MIAMI, FL. Two South Florida restaurants each drew 11 high-severity violations from state inspectors in a single week, leading a troubling sweep across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties that flagged 15 facilities between October 12 and October 18, 2026.
The Worst of the Week
La Hormiga de Oro III on SW 147 Avenue in Miami accumulated 11 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. Inspectors found no person in charge performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. That is nearly every category of foundational food safety failure in a single visit.
Churros Manolo on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach matched the violation count with 11 high-severity citations of its own. Inspectors documented the absence of a person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing by employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, food from unapproved sources, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Collins Avenue draws heavy tourist traffic year-round, and the combination of no functional handwashing sink and food sourced outside the regulated supply chain represents a compounding risk.
Golden Corral on South Dixie Highway in Florida City drew 10 high-severity violations. The citations included food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. The buffet format at Golden Corral means food sits in the temperature danger zone by design, making the citation for improper time-as-public-health-control particularly significant.
Broward County
Doughboys Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant on SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale was the worst performer in Broward County, with 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing by employees, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Gregs Cookout on Country Club Lane in Pembroke Park drew 9 high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature. The citation for food not reaching minimum cooking temperature at a cookout-focused restaurant is the detail that stands out.
Las Colinas Restaurant on North Andrews Avenue in Wilton Manors had 9 high-severity violations, among them food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Pollo Tipico on South SR 7 in Davie also received 9 high-severity citations, including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
More Miami-Dade Findings
Latin American Grill on NW 79 Court in Miami Lakes was cited for 6 high-severity violations, including inadequate shellfish identification records, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored and improperly identified. Two separate toxic substance violations in one inspection is an unusual combination.
Xixon Spanish Restaurant on SW 22nd Street in Miami drew 9 high-severity violations and zero intermediate violations. Inspectors cited inadequate handwashing by employees, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Macitas Restaurant on SW 104th Street in Miami received 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. The high-severity list included no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing by employees, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control.
Bulla Gastrobar on NE 193rd Street in Aventura was cited for 9 high-severity violations at a location that draws a consistent upscale clientele. Inspectors found no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and improper use of time as a public health control.
FlyFuel Food Co. on NE 29th Street in Miami also drew 9 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
Palm Beach County's sole entry this week, Eagle Grill on Jog Road in Greenacres, was cited for 2 high-severity violations: no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated high-severity violation across this week's inspections was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited at every facility with 6 or more violations, including La Hormiga de Oro III, Churros Manolo, Golden Corral, Doughboys Pizzeria, Gregs Cookout, Xixon Spanish Restaurant, Macitas Restaurant, Bulla Gastrobar, FlyFuel Food Co., Las Colinas, Pollo Tipico, and Latin American Grill. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and equipment that are not properly sanitized between uses transfer bacteria directly to the next food prepared on them. This is not a paperwork violation. It is the mechanism by which one contaminated ingredient becomes a contamination event affecting every dish that follows.
The cluster of employee illness violations is equally striking. Eleven of the 15 facilities this week had no written employee health policy, and most of those same facilities also had employees not reporting illness symptoms. At La Hormiga de Oro III, Churros Manolo, Doughboys Pizzeria, Macitas Restaurant, and FlyFuel Food Co., inspectors documented both failures simultaneously. A sick employee who has never been told to report symptoms, at a facility with no written policy requiring them to stay home, is the precise combination that precedes Norovirus outbreaks. Norovirus is transmitted through food preparation and affects the entire table, not just the person who ordered the dish that was mishandled.
The parasite destruction citations at Latin American Grill, Churros Manolo, Gregs Cookout, and Bulla Gastrobar carry a specific risk that most diners do not consider. Fish served raw or undercooked, pork, and wild game can harbor live parasites if not frozen to the required temperature for the required duration before service. This is not a theoretical hazard. At Bulla Gastrobar, the parasite destruction failure appeared alongside a separate citation for food not cooked to minimum temperature, meaning two distinct barriers against pathogen survival were both absent.
The shellfish traceability citations, which appeared at 10 of the 15 facilities this week, matter because shellfish harvested from contaminated water can cause Vibrio infections and hepatitis A. When a restaurant cannot produce the tag that identifies where and when its oysters, clams, or mussels were harvested, investigators cannot trace an illness back to the source. At Golden Corral, La Hormiga de Oro III, Xixon Spanish Restaurant, Macitas Restaurant, Doughboys Pizzeria, Gregs Cookout, FlyFuel Food Co., Las Colinas, and Pollo Tipico, that traceability record was absent.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for these facilities, which limits direct comparison of chronic versus new underperformers this week. What the violation profiles alone reveal is that several facilities are failing in multiple foundational categories simultaneously, which is a pattern associated with systemic management failure rather than isolated lapses.
La Hormiga de Oro III and Churros Manolo each hit 11 high-severity violations, the week's ceiling, and both share the same triple failure: no person in charge, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness. When management is absent, health policy is unwritten, and sick workers have no obligation to disclose symptoms, the remaining violations tend to follow. The record at both locations this week reflects that cascade.
Doughboys Pizzeria on SE 17th Street in Fort Lauderdale carries a URL slug suggesting it has been in the state inspection system long enough to accumulate a record. Its 10 high-severity violations this week, including the full trifecta of management absence, no health policy, and unreported illness, raise the question of what prior inspections showed. The same applies to El Paso 2 in Hollywood, which drew 2 high-severity violations including improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Bulla Gastrobar's Aventura location presents a different profile. The upscale brand carries customer expectations that do not match a citation for food not cooked to minimum temperature alongside a simultaneous failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. Whether this week's inspection reflects a new pattern or a continuation of prior findings is a question the longer record would answer.
