\u201cIn-use knife\/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment,\u201d or, more specifically, \u201ctwo knives stored between preparation tables at the cookline.\u201d<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t the only utensil stored in a dirty place. The ice scoop sitting directly on top of a back of restaurant ice machine counted as an \u201cin-use ice scoop stored on soiled surface between uses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIce was stored inside a dirty cooler at the front counter.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Bread flies and sushi rodents among South Florida\u2019s worst restaurant issues<\/a><\/p>\n Also at the front counter, the handwash sink had running water, but no soap, no paper towels and no blower.<\/p>\n The handles on the cookline reach-in cooler was \u201csoiled with food debris,\u201d which turned out to be the least of problems with the reach-in cooler. \u201cAlso, an oven handle had an accumulation of grease.\u201d<\/p>\n In the kitchen and back storage areas, \u201ccardboard used on the floor as anti-slip measures were not replaced every day or when heavily soiled, whichever comes first.\u201d<\/p>\n Two cutting boards had \u201ccut marks and are no longer cleanable.\u201d<\/p>\n Three wet wiping cloths sat on the prep table instead of in the sanitizing solution where they\u2019re supposed to rest between wiping jobs.<\/p>\n A different cloth was \u201cused as a food-contact surface,\u201d used to cover tortillas in the kitchen.<\/p>\n The reach-in coolers need to keep food in cold storage at or under 41 degrees to prevent them from becoming bacteria farms. But \u201cthe only two reach-in coolers in the establishment are not working properly. All food is out of temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n That meant Stop Sale Orders on sour cream (49 degrees); cabbage (51); sausage (53) and uncooked shell eggs (69 degrees). Other raw shell eggs sitting on a front line shelf measured a toasty 84 degrees. They got tossed into the garbage also after a Stop Sale.<\/p>\n Miami\u2019s El Gallito Grill, 250 SW Eighth St. DAVID J. NEAL dneal@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n