Baja Cantina
The first restaurant we visited this week was Baja Cantina located at 201 NW 1st Ave. in Boca Raton.
This restaurant, with some Mexican flair, was temporarily closed by state inspectors when they reported cockroaches and hundreds of rodent droppings found in more than a dozen places in and around the kitchen.
As soon as we walked in manager Michael Selliddo welcomed us with a big "hello gentleman!" and took us straight back to his kitchen to explain the problem.
He showed us a small storage space behind the kitchen where he says the rats found their way in.
"What we've done is we've reinforced the doors (and) we've done some trappings on the perimeter" said Selliddo.
He also insisted on walking us around his entire kitchen to show how clean and pest-free it is now.
"I voluntarily opened the doors for you guys because I have nothing to hide," said Selliddo.
Next we headed a short way up I-95 to Delray Beach for a stop at the first of two Caribbean restaurants.
Sabine Restaurant
Sabine Restaurant located at 209 SE 2nd Ave. in Delray Beach is a tiny Caribbean restaurant located in a small strip mall. Sabine was temporarily closed when rodents found their way in.
The store front can be a little hard to identify so it took us a minute to find it and when we got in it appeared to be deserted. However, we eventually we were able to talk with manager Lean Augistin.
"I was closed for 2 days, I cleaned everything," said Augistin, who also took us back into his kitchen which, despite showing some obvious signs of wear and tear, passed the follow up by state inspectors.
Best Caribbean Food Take Out Restaurant
Our last stop of the day was just a short drive to Best Caribbean Food Take Out Restaurant located at 386 SE 2nd Ave. in Delray Beach.
That's not my opinion, that's the name of the restaurant.
This little restaurant is also located in a small strip mall and it was closed down temporarily when inspectors found roaches and rodents.
As we entered the little restaurant the island atmosphere was deafening, literally, thanks to a large stereo system pumping out Caribbean music.
In fact, it was so loud, after I rang a service bell the owner, Lamy Jean, snuck up behind me and started talking long before I realized he was there.
Jean took us back into the kitchen to show how exterminators took care of the rodents and roaches.
"Anything to say to your customers?" I asked. "No, because it's like, you can see its a very clean place," Jean replied.
I thanked Jean and asked him to turn the music back up on our way out.
If you'd like to see how your favorite restaurant faired this week check out our database provided by our news partners at TcPalm.com.
