I got a call from Dave Hackett today about his website gototell.com. Don't worry if you've never heard of it, it's new. Along with a lot of empty content he's working on filling, gototell has a fantastic search page that lists restaurants that have been fined by the inspectors of the Florida Department of Hotels and Restaurants. Start here and you'll be able to plot the worst offenders on Google Maps, see a list off all the places fined over the past 2 years, or navigate the State page to look up inspection reports.
Think it's cruel? Don't. The State is pretty lenient and usually gives restaurants time to correct problems before it escalates to slapping a fine. According to Hackett, "the fact that you’ve been fined says to me that you were at the very best, forgetful, or at the very worst it was something seriously bad." Check it out before you eat out.
