South Florida Sun Sentinel
Mar 28, 2022 2:17 PM
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Sun Sentinel Restaurant Inspections
We’re guessing these critters are suckers for French crullers like the rest of the doughnut-adoring public. Flies landed on a selection of doughnuts, muffins and buns at a Dunkin’ Donuts, one of only two restaurants in the tri-county area temporarily ordered shut last week by state inspectors.
The other restaurant, Helen’s Mandarin House in Hollywood, was likewise shut down for pest problems.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel 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,” like improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
Sun Sentinel readers can browse full Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade county reports on our state inspection map, updated weekly (usually Monday) with fresh data pulled from the Florida DBPR website.
Any restaurant that fails inspections must stay closed until it passes a follow-up state inspection. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR here. (But don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
Dunkin Donuts, North Miami Beach
Ordered shut: March 24, reopened March 25
Why: The state discovered seven violations (two high priority), such as 92 live flies “landing on assorted donuts at the front counter,” landing on more doughnuts “at the drive-thru window,” landing on the wooden stripe framing the menu boards, and landing on signs and on the wall near the front doughnut stand. Naturally, state inspectors forced the chain to stop selling and toss out any assorted donuts, muffins and buns the flies touched “due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition.” An inspector also spotted a pair of dead flies on a dining-room windowsill, and examples of multiple employees missing hair restraints and wearing “jewelry other than a plain ring on their hands/arms while preparing food.” The fast-food chain reopened the next day without a single incident.
Helen’s Mandarin House, Hollywood
Ordered shut: March 24, reopened March 25
Why: Five violations, one of them high priority, but it was a serious one: Seven live cockroaches spotted crawling on the underside of “a prep table next to the dishwashing area,” crawling on top of the dishwashing machine and beneath other nearby table. (The restaurant’s manager later killed the roaches and sanitized the areas.) An inspector also noticed the kitchen’s hood vents “soiled with accumulated grease debris.” The restaurant was cleared to reopen the next day, March 25, after inspectors found two basic issues.
