MIAMI, FL. State inspectors cited La Hormiga de Oro III on SW 147 Avenue for 11 high-severity violations during the week of October 12, the most of any facility inspected in Miami that week, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food documented as being in poor condition, and at least one item that had not been cooked to its required minimum temperature.
The restaurant also had no employee health policy, no person in charge present or performing duties, and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors further noted inadequate shell stock identification records and food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized. That is eight distinct categories of high-severity failure at a single address.
The Week's Worst Findings
Macitas Restaurant on SW 104 Street drew nine high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper hand and arm washing technique cited as separate violations. Inspectors also flagged that the restaurant was using time as a public health control without doing so properly, a practice that allows food to stay in the temperature danger zone for a defined window but requires strict documentation to be legal.
Hampton Inn Dadeland on SW 70th Avenue also received nine high-severity citations. Among them: inadequate handwashing facilities, food documented as being in poor condition, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. The absence of a consumer advisory at a hotel breakfast operation carries particular weight because guests include elderly travelers, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals who face the highest risk from undercooked eggs or meats.
FlyFuel Food Co on NE 29th Street had nine high-severity violations as well, including inadequate handwashing facilities and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Inspectors also cited the absence of an employee health policy and no person in charge performing duties.
Xixon Spanish Restaurant on SW 22nd Street accumulated nine high-severity violations with no intermediate violations at all, meaning every citation inspectors wrote was in the most serious category. The list included food from unapproved or unknown sources, food in poor condition, no consumer advisory, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Japanese Sokai Peruvian Sushi Bar on W Flagler Street was cited for eight high-severity violations, including two separate toxic substance violations: chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The facility also had food from unapproved sources and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Casablanca Seafood Bar and Grill on NW North River Drive received eight high-severity citations, one of which stood out across the week's entire dataset: parasite destruction procedures not followed. For a seafood restaurant serving fish that may be eaten raw or lightly cooked, failure to properly freeze product to kill parasites such as Anisakis creates a direct route to customer illness.
Five more facilities each drew eight high-severity violations. Coffee Break House on Biscayne Boulevard was cited for food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. El Rinconcito Latino Cafeteria on SW 142nd Avenue had food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards alongside two separate toxic substance violations.
La Brasa Grill on SW 87th Avenue drew citations for food from unapproved sources, improper hand washing technique, and toxic substances improperly identified or used. Dr Limon Ceviche Bar on SW 84th Street had inadequate handwashing facilities and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, a combination that compounds risk at a restaurant whose menu centers on raw and lightly cooked seafood.
Wajiro's Restaurant on SW 8th Street was cited for food from unapproved sources, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper technique, along with no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Mi Ranchito Salvadoreno Restaurante on W Flagler Street had eight high-severity violations including food not cooked to required temperatures, no employee health policy, and a citation for no allergen awareness demonstrated, the only facility in this week's data flagged for that violation.
Hi Pot on SW 107th Avenue drew four high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Sky Coffee Buenos Aires Inc on SW 2nd Avenue had the week's lightest citation load, one high-severity violation for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, alongside an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation across this week's 15 facilities was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited at nearly every location in the data. Cutting boards, prep tables, slicers, and similar surfaces that touch food directly are the primary transfer route for bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli between raw and ready-to-eat items. When those surfaces are not sanitized between uses, cross-contamination is not theoretical, it is nearly guaranteed.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at La Hormiga de Oro III, Xixon Spanish Restaurant, Japanese Sokai Peruvian Sushi Bar, Coffee Break House, La Brasa Grill, and Wajiro's Restaurant, means inspectors could not verify where the food came from. Approved suppliers are subject to USDA and FDA inspections. Unapproved sources are not, which means there is no inspection record, no traceability, and no reliable chain of accountability if customers become ill.
The cluster of employee illness violations, no health policy, no reporting of symptoms, and no person in charge, appeared together at La Hormiga de Oro III, Macitas Restaurant, FlyFuel Food Co, Casablanca Seafood Bar and Grill, and several others. These three violations compound each other. Without a written policy, workers do not know they must report symptoms. Without reporting, a sick employee handles food. Without a manager present and engaged, no one catches the failure before it reaches a customer's plate.
Parasite destruction procedures not followed at Casablanca Seafood Bar and Grill is among the most specific risks in the week's data. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork are killed by proper freezing protocols. A seafood restaurant that skips that step and serves fish raw or undercooked is serving product that has not cleared the one safeguard designed to make it safe.
The Longer Record
La Hormiga de Oro III has 41 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility in this week's data, and it led the week with 11 high-severity violations. That volume of prior inspections means the state has visited this address dozens of times, and this week's findings, including food from unapproved sources and inadequate cooking temperatures, represent categories of failure that inspectors have had ample opportunity to observe and document.
Macitas Restaurant has 39 prior inspections on record. Xixon Spanish Restaurant has 37. Dr Limon Ceviche Bar and Wajiro's Restaurant each have 34. El Rinconcito Latino Cafeteria and Hi Pot each carry 32. These are not new operations still working out procedural kinks. They are established restaurants with extensive inspection histories that still drew high-severity violations this week in categories including food handling, employee illness, and chemical storage.
Japanese Sokai Peruvian Sushi Bar and Casablanca Seafood Bar and Grill each have 27 prior inspections. La Brasa Grill also has 27. Hampton Inn Dadeland has 12 and FlyFuel Food Co has 10, both relatively shorter histories, but both already accumulating nine high-severity violations in a single visit.
Coffee Break House has only 7 prior inspections on record, making it one of the newest facilities in this week's data. It drew eight high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Sky Coffee Buenos Aires Inc has just 3 prior inspections, the fewest of any facility cited this week. Its sewage disposal violation, flagged as an intermediate citation, remains unresolved in the current record.
