Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedAugust 19, 2025
• address2901 W Belmont Ave, Chicago 60618

Is Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar clean?

Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on August 19, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 19, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• ⚠️Toxic Substances Properly Identified, Stored, & Used • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE PERSONAL CARE ITEMS STORED ON SHELF ABOVE SINGLE-SERVICE ARTICLES (NAPKINS, INDIVIDUALLY-WRAPPED PLASTICWARE). INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE DESIGNATED AREA FOR THE STORAGE OF EMPLOYEE PERSONAL CARE ITEMS THAT DOES NOT POSE RISK OF CONTAMINATION OF FOOD, CLEAN EQUIPMENT, OR UTENSILS AND MAINTAIN.
  Toxic Substances Properly Identified, Stored, & Used • OBSERVED EMPLOYEE PERSONAL CARE ITEMS STORED ON SHELF ABOVE SINGLE-SERVICE ARTICLES (NAPKINS, INDIVIDUALLY-WRAPPED PLASTICWARE). INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE DESIGNATED AREA FOR THE STORAGE OF EMPLOYEE PERSONAL CARE ITEMS THAT DOES NOT POSE RISK OF CONTAMINATION OF FOOD, CLEAN EQUIPMENT, OR UTENSILS AND MAINTAIN.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED BULK DRY FOOD CONTAINERS IN THE FRONT COFFEE BAR AREA NOT LABELED WITH THE COMMON NAME OF THE FOOD STORED. INSTRUCTED TO LABEL ALL BULK DRY FOOD CONTAINERS WITH THE COMMON NAME OF THE FOOD STORED AND MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED DRY TEA BAGS STORED IN ORIGINAL BOX DIRECTLY ON THE FLOOR OF THE SMALL STORAGE CLOSET. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE TEA BAGS AND STORE ALL FOOD AT LEAST 6 INCHES ABOVE THE FLOOR IN ORIGINAL CONTAINERS AND MAINTAIN.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED DRY TEA BAGS STORED IN ORIGINAL BOX DIRECTLY ON THE FLOOR OF THE SMALL STORAGE CLOSET. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE TEA BAGS AND STORE ALL FOOD AT LEAST 6 INCHES ABOVE THE FLOOR IN ORIGINAL CONTAINERS AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Sewage & Waste Water Properly Disposed • OBSERVED WATER HEATER CONDENSATE WATER COLLECTION DISH NOT PROPERLY ROUTED DIRECTLY TO FLOOR DRAIN IN THE REAR BOILER ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO ROUTE ALL WASTE WATER DIRECTLY TO POINT OF DISCHARGE INTO PLUMBING SYSTEM AND MAINTAIN.
  Sewage & Waste Water Properly Disposed • OBSERVED WATER HEATER CONDENSATE WATER COLLECTION DISH NOT PROPERLY ROUTED DIRECTLY TO FLOOR DRAIN IN THE REAR BOILER ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO ROUTE ALL WASTE WATER DIRECTLY TO POINT OF DISCHARGE INTO PLUMBING SYSTEM AND MAINTAIN.

When was Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar last inspected?

Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar has 6 inspections on record going back to December 23, 2019.

Dark Matter/Caravanserai Coffee Bar vs Avondale

Avondale runs 41% clean across 679 tracked restaurants — 279 clean, 57 mid, 340 cooked.

Against the 679 spots Cooked tracks in Avondale, this one comes out cleaner than 61% of them.

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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 August 19, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.