Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedMay 12, 2026
• address101 E 51St St, Chicago 60615

Is Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade clean?

Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 12, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 12, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋no certified food manager on dutycritical
  Person In Charge Present, Demonstrates Knowledge, And Performs Duties • OBSERVED NO PERSON IN CHARGE WITH VALID CHICAGO FOOD SANITATION CERTIFICATE.
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER ON DUTY WHILE FOODS ARE BEING PREPARED, HANDLED AND SERVED SUCH AS (CHICKEN, HAMBURGERS, SAMDWICHES, AND FRENCH FRIES. MUST BE ON SITE AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION 7-38-012. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • OBSERVED TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS SUCH AS 50LBS OF CHICKEN VALUED AT $200AT AN IMPROPER COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURE OF 50F LOCATED IN FRONT PREP COLD HOLDING UNIT. INSTRUCTED TO DISCARD AND DENATURE ALL SAID TCS FOODS AND TO MAINTAIN A COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURE OF 41F AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY VIOLATION.7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • NOTED IMPROPER COLD-HOLD TEMPERATURE OF 49.5F AT FRONT PREP COLD HOLDING UNIT. INFORMED ALL REFRIGERATOR UNITS SHALL MAINTAIN A PROPER TEMPERATURE OF 41F AND BELOW. REFRIGERATOR UNIT MUST NOT BE USED UNTIL REINSPECTED BY CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH (CDPH). PRIORITY VIOLATION #7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED TORN DOOR GASKET INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE PREP AND STORAGE AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST SIX INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED FOOD CONTAINERS STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE PREP AND STORAGE AREAS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROPERLY STORE AND PROTECT FOOD ITEMS FROM CONTAMINATION WHILE STORED BY ELEVATING AT LEAST SIX INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON RAISED SHELVING UNITS.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS PREPPING FOOD WITHOUT HAIR RESTRAINTS. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARGE THAT ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR A HAIR RESTRAINT.
  Personal Cleanliness • OBSERVED FOOD HANDLERS PREPPING FOOD WITHOUT HAIR RESTRAINTS. INSTRUCTED PERSON IN CHARGE THAT ALL FOOD HANDLERS MUST WEAR A HAIR RESTRAINT.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED TORN DOOR GASKET INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLERS AND REFRIGERATOR IN FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE.

When was Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade last inspected?

Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade has 6 inspections on record going back to May 28, 2025.

Baba's Famous Steak And Lemonade vs Fuller Park

Fuller Park runs 61% clean across 148 tracked restaurants — 89 clean, 36 mid, 21 cooked.

Against the 148 spots Cooked tracks in Fuller Park, this one comes out cleaner than 16% of them.

Other spots in Fuller Park

• ✓ Union Mobil
  clean · July 3, 2025
• ? Riverfish King
  not rated · July 14, 2025
• ✓ Mi Nueva Venzuela
  clean · February 20, 2026
• ✓ Root Inn Lucky Mart
  clean · March 23, 2026
• ✓ C & B Ribs
  clean · April 28, 2026
• ? F-E Market
  not rated · July 23, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Fuller 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 12, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.