FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. State inspectors cited Michael's Cafe Bistro on NE 62nd Street for seven high-severity violations during the week of August 4, including food found in poor condition or adulterated, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored near food prep areas. That count led all 15 facilities flagged for high-severity violations across Fort Lauderdale this week.
The same inspection found inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning the restaurant could not demonstrate the origin of the shellfish it was serving. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Employees were observed using improper handwashing technique, and the restaurant had no adequate employee health policy in place.
What Inspectors Found
Koi Sushi Lounge and Hibachi on Cordova Road drew six high-severity violations, including the most alarming sourcing finding of the week: food from an unapproved or unknown source. At a restaurant that serves raw fish, that citation means inspectors could not confirm the seafood on the premises had passed federal safety inspection.
Koi also failed on three separate handwashing counts, with inspectors citing both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper technique, as well as an employee not reporting symptoms of illness. A violation for improper use of time as a public health control was also recorded, meaning food was held outside safe temperature ranges without a documented time-tracking system to manage the risk.
Bohemian Latin Grill on NE 32nd Street matched Koi's six high-severity count, and its inspection report reads as a near-complete breakdown of basic food safety management. No person in charge was present or performing duties. Employees were not reporting illness symptoms. Handwashing was inadequate, the facilities for handwashing were inadequate, and the technique used when handwashing did occur was improper. Shell stock records were also missing.
High Tides on Seabreeze Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations, among them food from an unapproved or unknown source and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. No person in charge was present during the inspection. An employee was not reporting symptoms of illness.
Larb BKK on North Federal Highway also drew five high-severity violations. The restaurant had no adequate employee health policy and no employee illness reporting in place simultaneously, meaning both the written framework and the actual practice were absent. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored, and shell stock records were inadequate.
Ethos Greek Bistro on SE 17th Street rounded out the five-violation tier. Inspectors cited food from an unapproved source, improper use of time as a public health control, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. An employee was not reporting illness symptoms, and shell stock identification records were inadequate.
IHOP at 1101 North Federal Highway was cited for four high-severity violations, including no person in charge present and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. That last violation is notable for a chain that serves eggs cooked to order: customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised are entitled to know when a menu item carries undercooked protein risk. Toxic chemicals were also improperly stored or labeled.
Sheraton Suites Cypress Creek on NW 62nd Street accumulated four high-severity violations centered almost entirely on contamination risk. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper technique, along with food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized and toxic chemicals improperly stored. A hotel kitchen serving a captive guest population faces heightened consequences from these failures.
Rice Mediterranean Kitchen on East Las Olas Boulevard was cited for food from an unapproved source, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. All three violations occurred at a restaurant that serves Mediterranean cuisine where raw preparations and precise cooking temperatures are central to the menu.
Juicy Crab on North Andrews Avenue was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and inadequate shell stock identification records. At a restaurant whose entire concept is built around shellfish, both violations cut directly at the core product. An employee was also not reporting illness symptoms.
On August 7, state inspectors ordered Sugar Bae at 8253 Sunset Strip closed after finding roach activity on the premises. No reopening had been recorded in state records as of the time of this report.
What These Violations Mean
The single most dangerous pattern across this week's inspections is the food-from-unapproved-sources violation, which appeared at Koi Sushi Lounge, High Tides, Ethos Greek Bistro, and Rice Mediterranean Kitchen. When a restaurant cannot document where its food came from, there is no traceability if a customer gets sick. Federal inspection systems exist specifically to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before product reaches a kitchen. Food that bypasses that chain has no safety verification attached to it.
Undercooking violations, cited at Michael's Cafe Bistro, Rice Mediterranean Kitchen, Juicy Crab, and Little Cuban Cafe, represent a direct pathogen survival risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A kitchen that is not verifying internal temperatures is not verifying that the food it sends to the table is safe.
The employee illness reporting failures documented at Koi, Bohemian Latin Grill, High Tides, Larb BKK, Ethos Greek Bistro, IHOP, Dairy Queen, and Juicy Crab are the violation type most directly linked to multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus spreads aggressively through food prepared by a sick worker and can sicken dozens of customers from a single shift. A written health policy, cited as absent or inadequate at Michael's Cafe Bistro, Larb BKK, and Grano de Mostaza Restaurant, is the mechanism that gives employees both the knowledge and the permission to stay home when ill.
Toxic chemical storage violations appeared at Michael's Cafe Bistro, High Tides, Larb BKK, IHOP, Grano de Mostaza, Sheraton Suites, Don Carlin Restaurant, and Ceviche Barrio by Antojitos to Go. Eight of fifteen facilities in a single week. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food prep surfaces can contaminate food through spills, mislabeling, or cross-contact with no visible sign that anything has gone wrong.
The Longer Record
Michael's Cafe Bistro carries 32 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility cited this week. Seven high-severity violations at a location with that inspection history is a record that warrants scrutiny. Bohemian Latin Grill has 30 prior inspections and returned six high-severity violations, including the absence of a person in charge, a condition the CDC links to three times as many critical violations as managed facilities.
Koi Sushi Lounge has 28 prior inspections. Larb BKK and Ceviche Barrio by Antojitos to Go each carry 27. Don Carlin Restaurant and IHOP each have 24. None of those histories are short, and all recorded high-severity violations this week, including some, like food from unapproved sources at Koi, that are not minor administrative oversights.
Rice Mediterranean Kitchen stands at the opposite end of the history spectrum with only 14 prior inspections on record, the fewest of any facility in this week's data. It is the newest location in the group, and it already carries four high-severity violations including undercooking and unapproved food sourcing. Little Cuban Cafe on Griffin Road has 22 prior inspections and was cited this week for undercooking and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a combination that suggests the temperature control issue is not new information to this kitchen.
Sugar Bae, closed August 7 for roach activity, has no prior inspection count listed in state records for this reporting period.
