FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Inspectors cited El Portal Maya Restaurant on W Commercial Boulevard for seven high-severity violations during the week of July 10, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items — a combination that covers nearly every stage of a meal from sourcing to service. The restaurant also had no person in charge present and failed to document shellfish traceability records, meaning inspectors could not determine where the oysters, clams, or mussels on the menu originated.
That same week, state inspectors flagged 14 other Fort Lauderdale restaurants for high-severity violations, with a second facility matching El Portal Maya's count of seven.
The Violations
Florida Bar and Grill on Seabreeze Boulevard drew seven high-severity violations of its own, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw items. Inspectors also cited the Seabreeze location for failing to properly use time as a public health control, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone without adequate documentation of when it was placed out or when it needed to be discarded.
Eatapas on N Federal Highway accumulated six high-severity violations. Inspectors found no person in charge present, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. The restaurant also had intermediate violations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and single-use items being reused.
Mangal Fort Lauderdale on W Broward Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Baires Grill on E Las Olas Boulevard drew five high-severity violations, including a particularly serious one: food from an unapproved or unknown source. Inspectors also documented improper handwashing technique, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to required temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw items.
Big Louie's Pizzeria Italian Restaurant on E Sunrise Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations, among them toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods rounded out the list.
A1A Hospitality LLC on N Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard also drew five high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory for raw foods.
El Fogon Dreams on Davie Boulevard was cited for four high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw items. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate ventilation.
Getsemani International Cuisine on N Federal Highway drew four high-severity violations, including missing shellfish traceability records, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw items, and no employee health policy.
Senor Frog's on S Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard was cited for three high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Red Door on E Las Olas Boulevard drew three high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and employees not reporting illness symptoms, along with intermediate violations for improperly cleaned multi-use utensils and inadequate toilet facilities.
Epazote Mexican Restaurant on N Federal Highway was cited for three high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated.
Kaluz Restaurant on E Commercial Boulevard drew a single high-severity violation, no person in charge present or performing duties.
Quarterdeck Seafood Bar and Neighborhood Grill on SE 17th Street was cited for one high-severity violation, employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Galway Shawl on E Commercial Boulevard drew no high-severity violations, with two intermediate citations for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate ventilation.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity finding this week, employees not reporting illness symptoms, appeared at nine of the fifteen facilities, including Quarterdeck Seafood Bar, Senor Frog's, Eatapas, Mangal Fort Lauderdale, Baires Grill, A1A Hospitality, Red Door, Epazote Mexican Restaurant, and El Portal Maya. This is not a paperwork problem. A single sick food worker can transmit Norovirus to dozens of customers through direct food contact, and that worker has no legal obligation to stay home if the employer has not established a clear reporting policy.
The absence of an employee health policy, cited at El Fogon Dreams, Florida Bar and Grill, Eatapas, A1A Hospitality, and Getsemani International Cuisine, is what makes the illness-reporting failure possible in the first place. Without a written policy, there is no mechanism for a sick employee to know they are required to report symptoms, and no documentation trail if an outbreak occurs later.
Food not cooked to required minimum temperatures was cited at El Portal Maya, El Fogon Dreams, Florida Bar and Grill, Senor Frog's, Mangal Fort Lauderdale, Baires Grill, and Big Louie's Pizzeria. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Undercooking is not a marginal risk; it is a documented leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks nationally.
Two facilities, Baires Grill and A1A Hospitality, were cited for food from unapproved or unknown sources. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. Investigators cannot identify the supplier, cannot issue a recall, and cannot determine how many other restaurants received the same product.
The Longer Record
El Fogon Dreams has 36 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Florida Bar and Grill has 28, Eatapas 24, and El Portal Maya 26. None of these facilities are new to the inspection process, and all four drew multiple high-severity violations in the same week.
Big Louie's Pizzeria and Senor Frog's each have 33 prior inspections on record. Both were cited this week for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, violations that appear repeatedly in the records of high-inspection-count facilities. Kaluz Restaurant and Galway Shawl each have 29 prior inspections, though Galway Shawl drew no high-severity findings this week.
At the other end of the history range, Getsemani International Cuisine has only 10 prior inspections on record, the fewest of any facility in this week's data, and already drew four high-severity violations. Mangal Fort Lauderdale has 15 prior inspections and drew five high-severity citations. Both facilities are relatively new to the inspection record and are accumulating serious violations early.
Baires Grill has 18 prior inspections on record. The food-from-unapproved-sources violation cited there this week is one of the harder findings to dismiss as administrative, because it cannot be corrected by a cleaning crew or a policy update. The source of the food is either documented or it is not.
