MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL. Inspectors visiting El Churrascaso Grill at 7761 NW 107 Avenue in Doral last week documented 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection, the highest count among the 250 facilities examined across Miami-Dade County between September 19 and September 25, 2026.
Those 11 violations included food arriving from unapproved or unknown sources, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing by food employees, shellfish served without proper identification records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
The Worst of the Week
China Lee Restaurant at 559 SW 8th Street in Miami matched El Churrascaso's high-severity count at 11. Inspectors there documented employees not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper hand and arm washing technique, food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, food from unapproved sources, shellfish without proper identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Huang's China Buffet at 3800 W 18 Avenue in Hialeah drew 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors found no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and time as a public health control not properly used.
PinkRiver at 15400 Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura collected 9 high-severity citations, including employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, shellfish without identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Brisa de Espana at 8726 NW 26 Street in Miami also reached 9 high-severity violations. Among them: employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine at 8550 NW 53rd Street in Doral drew 8 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, shellfish without identification records, food not cooked to required temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly stored.
Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest at 11421 S Dixie Highway was cited for 7 high-severity violations. Inspectors flagged no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, along with improper sewage or wastewater disposal at the intermediate level.
Pacifico at 1098 W 29 Street in Hialeah received 6 high-severity violations, among them no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Rio Grande Churrascaria at 11995 SW 26 Street in Miami was cited for 5 high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal, improperly cleaned multi-use utensils, and improper sanitizing procedures at the intermediate level.
Las Tejas Restaurant at 11865 SW 26 Street in Miami drew 3 high-severity violations: no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. El Meson del Paraiso Restaurant at 12820 SW 120 Street in Miami was cited for inadequate handwashing by food employees and toxic substances improperly stored. Manta Restaurant at 102 NW 25th Street in Miami rounded out the 12 flagged facilities with no employee health policy and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, plus improper sewage disposal and inadequate ventilation at the intermediate level.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited high-severity violation across Miami-Dade this week was food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, appearing at 10 of the 12 flagged facilities. Cutting boards, prep tables, and equipment that are not properly sanitized between uses become direct transfer points for pathogens like Salmonella and E. coli, moving from raw meat to ready-to-eat food without any thermal kill step in between.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, documented at El Churrascaso Grill, China Lee Restaurant, Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine, Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest, Rio Grande Churrascaria, PinkRiver, and Brisa de Espana, removes the traceability chain that makes outbreak investigation possible. When a customer gets sick, inspectors can only identify the source if the food passed through licensed, inspected suppliers. Food from unknown sources carries no such record.
The employee illness violations at Huang's China Buffet, China Lee Restaurant, Rio Grande Churrascaria, Pacifico, PinkRiver, and Brisa de Espana represent a direct transmission route. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, requires as few as 18 viral particles to cause infection. A sick employee without a policy requiring them to report symptoms or stay home can expose every customer served during a shift.
Parasite destruction failures at El Churrascaso Grill, Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest, and Brisa de Espana are specific to facilities serving raw or undercooked fish. Without documented freezing at required temperatures, or cooking to sufficient internal temperatures, parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork remain viable in the food served to customers.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities featured this week, which limits direct comparison of cumulative histories. What the single-week record does show is a cluster of serious violations concentrated in facilities operating across multiple Miami-Dade cities, from Aventura on the north end of the county to Pinecrest in the south, with Doral, Hialeah, and Miami proper accounting for the majority of the worst performers.
Several of the flagged facilities share violation categories across inspections in a way that suggests systemic rather than incidental failures. El Churrascaso Grill's combination of unapproved food sourcing, missing shellfish traceability records, and no parasite destruction procedures points to a supply chain that has not been brought into compliance. Those three violations together indicate the facility is sourcing seafood and shellfish outside licensed channels and serving it without the safety steps required for high-risk raw proteins.
Huang's China Buffet's combination of no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique represents four separate breakdowns in the same system. Each violation on its own is serious. All four together, at a buffet format where food is held at temperature for extended periods and handled by multiple employees, compounds the risk considerably.
Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine's citation for time as a public health control not properly used, alongside food not cooked to required temperatures and no consumer advisory, means the facility is relying on time rather than temperature to keep food safe, and doing so incorrectly. That violation was also documented at Huang's China Buffet and PinkRiver during the same week.
