2 Leon County restaurants get perfect scores; 12 fail inspection

Staff reports
·9 min read

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our Leon County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Leon County, Florida, for the week of April 8-14, 2024. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our Leon County restaurant inspection site.

The blackened chicken pasta served at Piesanos, located on Blairstone Road.
The blackened chicken pasta served at Piesanos, located on Blairstone Road.

Which Leon County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?

These restaurants met all standards during their April 8-14 inspections and no violations were found.

** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week

Which Leon County restaurants had high priority violations?

Habana's Boardwalk Restaurant

2819 Mahan Dr Unit 126, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 12

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

15 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit based upon minimum required cooking temperature. Observed raw chicken in same pan as pork in walk in cooler.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed shredded beef 46F, and rice and beans 46F in walk in cooler per manager placed more than 24 hours ago.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed shredded beef 46F, and rice and beans 46F in walk in cooler, per manager placed more Han 24 hours ago.

La Tiendita Restaurant LLC

1840 N Monroe St, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 9

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

10 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Quaternary ammonium sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed three compartment sink Quaternary 0ppm. Employee corrected to 150ppm during inspection. **Corrected On-Site**

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed pork tacos 50F, chicken tacos 50F, fried cheese 50F, sausage 50F, shredded pork 48F, shredded marinated pork 49F, raw beef 50F, raw chicken breast 59F.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed pork tacos 50F, chicken tacos 50F, fried cheese 50F, sausage 50F, shredded pork 48F, shredded marinated pork 49F, raw beef 50F, raw chicken breast 59F in standing cooler at kitchen area at 1:30. Per manager items have been held since approximately 9:30. See stop sale. **Repeat Violation** **Warning**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed queso 98F on steam table at cook line at 12:00. Per manager held since 10:00. Manager placed queso in tight fitting container to properly hot hold in steam table. New temperature at 1:45: queso 144F. **Corrected On-Site**

Lulu's Taqueria

1580 Summit Lake Dr Ste A, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 11

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

2 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Shrimp and sausage at 46°, less than 4 hours per operator, Iced during inspection. **Corrective Action Taken**

Subway #27583

5025 Crawfordville Rd #6, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 10

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

1 total violation, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Observed license expired 6/1/23. **Admin Complaint** - From follow-up inspection 2024-02-08: **Admin Complaint** - From follow-up inspection 2024-04-04: **Admin Complaint** - From follow-up inspection 2024-04-10: Observed 6/1/23. **Admin Complaint**

The Red Elephant Pizza Grill

2910 Kerry Forest Pkwy Ste C3, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 10

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

21 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Cooked/heated time/temperature control for safety food not cooled from 135 degrees Fahrenheit to 41 degrees Fahrenheit within 6 hours. Observed yellow rice 45F in walk in cooler stored 48 hours ago, also observed penne pasta 48F, stored 48 hours ago; corn chowder 46F, stored 24 hours ago.; chicken wings 45F, stored 24 hours ago. Owner disposed of yellow rice, corn chowder, penne pasta, chicken wings.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed penne pasta 48, marinara 50F, shredded cheese 47F, corn chowder 46F, ground sausage 45F, chicken wings 45F, salmon 46F, shredded turkey breast 44F, ham 44F, homemade ranch 44F, yellow rice 45F in walk in cooler.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed penne pasta 48, marinara 50F, shredded cheese 47F, corn chowder 46F, ground sausage 45F, chicken wings 45F, salmon 46F, shredded turkey breast 44F, ham 44F, homemade ranch 44F, yellow rice 45F in walk in cooler. Observed Alfredo 48F across from tortilla station, marinara 44F, ground sausage 46 at pizza station. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed marinara 99F on front line beside pizza oven. Owner reheated to 168F. **Corrective Action Taken**

Vale Food Co

1861 W Tennessee St Unit # 240, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 10

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

4 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Observed raw shell eggs store next to mozzarella cheese in walk in cooler.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Observed diced tomatoes at 47F Corn Salsa 48F and Guacamole 47F all held over 4 hours during time of inspection.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed diced tomatoes at 47F Corn Salsa 48F and Guacamole 47F all held over 4 hours during time of inspection. See stop sale **Warning**

Vale Food Co

1861 W Tennessee St Unit # 240, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 11

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

1 total violation, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed diced tomatoes at 47F Corn Salsa 48F and Guacamole 47F all held over 4 hours during time of inspection. See stop sale **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2024-04-11: Observed Diced tomatoes 49F Corn salsa 48F Guacamole 44F all held more than 4 hours. Advised person in charge Jewel to cold hold food items in walk in cooler overnight rather than the reach in cooler. See stop sale. **Time Extended**

Yasou Cafe

3551 Blairstone Rd, Ste 101, Tallahassee

Routine Inspection on April 9

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

6 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. 0 ppm. Operator to use triple sink.

  • High Priority - Prep sink soiled. Mold like substance inside sink.

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Eggs over cheese. Properly stored during inspection.

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: "Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over."

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee area restaurant and food truck inspections April 8-14