Cooked?
Baker's Square
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations0
- last inspectedMarch 13, 2025
- address5220 N Harlem Ave, Chicago 60656
Is Baker's Square clean?
Baker's Square is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 13, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at Baker's Square?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 13, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🧊cold food not cold enoughProper Cold Holding Temperatures • NOTED INTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE FOLLOWING TCS FOOD ITEMS INSIDE SERVICE COOLERS TO BE IMPROPER:-SALSA 51.8F, SALAD DRESSINGS 50.1F, COLESLAW 53F, YOGURT 51F, SAUSAGE PATTIES 44.3F. MANAGER IMMEDIATELY AND VOLUNTARILY DISPOSED OF 16 LBS OF PRODUCTS WORTH $125.00 THROUGH DENATURING PROCESS. PRIORITY VIOLATION #7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
- 🧫food prep surfaces dirtyProper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • NOTED EQUIPMENT NOT MAINTAINING PROPER TEMPERATURE. NOTED TEMPERATURE OF SERVICE COOLER AT THE PREP AREA TO BE IMPROPER AT 50.2F. INSTRUCTED NOT TO USE EQUIPMENT UNTIL MAINTAINING PROPER TEMPERATURE OF 41F AND BELOW. PRIORITY VIOLATION 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
- 🚻bathroom / plumbing issuesPlumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • NOTED SPRAYER AT THE SCRAPING ONE COMPARTMENT SINK BY THE DISH WASHING MACHINE HANGING BELOW THE RIM OF THE SINK. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE THE DEVICE TO HOLD THE SPRAYER ABOVE THE WATER RIM OF THE 1 COMPARTMENT SINK.
When was Baker's Square last inspected?
Baker's Square has 10 inspections on record going back to November 9, 2020.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| March 13, 2025 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| March 19, 2024 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| October 11, 2023 | Pass | |
| October 6, 2023 | Fail | |
| September 28, 2023 | Fail | |
| October 11, 2022 | Pass | |
| September 26, 2022 | Fail | |
| September 28, 2021 | Pass | |
| May 19, 2021 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| November 9, 2020 | Pass |
Baker's Square vs Norwood Park
Norwood Park runs 67% clean across 265 tracked restaurants — 177 clean, 50 mid, 37 cooked.
Against the 265 spots Cooked tracks in Norwood Park, this one comes out cleaner than 27% of them.
Other spots in Norwood 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 March 13, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.