Mama Ruth's Soul Food

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMarch 19, 2025
• address5965 W Chicago Ave, Chicago 60651

Is Mama Ruth's Soul Food clean?

Mama Ruth's Soul Food is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 19, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Mama Ruth's Soul Food?

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

• 🌡️thermometers missing
  Thermometers Provided & Accurate • OBSERVED BROKEN AMBIENT AIR THERMOMETER FOR INSIDE PREP AREA TABLE COOLING UNIT LABELED FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY, FOR EMPLOYEES LUNCHES, WATER/DRINKS, ETC. IN THE KITCHEN PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE AND MAINTAIN.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • OBSERVED NO LABELS ON FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS CONTAINING SUGAR AND FLOUR ON SHELVING UNIT IN THE REAR FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED NO SPLASHGUARD BETWEEN REAR HANDWASHING SINK AND FOOD PREPARATION TABLE NEAR THE DISHWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE. • OBSERVED IMPROPER STORAGE OF CASES OF SODA POP STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE FRONT FOOD PREP AREA NEAR THE DISPLAY COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON SHELVING UNITS.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED NO SPLASHGUARD BETWEEN REAR HANDWASHING SINK AND FOOD PREPARATION TABLE NEAR THE DISHWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE. • OBSERVED IMPROPER STORAGE OF CASES OF SODA POP STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE FRONT FOOD PREP AREA NEAR THE DISPLAY COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE AT LEAST 6 INCHES FROM THE FLOOR ON SHELVING UNITS.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED IMPROPER STORAGE OF MOP IN THE REAR DRY STORAGE AREA. INSTRUCTED TO STORE PROPERLY.

When was Mama Ruth's Soul Food last inspected?

Mama Ruth's Soul Food has 6 inspections on record going back to August 24, 2023.

Mama Ruth's Soul Food vs Austin

Austin runs 65% clean across 770 tracked restaurants — 493 clean, 148 mid, 121 cooked.

Against the 770 spots Cooked tracks in Austin, this one comes out cleaner than 38% 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 March 19, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.