MIAMI, FL. Mitricolor on SW 152nd Street drew 11 high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, including citations for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, not cooking food to required minimum temperatures, and having no written employee health policy, according to state records.
That inspection was one of 15 high-severity violation reports filed by state inspectors across Miami-Dade County during the week of September 16 through September 22, 2026. The same week, an emergency closure hit a fifth avenue restaurant on the northeast side of the city.
The Worst of the Week
Mitricolor's inspection also turned up inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning inspectors could not verify the origin of shellfish on the premises. The facility was cited for failing to use time as a public health control properly and for not posting a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
New York/Roma Pizza and Pasta at 125 SE 2nd Avenue matched Mitricolor's total with 11 high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited the downtown location for sourcing food from unapproved or unknown origins, a finding that carries particular weight because food from outside the regulated supply chain cannot be traced if customers become ill.
The inspector also documented food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock records, and failure to cook food to required minimum temperatures. Two separate handwashing violations were cited: employees not washing hands adequately, and improper hand and arm washing technique.
Old Cutler Inn at 16800 Old Cutler Road drew 10 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection, inspectors noted, alongside findings that employees had no health policy, were not reporting illness symptoms, and lacked adequate handwashing facilities. Parasite destruction procedures were also not being followed, and food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Conch Heaven at 11275 NW 27th Avenue accumulated 9 high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. Inspectors also cited inadequate handwashing facilities and improper hand and arm washing technique.
Don Criollito at 12039 SW 132nd Court was cited for food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, and inadequate shell stock records, in addition to parasite destruction failures and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Shahs of Kabob at 48 SW 12th Street drew 9 high-severity citations including food from unapproved sources, failure to cook food to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Toxic chemicals were also found improperly stored or labeled.
The Emergency Closure
On September 16, the first day of the inspection week, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation ordered China Express at 5301 NE 2nd Avenue shut down. The reason: roach and rodent activity. No further details on pest counts were included in the available records.
Maman South Brickell at 1300 Brickell Bay Drive collected 8 high-severity violations with no intermediate violations, a combination that reflects concentrated serious failures rather than scattered maintenance issues. Inspectors cited food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock records, parasite destruction failures, undercooking, improper use of time as a public health control, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored.
Casa Nane at 1130 SW 2nd Avenue was also cited for 8 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, undercooking, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The facility has only 6 prior inspections on record.
Rinconcito Paisa 1 Restaurant at 15108 SW 72nd Street drew 8 high-severity citations including food from unapproved sources, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, undercooking, improper use of time as a public health control, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Shorty's Bar-B-Que at 9200 S. Dixie Highway was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Two separate toxic substance citations were filed: improperly stored or labeled chemicals, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored and used.
Southwest Rey's Pizza #2 at 13732 SW 152nd Street also drew an improper sewage disposal citation alongside 7 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present during the inspection.
Amici's Trattoria Italiana at 10201 Hammocks Boulevard was cited for 7 high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources, no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improperly stored chemicals.
La Capital de los Jugos at 2401 SW 122nd Avenue drew 7 high-severity violations including two separate toxic substance citations, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and inadequate shell stock records.
Tran An at 215 NE 82nd Street and Sushi Sake at 14627 SW 42nd Street each drew fewer high-severity violations, 4 and 3 respectively, but both were cited for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and failure to post consumer advisories for raw or undercooked items.
What These Violations Mean
The most common thread across this week's inspections was the employee illness cluster: no written health policy, employees not reporting symptoms, and no mechanism to keep sick workers out of food preparation. Mitricolor, Old Cutler Inn, Conch Heaven, Don Criollito, Casa Nane, Southwest Rey's Pizza, Amici's Trattoria, and La Capital de los Jugos all drew at least one of these citations. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads directly from an infected food handler to a customer through contaminated food. A written health policy is the first line of defense. Without one, there is no protocol requiring a sick employee to stay home or report symptoms to a manager.
Food from unapproved sources, cited at New York/Roma Pizza, Don Criollito, Shahs of Kabob, Maman South Brickell, Rinconcito Paisa 1, and Amici's Trattoria, is a traceability problem as much as a safety problem. When a customer gets sick, investigators trace the illness back through the supply chain. Food that entered a kitchen through an uninspected, unregulated channel has no paper trail. There is no way to issue a recall, no way to identify other affected customers, and no way to determine whether the source is still active.
Parasite destruction failures, documented at Mitricolor, Old Cutler Inn, Conch Heaven, Don Criollito, Shorty's Bar-B-Que, and Maman South Brickell, are particularly acute in a city with heavy seafood menus. Fish served raw or lightly cooked must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites including Anisakis, which causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal. When that step is skipped, the parasite survives to the plate.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, a citation that appeared at Conch Heaven, Don Criollito, Shahs of Kabob, Casa Nane, Rinconcito Paisa 1, Shorty's Bar-B-Que, Southwest Rey's Pizza, Amici's Trattoria, and La Capital de los Jugos, means cleaning agents, pesticides, or other hazardous substances were kept near or among food, or were stored in unlabeled containers. A mislabeled chemical bottle in a kitchen is an acute poisoning risk, not a paperwork violation.
The Longer Record
Conch Heaven has 42 prior inspections on record, the highest count among this week's cited facilities. Nine high-severity violations at a restaurant with that many inspection visits behind it represents a pattern of persistent non-compliance rather than an isolated bad week. The facility's citations this week for inadequate handwashing facilities and improperly stored toxic chemicals are the kind of infrastructure failures that do not appear suddenly.
Shorty's Bar-B-Que has 38 prior inspections on record and drew 7 high-severity citations this week including a sewage disposal violation. A restaurant with nearly four decades worth of inspection history still accumulating violations for undercooking and improperly stored chemicals has had ample opportunity to address both.
Mitricolor and Don Criollito each have 29 prior inspections on record. Both drew 9 or more high-severity violations this week. Mitricolor's 11-violation tally included parasite destruction failures and undercooking, two categories that recur across facilities with long inspection histories in this dataset.
Old Cutler Inn stands out for a different reason. With only 4 prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities in this week's roundup, yet it drew 10 high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, and no handwashing facilities. A facility accumulating that volume of critical citations that early in its inspection history is a different kind of concern.
Casa Nane has 6 prior inspections on record and drew 8 high-severity violations this week. Whether those early inspections flagged similar issues in food handling and employee health practices is not reflected in the available data.
