MIAMI, FL. Inspectors cited Crazy Poke on NW 24th Street for 12 high-severity violations during the week of October 1, the highest single-facility count in Miami-Dade during a seven-day stretch that saw 15 restaurants accumulate serious citations and one forced to close entirely.
The violations at Crazy Poke included food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food in poor condition or mislabeled, inadequate shellfish identification records, and a near-total breakdown of handwashing compliance. Inspectors cited the facility for inadequate handwashing by employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper hand and arm washing technique, all at the same visit. No person in charge was present or performing duties.
The Violations
Three other restaurants matched or nearly matched Crazy Poke's count. La Munequita Restaurant on NE 2nd Avenue drew 11 high-severity citations, including food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and no employee health policy. Inspectors also noted food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Ferraro's Kitchen on NE 79th Street also received 11 high-severity citations. Among the most serious: parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and time as a public health control not properly used. No person in charge was present, and no employee health policy was in place.
Mr Cachapa on NW 2nd Avenue drew the same count, 11 high-severity violations, with inspectors documenting inadequate handwashing by employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper technique, food from unapproved sources, and food in poor condition. Employees were not reporting illness symptoms, and no health policy existed to require them to.
The week's single emergency closure came on October 2 at Yumwich Inc, 11400 N Kendall Drive, shut down by the state for temperature violations in food storage.
Chicken House #4 on NW 20th Street accumulated 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the facility for food not cooked to minimum temperature, food in poor condition, inadequate handwashing facilities, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Rishtedar on NW 24th Street, just a block from Crazy Poke, drew 9 high-severity citations including food from unapproved sources, inadequate handwashing facilities, no employee health policy, and no consumer advisory. Pasapoga Restaurant on SW 72nd Street matched that count with the same cluster of handwashing failures, food contact surface violations, undercooking, and no consumer advisory.
El Porton de la Flaca on NW 107th Avenue received 9 high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish identification records, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Doma on NE 26th Street was cited for 9 high-severity violations, among them food not cooked to minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Craft South Miami on Sunset Drive drew 8 high-severity violations including two separate chemical storage citations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also cited food in poor condition and food not cooked to minimum temperature.
La Fogata on Mills Drive received 5 high-severity violations including an employee illness reporting failure, food not cooked to minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and unclean food contact surfaces.
Eleventh Street Pizza on SW 72nd Place was cited for 4 high-severity violations. One stood out: no allergen awareness demonstrated. That citation, combined with improper sewage disposal and inadequate toilet facilities, made for a wide-ranging list at a pizza operation.
Salty Peaches Catering and Cafe on NW 77th Avenue drew 3 high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Senor Pan Cafe on SW 137th Avenue received 2 high-severity citations, one for required procedures for specialized processes not followed, suggesting the facility uses a process such as curing, smoking, or reduced-oxygen packaging without the required controls. La Perla El Rincon del Mar on SW 152nd Street drew a single high-severity citation for inadequate shellfish identification records, alongside intermediate violations for improper sewage disposal and reuse of single-use items.
What These Violations Mean
The handwashing failures documented this week at Crazy Poke, Mr Cachapa, Chicken House #4, Rishtedar, and Pasapoga are not paperwork problems. Inspectors cited not just inadequate technique but missing or inadequate facilities, meaning employees had nowhere to properly wash their hands even if they tried. Without accessible, functional handwashing stations, pathogens including Norovirus, Salmonella, and E. coli move directly from hands to food.
The food sourcing violations at Crazy Poke, La Munequita, Mr Cachapa, El Porton de la Flaca, and Rishtedar carry a specific consequence: when food enters a kitchen from an unapproved or unknown supplier, it bypasses USDA and FDA inspection. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no supply chain to trace and no way to identify whether other consumers were exposed from the same source.
The parasite destruction failure at Ferraro's Kitchen is a distinct category of risk. Fish served raw or undercooked, including sushi and ceviche preparations, requires documented freezing at precise temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites such as Anisakis. Without that step, and without records proving it was taken, the restaurant cannot demonstrate the food is safe.
Toxic chemical storage violations appeared at El Porton de la Flaca, Doma, Craft South Miami, La Fogata, Eleventh Street Pizza, and Salty Peaches. Six facilities in a single week. Chemicals stored near or above food, or without proper labels, can cause acute poisoning through direct contamination. The risk is not theoretical: mislabeled containers have historically been the cause of mass-casualty events at food service operations.
The Longer Record
El Porton de la Flaca and La Perla El Rincon del Mar each carry 35 prior inspections on record, the highest counts among facilities cited this week. El Porton de la Flaca's 35-inspection history now includes 9 high-severity violations in a single week. La Perla's record stretches equally long, and this week's shellfish traceability failure and improper sewage citation add to it.
Pasapoga Restaurant and Senor Pan Cafe each show 32 prior inspections. Pasapoga's 9 high-severity violations this week, including repeated handwashing failures and undercooking, represent the kind of citation pattern that accumulates across long inspection histories without resolution. Chicken House #4, with 33 prior inspections, drew 9 high-severity violations including food not cooked to minimum temperature and inadequate handwashing facilities.
La Munequita at 28 prior inspections and La Fogata at 27 are both well-established in the inspection record. Neither is a new operation encountering inspectors for the first time. La Munequita's 11 high-severity violations this week, including food from unapproved sources and food not cooked to temperature, reflect serious gaps at a facility inspectors have visited nearly three dozen times.
Salty Peaches Catering and Cafe stands apart in one direction. With only 3 prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities in this week's data, and it has already accumulated toxic chemical storage and food contact surface violations. Rishtedar, with 10 prior inspections, drew 9 high-severity citations. Both are early in their inspection histories and already showing the violation types that tend to compound over time.
Yumwich Inc, the facility closed on October 2 for temperature violations in food storage, does not appear in the prior-inspection data provided. Its closure record now stands as the first public entry in whatever comes next for that address.
