MIAMI, FL. Inspectors cited Raccoon Coffee on Biscayne Boulevard and New York/Roma Pizza and Pasta on SE 2nd Avenue for 11 high-severity violations each during the week of September 12, 2026, the highest tallies among 15 Miami-Dade restaurants that drew serious citations in a single seven-day stretch.
At Raccoon Coffee, inspectors found no employee health policy in place, documented that employees were not reporting illness symptoms, and noted improper handwashing technique alongside inadequate shell stock identification records. The facility was also cited for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, for misusing time as a public health control, and for posting no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What Inspectors Found
New York/Roma Pizza drew its 11 citations for a different cluster of failures. Inspectors documented that employees were not reporting illness symptoms and that handwashing was both inadequate and improper in technique. The facility was also cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
Food from an unapproved source is among the most serious findings in the data this week. It surfaced at New York/Roma Pizza, at Caffe Portofino on S. Dixie Highway, at Arepa.Bar on NW 36th Street, and at Osteria Vecchio Piemonte on SW 72nd Street, and at Los Verdes Restaurant on SW 137th Avenue.
Old Cutler Inn on Old Cutler Road drew 10 high-severity violations, the third-highest count of the week. Among its citations: no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing by staff, inadequate handwashing facilities, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Conch Heaven on NW 27th Avenue drew 9 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Caffe Portofino's 9 high-severity violations included no person in charge, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory.
Arepa.Bar also drew 9 high-severity violations: no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory.
Shorty's Bar-B-Que on S. Dixie Highway was cited for 7 high-severity violations including improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, and two separate toxic chemical violations. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal as an intermediate violation.
Casa Juan on NW 7th Street drew 6 high-severity violations covering improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, and two toxic chemical citations. An improper sewage disposal violation and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned rounded out its intermediate findings.
Casola's Pizzeria and Sub Shop on SW 17th Avenue was cited for 8 high-severity violations that included employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, two toxic substance violations, and a citation for no allergen awareness demonstrated. That last violation, absent from every other facility cited this week, carries a distinct risk: food allergy reactions send 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year.
Osteria Vecchio Piemonte's 8 high-severity violations included no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Los Verdes Restaurant drew 8 high-severity violations: no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory.
Victory Restaurant and Lounge on NE 1st Avenue drew 3 high-severity violations: improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Tran An on NE 82nd Street drew 4 high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Managuita Restaurant on SW 211th Street drew 3 high-severity violations including improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized processes. Tutto Pasta on SW 3rd Avenue drew 1 high-severity violation for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread high-severity finding this week, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, appeared at 13 of the 15 facilities. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicers that are not properly cleaned and sanitized become direct transfer points for bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria. When a surface that touched raw chicken is used for vegetables without sanitizing, the contamination moves invisibly to the next item prepared.
The employee illness cluster is equally serious. Raccoon Coffee, New York/Roma Pizza, Old Cutler Inn, Conch Heaven, Casola's, Los Verdes, and Arepa.Bar were all cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, and several of those also lacked any written employee health policy. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads through exactly this pathway: a sick worker who does not report symptoms and continues handling food. A single infected employee can expose hundreds of customers before anyone connects the illnesses.
Food from an unapproved or unknown source appeared at five facilities this week, including New York/Roma Pizza, Caffe Portofino, Arepa.Bar, Osteria Vecchio Piemonte, and Los Verdes. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection channels, there is no traceability. If a customer gets sick, investigators cannot trace the product back to its origin, which means a contaminated batch can continue circulating.
The no-consumer-advisory violation, cited at 11 of the 15 facilities, matters most to specific groups of diners: elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system. When a menu offers raw or undercooked shellfish, fish, or meat without a posted advisory, those customers have no way to make an informed choice about the risk they are taking.
The Longer Record
The facilities with the longest inspection histories are not the ones showing improvement. Casola's Pizzeria and Sub Shop has 45 prior inspections on record, the highest count of any facility cited this week, and still drew 8 high-severity violations in September 2026. Conch Heaven has 42 prior inspections and drew 9 high-severity violations. Managuita Restaurant has 40 prior inspections and still drew citations for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and failure to follow specialized process procedures.
Shorty's Bar-B-Que carries 38 prior inspections and this week's record included parasite destruction failures and two separate toxic chemical violations. Victory Restaurant and Lounge has 32 prior inspections and was still cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
The contrast at the other end of the data is notable. Old Cutler Inn has only 4 prior inspections on record, the fewest of any facility in this week's data, yet drew 10 high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, no adequate handwashing facilities, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature. A facility that new, accumulating that many serious violations that early, raises a different kind of concern than a longtime operator.
Casola's Pizzeria, with 45 inspections behind it, remains the only facility in this week's data cited for no allergen awareness demonstrated.
