Cooked?
Middle East Bakery & Grill
- resultPass
- critical violations0
- last inspectedMay 9, 2025
- address1512 W Foster Ave, Chicago 60640
Is Middle East Bakery & Grill clean?
Middle East Bakery & Grill is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 9, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at Middle East Bakery & Grill?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 9, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BOXES AND PLASTIC CONTAINERS OF RAW MEAT STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN FREEZER IN THE BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AT LEAST SIX INCHES OFF OF THE FLOOR TO PROTECT FROM POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION.Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED BOXES AND PLASTIC CONTAINERS OF RAW MEAT STORED ON THE FLOOR IN THE WALK-IN FREEZER IN THE BASEMENT. INSTRUCTED TO ELEVATE ALL FOOD ITEMS AT LEAST SIX INCHES OFF OF THE FLOOR TO PROTECT FROM POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONTAMINATION.
- 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to codeFood & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED CARDBOARD AND ALUMINUM FOIL BEING USED AS A LINER ON THE BOTTOM SHELF IN THE DELI PREP AREA AND ON COOKING EQUIPMENT AT THE GRILL STATION. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE CARDBOARD FROM SURFACE SO THAT SHELVING IS SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE. • OBSERVED CUTTING BOARDS WITH OPEN SEAMS AND DARK STAINS IN THE UPSTAIRS DISHWASHING AREA. MUST REFINISH OR REPLACE DAMAGED OR STAINED CUTTING BOARDS AND MAINTAIN.
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • MUST REMOVE FOOD DEBRIS AND DETAIL CLEAN FLOORS IN THE BASEMENT BAKERY AREA AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED WET MOP STORED IN THE BUCKET IN THE UTILITY AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE HOOKS TO HANG MOPS TO ALLOW TO DRY WHEN NOT IN USE.
When was Middle East Bakery & Grill last inspected?
Middle East Bakery & Grill has 21 inspections on record going back to March 26, 2012. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 9, 2025 | Pass | |
| February 28, 2024 | Pass | |
| January 9, 2023 | Pass | |
| April 26, 2022 | Pass | |
| February 2, 2022 | Pass | |
| January 26, 2022 | Fail | |
| May 19, 2021 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| September 9, 2020 | Pass | |
| July 2, 2020 | Pass | |
| June 25, 2020 | Fail | |
| September 19, 2019 | closed by the city | |
| August 15, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions |
Middle East Bakery & Grill vs Edgewater
Edgewater runs 64% clean across 997 tracked restaurants — 633 clean, 186 mid, 172 cooked.
Against the 997 spots Cooked tracks in Edgewater, this one comes out cleaner than 63% of them.
Other spots in Edgewater
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 9, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.