FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. State inspectors cited El Portal Maya Restaurant on West Commercial Boulevard for seven high-severity violations during the week of July 11, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and a finding that no person in charge was present or performing duties when inspectors arrived.
The same week, Florida Bar and Grill on Seabreeze Boulevard also drew seven high-severity citations, among them improper use of time as a public health control, inadequate shellfish identification records, and no employee health policy on file.
Across fifteen Fort Lauderdale restaurants inspected that week, inspectors documented 53 high-severity violations in total.
The Two Worst Offenders
At El Portal Maya, inspectors also cited employees for not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shellfish traceability records, in addition to the temperature and sanitation failures. The absence of a person in charge at the time of the visit is significant because inspectors rely on management to correct violations on the spot.
Florida Bar and Grill's seven citations included a violation for improperly using time as a public health control, meaning food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without adequate documentation or a written plan. Inspectors also found no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items and cited employees for improper handwashing technique.
What Inspectors Found Across the Week
El Fogon Dreams on Davie Boulevard drew four high-severity citations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no employee health policy. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal, an intermediate violation that signals a structural or plumbing problem beyond the kitchen itself.
Mangal Fort Lauderdale on West Broward Boulevard received five high-severity citations, including inadequate shellfish identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to minimum temperature, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique.
Baires Grill on East Las Olas Boulevard was cited for five high-severity violations, one of which stands out from the week's findings: food from an unapproved or unknown source. That violation means inspectors could not verify the origin of at least some of the food on hand, which removes any traceability if a customer later becomes ill.
Okinawa Teriyaki and Sushi Express on West Broward Boulevard received five high-severity citations including one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, in addition to shellfish record failures, food contact surface violations, improper handwashing, and an employee illness reporting failure.
Big Louie's Pizzeria Italian Restaurant on East Sunrise Boulevard also drew five high-severity citations. Inspectors found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside food contact surface failures, undercooked food, improper handwashing, and no consumer advisory for raw items.
Getsemani International Cuisine on North Federal Highway received four high-severity citations, including no employee health policy, inadequate shellfish records, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Red Door on East Las Olas Boulevard was cited for three high-severity violations including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, an employee illness reporting failure, and improper handwashing. Inspectors also noted inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities, which affects whether employees can wash their hands properly after using the restroom.
Epazote Mexican Restaurant on North Federal Highway drew three high-severity citations, one of them for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Inspectors also cited employees there for not reporting illness symptoms and for improper handwashing technique.
Miami Subs on West Commercial Boulevard received three high-severity citations: improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Kaluz Restaurant on East Commercial Boulevard drew a single high-severity citation for no person in charge present or performing duties.
Quarterdeck Seafood Bar and Neighborhood Grill on Southeast 17th Street received one high-severity violation for employees not reporting symptoms of illness, alongside a citation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Galway Shawl on East Commercial Boulevard and Tee-Jay Thai Sushi Restaurant on North Federal Highway were the only two facilities inspected that week to receive no high-severity violations.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited high-severity violation this week, appearing at eight of the fifteen facilities, was improper handwashing technique. This is not simply a procedural checkbox. Studies show that even when workers attempt to wash their hands, incorrect technique, too brief, skipping soap, or failing to reach all surfaces, leaves enough pathogens on the skin to contaminate the next surface touched. At facilities like El Portal Maya, Mangal Fort Lauderdale, Baires Grill, and Big Louie's Pizzeria, that risk compounds when combined with food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, since the two failures together create a direct route from a worker's hands to undercooked food and then to a customer's plate.
The food from unapproved or unknown source citation at Baires Grill is one of the most consequential findings of the week. When food bypasses USDA or FDA-regulated supply chains, there is no paper trail. If a customer becomes ill after eating there, investigators cannot trace the food back to its origin to identify the contamination source or warn others who may have purchased from the same supplier.
Shellfish traceability failures, cited at El Portal Maya, Florida Bar and Grill, Mangal Fort Lauderdale, Okinawa Teriyaki and Sushi Express, and Getsemani International Cuisine, carry a specific risk that most diners do not consider. Oysters, clams, and mussels are often consumed raw or barely cooked, and they filter large volumes of water, concentrating whatever pathogens or toxins are present. Without shellfish tags and receiving records, there is no way to know which harvest bed the shellfish came from, and no way to pull them from circulation if a contamination event is later reported at that source.
Toxic chemical storage violations at Okinawa Teriyaki, Big Louie's Pizzeria, Red Door, and Miami Subs represent an acute rather than chronic risk. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near or above food, or in unlabeled containers, can cause immediate poisoning if they contact food directly or if a worker mistakes a chemical container for a food ingredient. These are not hypothetical scenarios: the FDA tracks dozens of such incidents annually.
The Longer Record
El Fogon Dreams on Davie Boulevard has the longest inspection history of any facility cited this week, with 36 prior inspections on record. This week's four high-severity violations, including sewage disposal and food temperature failures, are layered onto a facility that has seen inspectors more than three dozen times. The volume of prior visits alone does not indicate persistent failure, but it does mean the patterns inspectors find there are well-documented.
Big Louie's Pizzeria, with 33 prior inspections, and Galway Shawl, with 29, are also among the most-visited facilities in this week's group. Galway Shawl cleared the week without any high-severity violations, making it one of only two facilities to do so. Big Louie's, by contrast, drew five high-severity citations despite its long inspection history.
Florida Bar and Grill, with 28 prior inspections, and Tee-Jay Thai, also with 28, have both been in the inspection system long enough that their patterns are established. Florida Bar and Grill's seven high-severity violations this week place it among the worst performers of the week regardless of history.
Getsemani International Cuisine on North Federal Highway is the newest facility in this week's data, with only 10 prior inspections on record. It already drew four high-severity violations, including no employee health policy and improper use of time as a public health control. Whether those failures reflect early operational instability or a longer-term pattern will depend on what inspectors find when they return.
Baires Grill, with 18 prior inspections, remains among the newer facilities in the group, but its citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source this week is unresolved in the public record.
