MIAMI, FL. Fifteen restaurants across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties drew a combined 127 high-severity violations during the week of September 23, 2026, with a Margate cafeteria leading the region on the worst measure inspectors track: how many ways a single kitchen can fail at once.
The Week's Worst
Delicias de la Abuela on West Atlantic Boulevard in Margate drew 12 high-severity citations, the highest single-facility count in Broward County this week. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, workers not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, and inadequate shell stock identification records. That is eight distinct high-severity categories in one visit.
The absence of a responsible manager on-site is not a paperwork problem. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of managed kitchens, and the cascade at Delicias de la Abuela illustrates exactly why: no oversight, no health policy, no handwashing compliance, and unverifiable food sourcing all appeared together.
Miami-Dade: Twelve Facilities, a Pattern of Overlapping Failures
Miami-Dade accounted for 12 of the 15 facilities flagged this week.
Goodtown Buffet on Northeast 8th Street in Homestead recorded 10 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate shell stock records, and food in poor condition. A buffet setting compounds these risks: food sits in temperature-variable conditions, and multiple dishes cycle through the same service equipment throughout a shift.
Los Arcos Cafeteria on Washington Avenue in Homestead, also in the same city, drew 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Two Homestead cafeterias, both cited for overlapping failures in the same inspection week.
Totoritas Restaurant on Northwest 36th Street in Miami accumulated 11 high-severity violations. The list included no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
El Churrascaso Grill on Northwest 107th Avenue in Doral also reached 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors flagged food from an unapproved or unknown source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required temperatures, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, no employee health policy, and inadequate handwashing.
Dunkin Donuts 07 on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami drew 10 high-severity violations. The citations included food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required temperatures, no consumer advisory, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly sanitized. A national chain with this violation profile at a single location is notable.
China Lee Restaurant on Southwest 8th Street in Miami was cited for six high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required temperatures, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, no allergen awareness demonstrated, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Rio Grande Churrascaria on Southwest 26th Street in Miami drew five high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, food not cooked to required temperatures, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and employees not reporting illness symptoms. The facility also recorded three intermediate violations, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Armstrong Jazz House on Miracle Mile in Coral Gables was cited for two high-severity violations, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned and required procedures for specialized processes not followed, along with an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. The Miracle Mile location puts it in one of Miami-Dade's higher-traffic commercial corridors.
Fritanga Cañita on Southwest 26th Street in Miami drew three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed.
Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest on South Dixie Highway recorded the second-highest individual violation count in Miami-Dade this week, seven high-severity citations. Inspectors flagged food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or used, no employee health policy, and food contact surfaces not properly sanitized. The restaurant also drew an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Jerusalem Kosher Pizza on Northeast 167th Street in North Miami Beach was cited for 10 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, food not cooked to required temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Las Vegas Cuban Cuisine on Northwest 53rd Street in Doral drew eight high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, food not cooked to required temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic substances improperly identified or used.
Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County contributed two facilities to this week's list.
Palm Diner on South Military Trail in Boynton Beach drew 11 high-severity violations: no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and food not cooked to required temperatures. Inadequate handwashing facilities is a distinct citation from improper technique; it means the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was absent or non-functional.
Sticky Rice and Sushi on Lake Worth Road in Greenacres recorded 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, food not cooked to required temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. A sushi restaurant without a consumer advisory for raw fish and without documentation that parasite destruction procedures were followed presents a direct and specific risk to customers who order raw preparations.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated high-severity violation this week was food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, cited at 12 of the 15 facilities. Cutting boards, prep tables, slicers, and similar surfaces that touch food directly carry bacteria from one item to the next when not properly cleaned between uses. Every facility where this appeared, from Goodtown Buffet to Palm Diner to El Churrascaso Grill, had a direct cross-contamination pathway operating in its kitchen during the inspection.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources was cited at seven facilities this week, including Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest, El Churrascaso Grill, Dunkin Donuts 07, Rio Grande Churrascaria, Palm Diner, Sticky Rice and Sushi, and Delicias de la Abuela. The practical consequence is traceability. When food enters a kitchen through an unregulated channel, there is no paper trail connecting it to a USDA or FDA inspection point. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the product back to a source.
Parasite destruction procedures not followed appeared at six facilities: Goodtown Buffet, Los Arcos Cafeteria, El Churrascaso Grill, Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest, Dunkin Donuts 07, and Sticky Rice and Sushi. For fish served raw or undercooked, the required protocol is precise cold-holding at specific temperatures for specific durations. Without documentation that this was done, there is no way to confirm the fish was safe before it reached the plate.
The cluster of employee illness violations, no health policy, employees not reporting symptoms, inadequate handwashing, appeared together at multiple facilities including Delicias de la Abuela, Totoritas Restaurant, Los Arcos Cafeteria, Jerusalem Kosher Pizza, and Palm Diner. These three violations form a complete transmission chain: no policy means workers don't know the rules, no reporting means sick workers stay on the line, and inadequate handwashing means whatever is on their hands reaches the food.
The Longer Record
The data this week does not include prior inspection counts for individual facilities, which limits direct comparison of chronic versus new violators. What the record does show is that several facilities share the same address corridor. Goodtown Buffet and Los Arcos Cafeteria both operate in Homestead and both drew double-digit high-severity violation counts in the same inspection week. Fritanga Cañita and Rio Grande Churrascaria both operate on Southwest 26th Street in Miami and appeared in the same week's data.
Piccola Pizzeria Pinecrest on South Dixie Highway drew seven high-severity violations including both toxic chemical storage categories and a sewage disposal citation alongside the food sourcing and parasite issues. That combination of chemical, infrastructure, and sourcing failures in a single inspection suggests systemic gaps rather than isolated oversights.
Dunkin Donuts 07 on Biscayne Boulevard drew 10 high-severity violations. A location operating under a national franchise brand, with corporate food safety protocols and supply chain standards available to it, still produced citations for food from an unapproved source and parasite destruction procedures not followed. Those two violations are not equipment failures or staffing oversights. They require deliberate decisions about where food comes from and how it is handled before service.
Sticky Rice and Sushi in Greenacres drew no consumer advisory citation alongside its parasite destruction failure. Customers ordering raw sushi at that location during the inspection week had no posted notice that their food carried an elevated risk.
