One Pines restaurant hit with high-priority violations, 10 ace tests, inspectors say
Pembroke Pines foodies, it’s that time again. Here’s how your city’s culinary destinations made out in February’s restaurant inspections.
Ten passed with flying colors, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
One Cuban eatery racked up the highest amount of serious violations from inspectors during assessments.
That was Latin American Grill — 12638 Pines Blvd. — which scored four high-priority violations and 10 total infractions during its Feb. 17 routine food inspection.
Food debris soiled the inside of a walk-in and reach-in freezer, DBPR noted first in its report, as well as the surface of a can opener stored in the kitchen.
The latter was quickly cleaned and sanitized as inspectors pointed out the citation.
Also among “basic” violations was a sanitizing solution improperly stored on the floor and a cook caught washing their hands at a “cook line prep sink,” earning the restaurant’s manager a lesson on “proper hand washing procedures” to relay to the worker.
More severe citations — known as high-priority violations — included several cross-contamination and food storage fails.
Such infractions include any practices that “could contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury,” per DBPR. This covers live flying insects, improper sanitation techniques, contamination of raw food with cooked food and other offenses that bacteria like Salmonella and Listeria thrive on.
For Latin American Grill, that looked like raw ham stored above washed cut onion inside a walk-in cooler, inspectors reported.
Several refrigerated meats were also kept above 41 degrees — the cold-holding temperature that prevents bacteria growth and keeps food safe to eat — including raw steak, been empanadas and raw sausage links.
They were left to improperly thaw out for around two hours, according to DBPR, due to a walk-in cooler being left open during a delivery shipment. Latin American Grill’s operator moved the items to a different cooler for a “quick chill” soon after.
Cooked rice was kept below hot-holding temperatures, 135 degrees, for about 40 minutes, with a cook shoving the disk back into an oven to reheat following a warning from DBPR.
Inspectors also noted that several foods — hash browns and breakfast potatoes — had no time marking on them, making their shelf life or “best-by” date indiscernable during the assessment. That violation was also corrected on-site, DBPR wrote.
A follow-up inspection the next day saw Latin American Grill meet DBPR’s standards save for one infraction: food debris lining the inside of a walk-in and reach-in freezer.
Infraction-free restaurants
Eateries with spotless records had no critical or noncritical issues and met the state’s standards during their reviews.
Here are the Pembroke Pines restaurants that nailed their February inspections:
- 365 Thai & Sushi, 18265 Pines Blvd. Unit D5
- Chick-Fil-A, 12203 Pines Blvd.
- Coconut305, 900 N. Flamingo Road
- Häagen-Dazs, 11401 Pines Blvd.
- McDonald’s, 12480 Pines Blvd.
- McDonald’s, 6700 Pembroke Road
- Pizza Hut, 1641 N. Hiatus Road
- Pubbelly Sushi, 306 SW 145th Ave.
- Sweet Sensation Mini Donuts, 15800 Pines Blvd.
- The Pub, 237 SW 145th Terrace
