Gao's Kabob

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations4
• last inspectedOctober 3, 2025
• address232-234 W 22Nd Pl, Chicago 60616

Is Gao's Kabob clean?

Gao's Kabob is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on October 3, 2025. 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 Gao's Kabob?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 3, 2025, 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, LAMB, BEEF, KABOBS) MUST BE ON SITE AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION 7-38-012. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED HANDSINKS IN PREP AREA AND BASEMENT EMPLOYEE RESTROOM NOT STOCKED WITH HAND SOAP. INFORMED PERSON IN CHARGE THAT HAND SOAP MUST BE AVAILABLE AT HANDSINKS AT ALL TIMES. FOOD HANDLER OBTAINED HAND SOAP FOR HAND SINK DURING TIME OF INSPECTION. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION #7-38-030(C). CITATION ISSUED. • OBSERVED NO PAPER TOWELS IN THE BASEMENT EMPLOYEE WASHROOM AT THE WASHBOWL SINK NOR AT THE HAND-SINK IN THE PREP AREAS. INFORMED PERSON IN CHARGE THAT PAPER TOWELS MUST BE AVAILABLE AT HAND SINKS AT ALL TIMES. FOOD HANDLER OBTAINED PAPER TOWELS FOR HAND SINK DURING TIME OF INSPECTION PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION #7-38-030(C). SEE ABOVE. • OBSERVED NO HANDWASHING SIGNAGE IN THE BASEMENT EMPLOYEE WASHROOM OR KITCHEN PREP AREA HANDSINKS. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Required Records Available: Shellstock Tags, Parasite Destruction • OBSERVED NO SHELLSTOCK TAG ATTACHED TO CONTAINERS OF OYSTERS, LOCATED IN KITCHEN TWO DOOR REFRIGERATOR. AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INFORMED MANAGER THAT SHELLFISH SHELLSTOCK TAG MUST REMAIN ATTACHED TO CONTAINER UNTIL CONTAINER IS EMPTY. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE APPROVAL SOURCES OF SHELLFISH AND MAINTAIN TAGS FOR 90 DAYS ON PREMISES. MANAGER VOLUNTARILY DISCARDED 20LB, AT A VALUE OF $100. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION # 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.critical
  Required Records Available: Shellstock Tags, Parasite Destruction • OBSERVED NO SHELLSTOCK TAG ATTACHED TO CONTAINERS OF OYSTERS, LOCATED IN KITCHEN TWO DOOR REFRIGERATOR. AT TIME OF INSPECTION. INFORMED MANAGER THAT SHELLFISH SHELLSTOCK TAG MUST REMAIN ATTACHED TO CONTAINER UNTIL CONTAINER IS EMPTY. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE APPROVAL SOURCES OF SHELLFISH AND MAINTAIN TAGS FOR 90 DAYS ON PREMISES. MANAGER VOLUNTARILY DISCARDED 20LB, AT A VALUE OF $100. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION # 7-38-005. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • OBSERVED RAW FOODS HELD AT IMPROPER INTERNAL TEMPERATURES IN THE BASEMENT STORAGE AREA, SUCH AS 30LBS OF CHICKEN AT 75.5F. MANAGER DISCARDED AND DENATURED A TOTAL 30LBS AT $200. ALL COLD TCS FOOD MUST MAINTAIN 41F OR BELOW. PRIORITY VIOLATION. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTABLE IN EMPLOYEE BASEMENT WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTABLE IN EMPLOYEE BASEMENT WASHROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️Garbage & Refuse Properly Disposed; Facilities Maintained • OBSERVED OUTSIDE DUMPSTER WITH LIDS NOT CLOSED DUE TO TRASH OVERFLOWING. INSTRUCTED TO CORRECT AND MAINTAIN TO ENSURE TIGHT FITTING LIDS. MANAGER CLEANED AFEA AND CLOSED LIDS DURING INSPECTION.PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION #7-38-020(B). CITATION ISSUED.
  Garbage & Refuse Properly Disposed; Facilities Maintained • OBSERVED OUTSIDE DUMPSTER WITH LIDS NOT CLOSED DUE TO TRASH OVERFLOWING. INSTRUCTED TO CORRECT AND MAINTAIN TO ENSURE TIGHT FITTING LIDS. MANAGER CLEANED AFEA AND CLOSED LIDS DURING INSPECTION.PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION #7-38-020(B). CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED LOOSE DEBRIS, DIRT AND DUST BUILDUP ON THE FLOORS AND CORNERS THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY. INSTRUCTED TO DETAIL CLEAN AND INCREASE CLEANING FREQUENCY OF FLOORS. MUST MAINTAIN AT ALL TIMES.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATES ON SITE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO COMPLY WITH THE IDPH FOOD HANDLER REQUIREMENT.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • OBSERVED NO FOOD HANDLERS CERTIFICATES ON SITE. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO COMPLY WITH THE IDPH FOOD HANDLER REQUIREMENT.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • OBSERVED FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGER WITHOUT FOOD ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED TO MEET REQUIREMENT.

When was Gao's Kabob last inspected?

Gao's Kabob has 21 inspections on record going back to February 20, 2018. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Gao's Kabob vs Armour Square

Armour Square runs 75% clean across 644 tracked restaurants — 481 clean, 114 mid, 46 cooked.

Against the 644 spots Cooked tracks in Armour Square, this one comes out cleaner than 7% of them.

Other spots in Armour Square

• ✓ Gao's Kabob
  clean · May 22, 2018
• ✓ Kuan Zhai Alley
  clean · December 20, 2017
• ✓! Slurp Slurp
  mid · June 20, 2023
• ✓! 14 Parish
  mid · September 6, 2018
• ✓ Wentworth Seafood House
  clean · June 9, 2026
• ✓ Shu Tin Xia
  clean · October 8, 2019

See every restaurant inspection in Armour Square →

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 October 3, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.