A snake trapped in a pest-control device, three dead cockroaches crawling inside an ice machine, and flies landing on to-go containers were among the issues that forced state inspectors to temporarily shut six South Florida restaurants last week.

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

[  FULL DATABASE: See Florida restaurant inspection reports from the last 30 days ]

Sun Sentinel readers can browse full Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade county reports through our state inspection map, updated weekly (usually Mondays) with fresh data pulled from the Florida DBPR website.

Any restaurant that fails a state 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 here. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)

Ordered shut: Sept. 29; reopened Sept. 30

Why: 24 violations (four high-priority), led by “a black/green mold-like substance” dripping into the ice machine (the restaurant was ordered to stop selling and trash the ice).

The inspection also found “10 or more” rodent droppings beneath soda boxes and CO2 tanks in the kitchen’s storage area, plus at least 23 dead roaches on the floor in the bar area, under seating booths in the dining room, and inside a kitchen reach-in cooler “stored with cooked rice and prepped beef kabob.” The operator removed the bugs and sanitized the area. Finally, the state counted some 300 dead flies stuck to six fly traps in the kitchen area, and an inspector saw one employee’s personal beverage on a kitchen prep table near “clean equipment/utensils.” The restaurant was allowed to reopen the following day after a reinspection yielded four basic violations.

Ordered shut: Sept. 26-27; reopened Sept. 27

Why: 17 violations (11 high-priority), including four flies “in front bar flying around,” “landing on sugarcane machine” and hovering around “in bakery area,” along with six cockroaches “crawling on freezer” in kitchen area,” on the kitchen floor near the walk-in cooler, and “on stove in bakery area.” (The operator managed to kill two roaches.)

One employee was seen touching “hat and hair while handling produce and slicing,” and was asked to wash hands and change gloves. Finally, the restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its cooked sausage, beef and potatoes, as well as chicken salad and two 5-gallon containers of dulce de leche “due to temperature abuse.” The next day, a second inspection found live roaches and flies again. The state cleared the eatery’s reopening after a third inspection the same day found zero new issues. The restaurant was last ordered shut July 25 for similar fly woes.

Ordered shut: Sept. 26; reopened Sept. 27

Why: Six violations (two high-priority), including six cockroaches crawling inside of pest-control devices “located around water heater in prep room behind kitchen,” and into the “wall around water heater” in the same room.

The inspection also revealed dead flies “in UV light control device in prep room” behind kitchen and “10+ (unable to count) dead roaches” inside the same pest-control devices and “on expo shelf from kitchen to front counter.” The restaurant reopened the next day after a clean reinspection.

Ordered shut: Sept. 26; reopened Sept. 27

Why: 21 violations (four high-priority), led by “75 or more” dead cockroaches including three “in ice bin machine with ice being served to guest in kitchen area,“ and six live cockroaches found crawling “on can opener blade at prep area,” on a container filled with pastry flour, on a “cutting board on prep table,” “on door next to prep shelf” and “inside to-go cups stored on top of standing reach-in freezer.”

The inspection noted kitchen fryers and floors “with grease build-up,” hoods “soiled with accumulated food debris, grease, dust or mold-like substance.” Also spotted: 31 dead flies and roaches “in light shields” near the kitchen’s storage and reach-in cooler. Finally, the restaurant was ordered to stop selling and toss its roach-tainted ice, as well as its shredded and raw chicken, hot sauce with garlic and oil, pre-cooked ribs, meat seasoning with garlic and oil, seafood cream mix, beans, pork sausage, and raw pork, beef and steak “due to temperature abuse.” The steakhouse reopened the next day despite inspectors finding six issues — one of them a “high priority violation.”

Ordered shut: Sept. 26-27; reopened Sept. 27

Why: 12 violations (four high-priority), such as a trapped snake in a pest-control device in the equipment storage room.

The state also found 15 live flies “at floor drain under triple sink” and around 300 rodent droppings “at computer/office station next to” the kitchen’s front counter, in racks holding beverages, “on ground under racks holding flour, pizza sauce and pizza boxes,” “on shelving under registers at front counter,” and “inside storage room holding boxes of unused pizza pans and equipment.” An employee was seen “eating on prep table in kitchen,” and despite discussing the issue, the “employee continued” eating. More live flies and rodent droppings kept the restaurant closed after its second inspection on Sept. 27, but another inspection later that day revealed zero issues, and the state green-lit the pizzeria’s reopening.

Ordered shut: Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and Oct. 3; not yet reopened

Why: 11 violations (four high-priority), including 14 flies “on cook line landing on plates and to-go containers,’ “landing on knife handle stored in between cracks of equipment” and “flying at server station landing on server check booklets.” (The operator was “instructed” to clean and sanitize the dishes.)

The state found at least 18 live cockroaches crawling on the ground behind a cooler, “on wheel of drawers under grill on cook line” and “under flip top coolers on cook line,” as well as five dead roaches “under flip top coolers on cook line.” The live roach and fly issues were not resolved by the reinspection on Sept. 30, and live and dead roaches kept the cantina closed during its third and fourth inspections on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3, respectively. The restaurant remains shut pending its fifth inspection.