Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Miami New Times gets results!

The story sounded unbelievable; even in Miami where anything - no matter how ludicrous it sounds - is possible.

A couple of county jail guards order some take-out chicken from a popular Overtown restaurant - People's Bar-B-Que - only to discover to their horror that their poultry is populated with maggots!

Gus Garcia-Roberts at Miami New Times broke the story Monday.

But Garcia-Roberts hinted in his piece that he was a tad skeptical of the jail guards' claims. Ditto for his readers.

But in another unbelievable twist to this story, Garcia-Roberts reported Tuesday that State of Florida inspectors showed up at People's the same day his report appeared online and conducted a surprise inspection.

Inspectors found 20 critical violations and three non-critical violations.

Some of the critical violations observed by inspectors:
Observed rodent activity as evidenced by 100 plus FRESH rodent droppings found IN STORAGE AREA by kitchen (no physical separation between storage and kitchen)

Observed DEAD MOUSE in control devices (glue trap) in KITCHEN AREA

Observed 3 live flies in kitchen.
The state ordered People's closed temporarily the same day!

People's is a very popular Overtown eatery.

It's made Miami New Times Best of Miami list five times since 1999, including Best Soul Food Restaurant in 2009.

But New Times isn't the only Miami media outlet to have gushed over People's.

Just last month, the Miami Herald's Anna Quintana said of People's: "If you're in Overtown and need a barbecue fix, there's one place you can't go wrong: People's Bar-B-Que, a Miami institution."

Quintana continued lovingly:
The smoky scent of Southern cooking greets you before you even step through the door of People's Bar-B-Que in Overtown.

Inside, people are lined up at the counter waiting for their orders, and tables are full of customers already enjoying their meals.

Known for its homemade mustard-based barbecue sauce and ribs, People's Bar-B-Que has been serving Miami since 1962.

"I can count the number of cooks that we've had with one hand," said Carl Lewis, whose father opened the restaurant. "It's the consistency that makes our food great."

That consistency is also what keeps customers coming back for more.

Dolores Richardson has been coming to People's since it was a barbecue stand in the early 1960s.

"I order everything and anything," said Richardson. "Their barbecue is special."
And now, thanks to Garcia-Roberts, we all know just how "special" the bar-b-que is at People's really is.

1 comment:

  1. This may not seem right, but what can I say -- I still love the place.

    ReplyDelete

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