Baba Pita

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations4
• last inspectedMay 10, 2018
• address2343 W Taylor St, Chicago 60612

Is Baba Pita clean?

Baba Pita is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 10, 2018. Inspectors wrote up 4 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Baba Pita?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 10, 2018, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  Facilities To Maintain Proper Temperature • FACILITIES DO NOT MAINTAIN PROPER TEMPERATURE. OBSERVED THE 3 DOOR PREP COOLER WITH AN AIR TEMPERATURE OF 50F. THE COOLER WAS USED TO STORE POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS SUCH AS CUT TOMATOES AND CHEESE. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN THE COOLER BELOW 40F. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-005A.
• 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcritical
  Potentially Hazardous Food Meets Temperature Requirement During Storage, Preparation Display And Service • OBSERVED POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS AT IMPROPER TEMPERATURES INSIDE OF THE 3 DOOR PREP COOLER AND WALK-IN COOLER. OBSERVED CHEESE AT 51.8F, YOGURT AT 62.3F, BABA GANOUSH AT 50F, CUT TOMATOES AT 45.3F. MANAGEMENT VOLUNTARILY DISCARDED APPROXIMATELY 40# OF FOOD WORTH $100. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-005A.
• 🧼hand hygiene slippingcritical
  Hands Washed And Cleaned, Good Hygienic Practices; No Bare Hand Contact With Ready-To-Eat Foods. • OBSERVED A FOOD HANDLING EMPLOYEE HANDLE READY-TO-EAT FOODS WITH BARE HANDS. EMPLOYEE WAS PREPARING A TAKE OUT ENTREE AND CUT THE PITA BREAD WITH HIS BARE HANDS AND ALSO ADDED CHOPPED PARSLEY TO THE DISH WITH HIS BARE HANDS. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED THAT NO BARE HAND CONTACT IS ALLOWED WITH READY-TO-EAT FOODS. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-010A.
• ❓food from a questionable sourcecritical
  Adequate Number, Convenient, Accessible, Designed, And Maintained • OBSERVED BOTH EXPOSED HANDWASHING SINKS IMPROPERLY MAINTAINED. THE EXPOSED HANDWASHING SINK IN THE FRONT PREP AREA HAD A MAJOR LEAK AND CRACK IN THE DRAIN LINE AND THE REAR HANDWASHING SINK DID NOT HAVE A DRAIN LINE CONNECTED. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN ALL HANDWASHING SINKS AT ALL TIMES. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-030.
• 🧽surfaces not properly sanitized
  Food Protected During Storage, Preparation, Display, Service And Transportation • FOOD NOT PROTECTED FROM CONTAMINATION DURING STORAGE. OBSERVED LEMONS AND ONIONS STORED IN A CARDBOARD BOX TOP IN THE WALK-IN COOLER. THE CARDBOARD BOX TOP WAS USED AS A LID FOR THE CARDBOARD BOX CONTAINING RAW CHICKEN. OBSERVED A SECOND BOX USED TO STORE CHICKEN USED TO STORE MISCELLANEOUS FOOD ITEMS IN THE WALK-IN FREEZER. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO DISCARD THE FOOD AND NOT TO USE THE CARDBOARD BOXES FOR FOOD STORAGE AFTER THE RAW CHICKEN HAS BEEN REMOVED. SERIOUS VIOLATION 7-38-005A.
• ⚠️Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • REPLACE THE TORN DOOR GASKET INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER. OBSERVED FROZEN FOODS STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS IN THE WALK-IN FREEZER. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO USE ONLY FOOD GRADE STORAGE BAGS OR CONTAINERS ONLY.
  Food And Non-Food Contact Surfaces Properly Designed, Constructed And Maintained • REPLACE THE TORN DOOR GASKET INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER. OBSERVED FROZEN FOODS STORED IN PLASTIC GROCERY BAGS IN THE WALK-IN FREEZER. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO USE ONLY FOOD GRADE STORAGE BAGS OR CONTAINERS ONLY.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Food And Non-Food Contact Equipment Utensils Clean, Free Of Abrasive Detergents • DETAIL CLEAN THE INTERIOR OF THE PREP COOLERS, MICROWAVE, PREP TABLES, STOVE AND DEEP FRYER, FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • DETAIL CLEAN THE VENTILATION HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE THE COOKING EQUIPMENT. REPAIR THE REAR SCREEN DOOR. CLEAN THE WALLS OF THE FOOD PREP AREA. REPLACE THE MISSING CEILING TILES IN THE REAR FOOD PREP AREA.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • DETAIL CLEAN THE VENTILATION HOOD AND FILTERS ABOVE THE COOKING EQUIPMENT. REPAIR THE REAR SCREEN DOOR. CLEAN THE WALLS OF THE FOOD PREP AREA. REPLACE THE MISSING CEILING TILES IN THE REAR FOOD PREP AREA.

When was Baba Pita last inspected?

Baba Pita has 7 inspections on record going back to June 5, 2015.

Baba Pita vs East Garfield Park

East Garfield Park runs 66% clean across 510 tracked restaurants — 336 clean, 87 mid, 85 cooked.

Against the 510 spots Cooked tracks in East Garfield Park, this one comes out cleaner than 17% of them.

Other spots in East Garfield Park

• ✓ Roosevelt's Connect
  clean · August 18, 2017
• ✕ Yuri's Taqueria
  cooked · May 10, 2016
• ✓ Yoyo Food Mart
  clean · September 11, 2025
• ✓ Golden Fish + Chicken
  clean · August 15, 2016
• ✓! Sam's Quick Stop
  mid · May 21, 2020
• ✓ Sheika Food Market
  clean · December 5, 2016

See every restaurant inspection in East Garfield Park →

How Chicago grades restaurants

Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated May 10, 2018. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.