MIAMI, FL. Inspectors cited Totoritas Restaurant at 7367 NW 36 ST for 11 high-severity violations during the week of September 22, 2026, the highest single-facility count among 15 Miami-area restaurants flagged for serious food safety failures that week.
The violations at Totoritas included no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. That is eight distinct categories of high-severity failure in a single visit, plus two intermediate violations.
The Worst of the Week
Dunkin Donuts 07 at 12561 Biscayne Blvd was the week's second-worst performer, drawing 10 high-severity violations. Among them: food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The shell stock identification violation stands out particularly at a donut chain, where shellfish is not a menu staple, suggesting the records problem may extend across multiple food categories.
China Buffet at 1032 SW 67 AVE drew nine high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory. Inspectors also cited the facility for improper use of time as a public health control, a violation that means food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone without adequate documentation or justification.
Burger King 5 at 7975 NW 27TH AVE received nine high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory. A parasite destruction citation at a fast-food burger chain is notable: it suggests the facility is serving fish or other parasite-risk proteins without the required freezing protocols in place.
Cote Korean Steak House at 3900 NE 2 AVENUE was cited for nine high-severity violations as well, among them no person in charge present, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and time as a public health control not properly used. At a restaurant built around tableside cooking and raw protein, temperature and time violations carry particular weight.
Fuddruckers at 10674 NW 19 ST also logged nine high-severity violations: no person in charge, employee illness not reported, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, shell stock identification failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Brisa de Espana at 8726 NW 26 ST rounded out the nine-violation tier with food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Rio Grande Churrascaria at 11995 SW 26 ST drew five high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and improper sewage or waste water disposal. An intermediate sewage violation at a restaurant that also has an unknown food source and undercooking citation represents a convergence of risks that touches nearly every stage of food handling.
Tiagos Tacos at 9595 SW 160 ST was cited for eight high-severity violations, including both toxic chemicals improperly stored and toxic substances improperly identified or used, food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
China Lee Restaurant at 559 SW 8TH STREET received six high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored, no allergen awareness demonstrated, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory.
Dunkin Donuts #20 at 9545 NE 2 AVE drew eight high-severity violations, including no allergen awareness, toxic substances improperly identified or used, time as a public health control not properly used, and shell stock identification failures.
Whisk Gourmet Food and Catering at 7382 SW 56 AVE was cited for six high-severity violations: no person in charge, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The facility also had an intermediate sewage violation.
Fritanga Canita at 11865 SW 26 ST drew three high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. That last citation, covering smoking, curing, fermenting, and reduced-oxygen packaging, indicates the restaurant is using advanced food preparation methods without the required written protocols.
Manta Restaurant at 102 NW 25TH ST received two high-severity violations: no employee health policy and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, alongside an intermediate sewage citation.
El Meson del Paraiso Restaurant at 12820 SW 120 ST drew two high-severity violations, inadequate handwashing and toxic substances improperly identified or used.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread high-severity violation this week, appearing at Totoritas, China Buffet, Fuddruckers, Brisa de Espana, Burger King 5, Cote Korean Steak House, Rio Grande Churrascaria, Tiagos Tacos, Dunkin Donuts 07, and several others, was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. This is not a paperwork problem. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicing equipment that are not properly sanitized between uses transfer bacteria directly from one food to the next. A surface used for raw chicken and not sanitized before vegetables are prepped on it is a textbook Salmonella transmission route.
The employee illness reporting failures at Totoritas, China Buffet, Rio Grande Churrascaria, Burger King 5, Cote Korean Steak House, Fuddruckers, Brisa de Espana, Tiagos Tacos, and Dunkin Donuts #20 matter because Norovirus spreads most efficiently through the hands of a sick food worker who does not know, or does not report, that they are ill. A single infected employee can contaminate hundreds of portions before symptoms become impossible to ignore.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Rio Grande Churrascaria, Dunkin Donuts 07, Burger King 5, Brisa de Espana, and Tiagos Tacos, removes the traceability chain that makes outbreak investigations possible. When someone gets sick and public health officials need to identify the source, facilities that cannot document where their food came from leave investigators with nothing to trace. The parasite destruction citations at Burger King 5, Brisa de Espana, Dunkin Donuts 07, and Tiagos Tacos compound this: parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork survive without proper freezing or cooking, and there is no way to detect them by sight.
The allergen awareness failures at China Lee Restaurant and Dunkin Donuts #20 represent a different category of harm. Food allergies cause an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States. A kitchen that cannot demonstrate allergen awareness is a kitchen where a customer with a tree nut or shellfish allergy has no reliable way to know what is in their food.
The Longer Record
Fuddruckers on NW 19th Street has 36 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility flagged this week. Nine high-severity violations after that many inspections suggests the problems documented this week are not new discoveries. Fuddruckers was joined in the highest-history tier by Rio Grande Churrascaria and Totoritas, both with 34 prior inspections on record.
China Buffet has 32 prior inspections behind it and still drew nine high-severity violations this week, including the same employee illness and handwashing failures that appear repeatedly across facilities with long inspection histories. Brisa de Espana and China Lee Restaurant each have 28 prior inspections on record.
The newest facility on this week's list presents its own concern. Tiagos Tacos at 9595 SW 160 ST has only 7 prior inspections on record, and already carries eight high-severity violations including dual toxic substance citations and food from an unapproved source. Cote Korean Steak House, with 11 prior inspections, drew nine high-severity violations. Both are relatively early in their inspection histories and already accumulating serious citations in multiple categories simultaneously.
Dunkin Donuts #20, with 17 prior inspections, and Manta Restaurant, with 18, represent the mid-range facilities where patterns are still forming. Both drew violations in the same food contact surface and employee health policy categories that appear across the week's worst performers. Whether those patterns harden or correct is what subsequent inspections will show. Totoritas, with 34 inspections on record and 11 high-severity violations this week, offers one answer to what that trajectory can look like.
