Bagatelle via Facebook

Bagatelle's been getting a lot of press lately

​Bagatelle, the pretty little Key West restaurant on the 100 block of Duval Street has been in the news twice this week, and it's only Wednesday. So do you want the good news or the bad news?

OK, good news first:

The Florida Keys Keynoter reported the happy news that Jack Terry, a bartender at Bagatelle, was named Tommy Bahama's new Rumologist, beating out 100 other mixologists to win the title, which includes a $50,000 check and a job as brand ambassador for the brand's rum and 13 Caribbean-themed restaurants.

Oh rats (literally and figuratively) -- here comes the bad news:
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Photo by Alexandra Leon

Gator Grill 192's gator and pineapple kabobs.

Gator Grill's new owners Sal and Elsa DeVito have taken the grease out of the menu -- and off a few window panes as well.

At the end of June, the DeVito's took over the Homestead establishment after the Bronx-bred chef Nino took off. The couple changed the name of the restaurant to Gator Grill 192 and removed fried items from the menu to keep it healthier.

"We've cleaned it up and we're looking for our new clientele. I have great expectations for this," said Sal.

The restaurants windows and wood paneling were pressure cleaned to remove grease residue. "You couldn't see to the outside," Elsa added.

Yet, a look in health records shows that a July 14 inspection turned up 13 violations.
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​So, you haven't heard from us in a while. Doesn't mean rat  turds aren't ending up in your lunch break. Brush your teeth and read on to find out who's been busted recently for health code violations at our local restaurants. The following inspections all occurred since October and were served with emergency closures...
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​Yesterday, Short Order reported a horror story from a customer of People's Bar-B-Que: Rosanna Perry says she dug into some sauce-slathered chicken and the whole piece started "writhing" with maggots.

In response to the story, a health inspector made a surprise visit to the Miami soul food staple. It failed that inspection in spectacular fashion -- amassing a whopping 20 critical health violations -- and was immediately shut down by the state pending an overhaul of conditions in the restaurant.

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Either a pair of respected Miami-Dade Corrections officers have concocted an outlandish, disgusting hoax for a few thousand dollars, or Miami's best barbecue joint served maggots with its chicken.

Either way, consider us grievously disillusioned.

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Courtesy of Wikimedia

​We have reached the end of another long week Short Orderers. And we would like to thank you for commenting on our stories. Here's some of the best blather from the past five days. For some reason, the noteworthy comments this week shared a male chauvinism theme. 

Thanks again readers. And keep 'em coming.

1. and 2. Short Order reported on Lost and Found's Happy Hour. The blog post sparked a beer-related comment war.

"veghead" said,

It should be noted that there are great vegetarian options here. Also, Blueberry beer for the ladies.

Then "Raya" said,

"Also, Blueberry beer for the ladies."Seriously?? Do you really feel that all "ladies" are such simpering ninnies that we cannot drink a beer unless it is fruity and weak? Is Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar so strong and masculine that it might send the "ladies" into hysteria? Oooh, and what if a "lady" ate a pork burrito instead of a more delicate "vegetarian option"? Might the world spin off its axis? Or implode even? Blueberry Beer for the "ladies," folks.

3. Lee Klein blogged about The Art of Grilling cookbook. He noted that it was ranked 1,603,701 on the Amazon Bestsellers list.

To which a testosterone-filled "Bobby Flay" said,

Maybe it's #1,603,701 because its written by a woman.
Men grill. Women bake

​We live in Miami. There are roaches everywhere. We get it. And rats too. That's part of big-city life. But damn it, man, get your vermin under control. How do you expect people to pay for food at your restaurant if you let roaches and rats eat for free?
 
Of course, nobody intentionally sends invitations to those creatures of the night that ruin our dinners. But nonetheless they show up. And at these eateries, they show up en masse. Five restaurants suffered the indignation of temporary shut-downs in late July or early August because of roach and rodent problems. And one café also had issues. Here are the lowlights:More >>

​Roaches. They're not shy, they love to eat, and some can even quote Kafka. But none of that makes them a good dinner date. So what are they doing at our local restaurants? The same thing as everybody else; grabbing a bite to eat and trying to get laid.

Problem is, most of us hate the thought, sight, and especially taste of their crunchy translucent wings and fuzzy legs. Here are five restaurants that were served with emergency closure orders for the health and safety of the public by the state of Florida in June.
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art by Alex Izaguirre

​Furry bodies, segmented tails, whiskers from hell, transluscent brown wings, antennas of doom, beady black eyes; these are the visions restaurant inspectors must see in their nightmares.

Luckily most of us don't have to bear witness to these images of living disgustitude.

On the other hand, we might be consuming the results of their creeping and crawling every time we sit down to eat at a restaurant.

Here are eight establishments that health inspectors saw fit to place emergency closure orders on in the month of May.

By the way, "qué asco" means "how disgusting!" in español.
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