A restaurant in unincorporated Southwest Miami-Dade was hit with 63 health code violations during a single unannounced inspection on August 11, yet inspectors let it keep serving customers. Rinconcito Miami 2, located at 15956 SW 137th Ave. in the Country Mall Plaza near West Kendall/Richmond West, saw state inspectors document a dead roach near the dishwasher, mold-like buildup inside a blender and ice machine, and food sitting well outside safe temperature ranges.
The inspection was documented by WPLG Local 10 as part of its long-running Dirty Dining coverage, reported by investigative journalist Jeff Weinsier. Inspectors found two live flies in the kitchen, food stored uncovered in the vegetable walk-in cooler, and food kept directly on the floor of the walk-in freezer. They also issued a stop-sale order for time/temperature-control-for-safety food, a designation reserved for items capable of supporting rapid bacterial growth if mishandled.
Cold Food Cooking, Hot Food Cooling
The temperature readings alone painted a troubling picture. Cooked noodles sat at 57 degrees Fahrenheit in a walk-in cooler, pork belly at 60 degrees, raw pork also at 60 degrees, and raw shrimp at 59 degrees — all well above the 41-degree threshold considered safe for cold storage, according to the same Local 10 report. Meanwhile hot items ran dangerously cool: cooked onions were held at 82 degrees, maduros at 92, cooked chicken at 106, malanga cream at 121, yucca at 123, and milk at a comparatively better but still noncompliant 127 degrees, all short of the 135-degree minimum required to keep hot food safe.
Those readings fall squarely inside what the FDA Model Food Code calls the temperature danger zone, the range between 41°F and 135°F in which pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli can double in population roughly every 20 minutes, according to TransAct Technologies. Standard food safety rules call for time/temperature-control-for-safety foods held in that zone for more than four hours to be thrown out rather than served. A walk-in cooler at the restaurant was also measured at 50 degrees, and rice and beans were found at 96 degrees.
Handwashing And Sanitation Breakdowns
Beyond temperature abuse, inspectors documented a cascade of hygiene failures throughout the kitchen. Employees washed their hands with cold water and, in at least one case, used an improper sink altogether. One handwashing sink was blocked by a baking sheet and a metal food container, another was being used to store containers and other items, and a third had a broken soap dispenser. Multiple sinks reportedly lacked adequate running water or pressure, and water drained onto the floor from at least one station, while a leaking pipe was found under a handwashing sink near the walk-in cooler…