MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting Banquet at 100 Chopin Plaza on July 30 found toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used inside a restaurant that served food to the public that same day and every day after.
That violation alone carries immediate risk of chemical contamination of food or surfaces. It was one of ten high-severity citations issued during the inspection. The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violation is among the most consequential in the record. Inspectors cited inadequate shell stock identification and records, meaning the restaurant could not demonstrate where its oysters, clams, or mussels came from. If a diner became ill from contaminated shellfish, there would be no harvest tags, no supplier chain, no way to trace the source.
Parasite destruction procedures were also not followed. For fish served raw or undercooked, and for pork and wild game, proper freezing is the last line of defense against parasites including Anisakis and Trichinella. The inspection record does not indicate that line was being held.
Two separate handwashing violations were cited: inadequate handwashing by food employees, and improper hand and arm washing technique. The first means employees were not washing hands when they should have. The second means that even when they did wash, the technique left pathogens behind.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Pregnant women, elderly diners, and anyone with a compromised immune system who ordered a dish served raw had no written warning that the food carried elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of handwashing failures and no employee health policy creates a direct transmission pathway for Norovirus. Norovirus causes approximately 20 million illnesses annually in the United States. A sick employee who does not know they are required to report symptoms, and who does not wash their hands adequately, can contaminate surfaces, utensils, and food during a single shift. The two violations documented at Banquet on July 30 describe exactly that scenario.
The time-as-public-health-control violation means food was held in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without either proper temperature control or a documented, timed tracking system as an approved substitute. Food held in that range allows bacteria including Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus to multiply to dangerous levels. The violation indicates neither safeguard was functioning correctly.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited here as a high-severity violation, are how pathogens move from raw proteins to ready-to-eat foods. A cutting board used for raw fish and inadequately sanitized before being used for vegetables does not look different. The contamination is invisible until someone is sick.
The toxic substance violation is distinct from the biological risks above. It means cleaning chemicals, pesticides, or other hazardous materials were not properly labeled, stored separately from food, or used according to safe protocols. Chemical contamination of food does not require a pathogen. It can make someone ill within minutes.
The Longer Record
Banquet at 100 Chopin Plaza: Inspection History
The July 30 inspection was the 23rd on record for Banquet. Across those 23 inspections, state records show 158 total violations. Every inspection in the eight most recent visits on record produced at least one high-severity citation. Not one of those visits resulted in an emergency closure.
The pattern is consistent and specific. The February 2024 inspection produced 7 high-severity violations. The October 2024 inspection produced 6. November 2025 produced 5. The July 2026 inspection, the most recent, produced 10, the highest single-visit high-severity count in the available record.
There is no inspection in the recent history that shows a clean bill. The closest is a February 2023 visit with one high and two intermediate violations. Every visit since has included at least three high-severity citations.
Banquet has never been emergency-closed.
After the July 30 inspection documented ten high-severity violations, including improperly stored toxic substances, no shellfish traceability, parasite control failures, and a restaurant with no written policy for sick employees, the restaurant at 100 Chopin Plaza remained open for business.
