An inspector found numerous violations at restaurants at Mulberry Grove Plaza in The Villages.
Hygiene seemed to be the main concern when the inspector filed a report after an Oct. 30 visit to the Back Porch restaurant.
The inspector watched as a male employee on the cookline touched the bread of a Ruben sandwich with his bare hands when removing them from the grill and placing them on a cutting board, according to an inspection report on file with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The inspector also witnessed an employee wiping his hands on his pants and then preparing food without first washing his hands. A nonfood-grade bag was found on top of fish on a roll car located on the cookline. The sanitizer in the dishwashing machine was also not at the proper strength.
The inspector found bean sprouts in a pan on the counter at 62 degrees, rather than the required 41 degrees. There was also butter with a date marked 10/15 which had to be discarded. That was a repeat violation. Milk at the bar had been opened for two days and was not properly marked.
The sink at the bar had no hot water and and an employee hand wash sink did not have soap or paper towels.
The violations were serious enough to require a followup inspection, the report noted.
Sammy Joe’s
The same day, the inspector also visited Sammy Joe’s restaurant at Mulberry Grove Plaza.
The inspector issued a “stop sale” order after finding a “meatball sitting directly on soiled shelf in reach in cooler in cookline,” according to the report. An employee discarded the meatball.
Flying insects were found in the kitchen and were traced to a back door which was open due to a delivery. The presence of insects was noted to a be a repeat violation.
There was French toast egg mix at 60 degrees rather than the required 41 degrees. The inspector found packages of pork thawing in a bucket in a mop sink.
The inspector also watched as a female employee touched her apron, wiped her face and continued cooking eggs without washing her hands. Meanwhile a male employee touched his pants and continued cooking while wearing gloves that had not been changed.
The exterior of a pizza oven was oversoiled with grease buildup and a shelf under a pizza-making table was soiled with debris. There were also cutting boards soiled with debris.
The violations at Sammy Joe’s were also serious enough to require a followup inspection
