4 Sarasota Eateries Pass 1st Inspection; 3 Temporarily Closed

SARASOTA, FL – There’s good news and bad news for Sarasota County residents and visitors who are planning to dine out this weekend.

The good news is 30 restaurants in the county passed inspections by the Florida Department of Health on the first visit during the past month.

And four of those restaurants passed with no code violations at all, an achievement the Department of Health was pleased to tout on its website.

Among the restaurants passing inspection with flying colors was one of Sarasota's newest dining options, Chef Rolf's New Florida Kitchen, 2001 Siesta Drive, Sarasota.

The popular host of a cooking show on SNN Comcast Channel 6 and chef at Saltwater Cafe in Nokomis, Chef Rolf Zahnd opened his new restaurant in the former Roy's Hawaiian Fusion on May 7.

The health department lauded Zahnd for paying the same attention to detail in keeping his restaurant clean as he does when cooking his fresh fish entrees like cedar plank herb-crusted baked grouper and Motorworks beer-battered flounder or his signature sides including blue cheese potato gnocchi and shiitake risotto.

The health department also gave high marks to the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota for having zero code violations in its Bayview Bar & Grill, the 8th-Floor Lounge and the Banquet Hall, all located at 1111 Ritz Carlton Drive, Sarasota.

The bad news is 16 restaurants didn’t pass the first inspection, and three of those restaurants were forced to temporarily close until the worst violations were corrected.

They include Steak N Shake at 4297 S. Cattleman Road, Sarasota. The restaurant inspectors turned up 28 code violations on May 3 including on the floor of the cook line, dishwashing area and wait station, an employee failing to wash his or her hands before putting on gloves to work with food, and cream cheese, eggs, sausage and dairy creamer not stored at the proper temperature.

The Sun Garden Café, 210 Avenida Madera, Sarasota, also was ordered to temporarily close after inspectors found live roaches on the drying rack and in the dry storage area. The restaurant also was cited when an employee dried his or her hands on a soiled apron.

Bushido Sushi Inc., 125 W. Venice Ave., Venice, was reprimanded and ordered to temporarily close when inspectors found live roaches on the shelf where the beverage cups are stores, on the side of the chest freeze and on top of the water heater.

Employees attempted to eliminate the roaches by sprinkling powdered roach poison on the shelf area where the drinking cups are stored, posing a whole new health risk.

The following Sarasota County restaurants had the most violations in the past 30 days:

28 violations – Steak N Shake

26 violations – Kumo Japanese Sushi & Grill, 17945 Tamiami Trail, North Port

22 violations – Madfish Grill, 4059 Cattleman Road, Sarasota

21 violations – Daiquiri Deck South, 1250 Stickney Point Road, Siesta Key

21 violations – Sandbar Tiki and Grille, 1975 Beach Road, Englewood.

To find out more about the specific violations, visit the Restaurant Inspection website.

Image via Chef Rolf's New Florida Kitchen

After opening its doors May 7, Chef Rolf's New Florida Kitchen is not only receiving rave reviews from diners but has received the Department of Health's seal of approval.