An employee who removed earbuds and donned gloves without washing hands plus roaches, rodent droppings and “severely dented” cans of corned beef hash were among the issues that led the state to temporarily shut six South Florida restaurants last week.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant and food truck inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.

Any business that fails this inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)

PALM BEACH COUNTY

Farmer Girl Restaurant
1732 N. Dixie Highway, Lake Worth Beach

Ordered shut: June 20; reopened June 21

Why: 14 violations (seven high-priority), including two live roaches by a “bag-in-box soda syrup rack” and “by the entrance to the soda rack room,” as well as two rodent droppings on a “wooden shelf in dishwasher room” and two live flies “on trash can by three-compartment sink” and “flying around by toaster at the prep table.”

About 25 dead roaches were found in areas such as “on floor by pancake syrup rack in the kitchen,” “under dishwasher,” “on floor under shelf in soda syrup rack room” and “on glue board on cardboard cup holders on wire rack in the kitchen.”

The state also reported that a “cook cracked raw shell eggs with gloved hands,” and then “discarded the gloves and put on new gloves to handle cooked food without washing hands.” Other issues included: a “server filling washcloth bucket in hand sink at server station,” “server dumping ice in hand sink at server station” and “cooks handling food without any hair restraints.”

A stop sale was issued for two “severely dented cans of Hometaste brand corned beef hash.”

Farmer Girl was allowed to reopen the next day after a follow-up visit found one high-priority violation.

Ruven’s Restaurant
13800 Jog Road, Delray Beach

Ordered shut: June 18-19; reopened June 19

Why: 11 violations (two high-priority), including more than 20 live roaches around the kitchen, in areas such as “inside of wheels of drawers under flat-top unit on cook line,” “inside of gap at expo window above cook line flip-top units” and “behind pipe located directly behind two-burner, low-top stove under hood.”

About five dead roaches were seen in the kitchen “on ground under one-door stainless reach-in cooler on cook line” and “on ground next to fryer on cook line.”

The inspection also found:

• roach excrement and/or droppings “around electrical outlets behind cook line flip-tops”

• “accumulation of dead or trapped insects” in the “UV light next to office, not installed above any food prep/storage area”

• a kitchen wall “soiled with accumulated grease, food debris and/or dust”

• “accumulation of black substance/grease/food debris” inside a microwave

• “floor heavily soiled under cook line equipment”

Ruven’s was shut again after a next-day visit found two high-priority and six basic violations, but it was able to reopen later that day with two basic violations.

Palm Diner
9860 S. Military Trail, Suite J1, Boynton Beach

Ordered shut: June 17-18; reopened June 18

Why: Seven violations (four high-priority), including more than 30 live roaches “inside of back compressor area of cook line flip-top cooler in kitchen.”

The report also noted the presence of about eight dead roaches on the kitchen floor — “under cook line flip-top cooler” and “in expo/prep area next to one-door, glass reach-in cooler.”

A stop sale was ordered “due to temperature abuse” on cooked items including potatoes and sweet potatoes, rice, pasta, matzo balls, stuffed peppers, moussaka and vegetable mix; raw foods such as gyro cone, beef, pork and shell egg; as well as tzatziki sauce, corned beef, tuna salad and butter packets.

Palm Diner was shut again after a next-day visit found one high-priority and two basic violations, but the restaurant was allowed to reopen later that day with one basic violation.

Maxwell’s Plum
12300 S. Shore Blvd., Suite 110, Wellington

Ordered shut: June 12-13, 17-21; reopened June 21

Why: 14 violations (nine high-priority), including five live roaches seen in areas such as “beside flip-top cooler across from oven,” “between make table across from cookline and single-door, stainless-steel freezer” and “out of drain in area in front of make table and deep freezers near cookline,” as well as on and under the “table where tabletop equipments are stored across from dough mixer.”

The inspection found more than 30 dead roaches throughout the premises: behind a flip-top cooler “near beverage dispenser area,” “along cookline between flip-tops and make tables,” among other areas. There were also about 19 flies buzzing around “in kitchen, food preparation area, food storage area and/or bar area,” including approximately 10 seen “landing on various food items.”

The restaurant was cited for “no hot water in entire establishment.”

Maxwell’s Plum was ordered shut again on June 13, June 17 and June 21 but was allowed to reopen later that day when a follow-up visit found one high-priority violation.

BROWARD COUNTY

Bluefin Sushi Thai Grill
6694 Parkside Drive, Parkland

Ordered shut: June 20; reopened June 21

Why: 11 violations (six high-priority), including six live roaches in the cook line under a flip-top cooler and in the oven.

Other cited issues included:

• a pot of rice with no time label at the sushi bar

• “buckets of ginger stored directly on floor at front sushi bar and at storage room at back; additionally Japanese seasoning stored on floor at storage room at back”

• “personal bag store on drying rack with clean equipment” at dishwasher area

• “purse and drink stored next to single-use utensils and containers” at front sushi bar/take-out area

The report also mentioned “salmon and tuna fish stored above avocados” and “no probe thermometer provided to measure temperature of food products.”

Bluefin reopened the next day when a follow-up inspection found no violations.

The Original Pancake House
10599 W. Atlantic Blvd., Coral Springs

Ordered shut: June 19; reopened June 20

Why: Nine violations (four high-priority), including about 32 live roaches “at ice machine in kitchen” and “in oven at cook line,” and about 10 live flies “observed at storage room near expo line.”

The eatery also was cited for a missing time marking on hollandaise sauce and “water draining onto floor surface” at the handwashing sink in the kitchen. The inspection also observed that “employee removed earbuds then put gloves on” and continued to “work with food without washing hands.”

The state found no violations during a a next-day inspection and the restaurant was able to reopen.