FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Inspectors walked into Fish Tales at 3355 NE 33 St during the week of August 19 and left with nine high-severity violations on the citation sheet, the worst single-facility tally in Fort Lauderdale for the period.
The list at Fish Tales reads like a compendium of what food safety regulators fear most. No person in charge present or performing duties. An employee not reporting illness symptoms. Improper handwashing technique. Food in poor condition. Shellfish without adequate traceability records. Food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. And no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
That last violation matters especially at a seafood restaurant. Customers ordering raw or lightly cooked shellfish have no posted warning to inform their choice.
The Week's Worst
The closure that week happened not at Fish Tales, but one mile north. Moonlite Diner at 6201 N Andrews Ave was emergency-closed on August 20 for roach activity. The diner also drew three high-severity violations of its own, including food in poor condition and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food.
What Inspectors Found
Mixteca at 6882 NW 20 Ave drew six high-severity citations, the second-highest total this week. Inspectors found no written employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, and an improper use of time as a public health control. That last violation means food was left in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without proper time tracking to ensure it was discarded before becoming hazardous.
The Tower Club at 1 Financial Plaza, the private dining club perched above downtown Fort Lauderdale, was cited for four high-severity violations. No person in charge. An employee not reporting illness symptoms. Food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The club's clientele, which skews toward executives and professionals, may not expect to encounter the same oversight gaps as a strip-mall diner.
Thai Garlic and Sushi at 116 Weston Rd also drew four high-severity citations, including no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique. At a restaurant serving raw sushi, the combination of absent management, unreported illness, and broken handwashing infrastructure is a particularly direct pathway to contamination.
Irie Jerk at 6472 NW 5 Way was cited for three high-severity and three intermediate violations. Inspectors found improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The intermediate violations included multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, improper sanitizing solution or procedures, and inadequate toilet facilities.
Shooters Waterfront Cafe at 3033 NE 32 Ave drew citations for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Improper sewage or wastewater disposal and improperly cleaned multi-use utensils rounded out the intermediate tier.
Wok'N'Lime at 2979 W Commercial Blvd was cited for an employee not reporting illness, inadequate shell stock records, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. McDonald's No. 12396 at 1201 SR 84 drew the identical three high-severity categories: illness reporting, shell stock records, and undercooked food. The shell stock citation at a McDonald's is notable. The chain does not typically serve shellfish, making the presence of that violation worth scrutiny.
Jay's Steakhouse FTL LLC at 441 NE 3 Ave was cited for no person in charge, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. That combination, undercooking and no warning posted, creates a scenario where a customer cannot make an informed decision about food that may not have reached a safe internal temperature.
New Hong Kong Chinese Food at 1303C SE 17 St drew citations for an employee not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Wan's 4G at 664 N Federal Hwy was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities, food from an unapproved or unknown source, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Food from an unapproved source is among the most serious categories inspectors flag.
Denny's of Oakland Park 7458 at 3151 Powerline Rd was cited for improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and improper sewage or wastewater disposal. G&B Dockside at 3333 NE 32 Ave and Chipotle Mexican Grill 1912 at 1515 SE 17 St Unit 101 each drew one high-severity violation, G&B Dockside for an employee not reporting illness and Chipotle for no consumer advisory.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited violation this week was an employee not reporting illness symptoms, flagged at Fish Tales, Mixteca, The Tower Club, Thai Garlic and Sushi, G&B Dockside, Shooters Waterfront Cafe, Wok'N'Lime, McDonald's No. 12396, and New Hong Kong Chinese Food. This is not a paperwork violation. Norovirus, the pathogen responsible for roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, spreads directly through infected food handlers who continue working through symptoms.
Improper handwashing technique was documented at Fish Tales, Mixteca, Thai Garlic and Sushi, Irie Jerk, New Hong Kong Chinese Food, and Denny's of Oakland Park. The distinction between attempting to wash hands and washing them correctly matters: pathogens survive an inadequate wash. At Thai Garlic and Sushi, where raw fish is served, and at Fish Tales, where shellfish traceability records were also missing, the combination amplifies the risk significantly.
Inadequate shell stock identification records appeared at Fish Tales, Shooters Waterfront Cafe, and Wok'N'Lime. Shellfish are among the highest-risk foods inspectors track because oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without proper tagging records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest location if customers become ill. The records exist precisely for outbreak investigations, and their absence means that investigation cannot happen.
Wan's 4G was the only facility this week cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source. Food from unapproved sources bypasses USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely, meaning it could carry Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens with no regulatory checkpoint between the source and the customer's plate. When illness is later reported, the absence of a verified supply chain makes the source nearly impossible to identify.
The Longer Record
Moonlite Diner carries 41 prior inspections on record, the highest count among this week's cited facilities, and was still emergency-closed for roach activity on August 20. Forty-one inspections represent years of regulatory contact. The closure on the 41st-plus visit suggests the prior record has not produced sustained compliance.
Denny's of Oakland Park follows with 40 prior inspections, and New Hong Kong Chinese Food has 35 on record. Shooters Waterfront Cafe has 35 as well. Wan's 4G has 33. These are not first-time encounters with inspectors, yet all drew high-severity violations this week.
The Tower Club has 29 prior inspections. Wok'N'Lime and McDonald's No. 12396 share 29 and 15 respectively. Jay's Steakhouse, with only 15 inspections on record, is among the newer facilities in this week's group and already carries three high-severity violations including undercooked food and no person in charge.
Fish Tales, the week's worst performer with nine high-severity violations, has 24 prior inspections on record. Mixteca, with six high-severity violations, has 22. Neither is a new facility navigating early compliance. Both have been inspected enough times that the violations documented this week represent a continuing pattern, not a first stumble.
The question that the records do not answer is whether the shellfish traceability gap at Wok'N'Lime, a restaurant that does not obviously specialize in shellfish, reflects an actual product on hand or an administrative oversight. That distinction matters if anyone who ate there this week gets sick.
