold-like substance inside ice machine at front counter.”

The operator corrected both issues on the spot.

The restaurant was also reportedly storing trays of bread in garbage bags rather than food-grade bags, which constitutes a high-priority violation.

Empanadas on the front counter weren’t labeled with the time they were made, and one cleaning solution was overly chlorinated, according to the report. Most of the issues were addressed during the inspection, but the inspector still recommended an administrative complaint.