Cooked?
The Calaveras
- gradeGrade C ⏳
- inspection score54 pts
- critical violations5
- last inspectedOctober 29, 2025
- address949 Columbus Avenue, Manhattan 10025
- cuisineMexican
- phone6464846533
Is The Calaveras clean?
The Calaveras is currently Grade C ⏳ from NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), from an inspection on October 29, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 5 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳. There is a newer inspection the city has not ruled on yet, so the posted grade still stands for now.
What did inspectors find at The Calaveras?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 29, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🌡️fridge is giving… room tempcriticalCold TCS food item held above 41 °F; smoked or processed fish held above 38 °F; intact raw eggs held above 45 °F; or reduced oxygen packaged (ROP) TCS foods held above required temperatures except during active necessary preparation.
- 🐭they've got roommates (mice)criticalEvidence of mice or live mice in establishment's food or non-food areas.
- 🧽surfaces not properly sanitizedcriticalFood contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
- 🪰flies in the housecriticalFilth flies or food/refuse/sewage associated with (FRSA) flies or other nuisance pests in establishment’s food and/or non-food areas. FRSA flies include house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies and fruit flies.
- 🔪cross-contamination riskcriticalRaw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
- 🕳️basically rolling out the welcome mat for pestsEstablishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
When was The Calaveras last inspected?
The Calaveras has 5 inspections on record going back to December 20, 2023, averaging 28 points.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2026 | — | |
| February 3, 2026 | no grade issued ⏳ | 25 pts |
| October 29, 2025 | Grade C | 54 pts |
| July 15, 2025 | no grade issued ⏳ | 22 pts |
| December 20, 2023 | Grade A | 12 pts |
The Calaveras vs Morningside Heights
Morningside Heights runs 77% clean across 196 tracked restaurants — 131 clean, 13 mid, 27 cooked.
Against the 196 spots Cooked tracks in Morningside Heights, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.
Other spots in Morningside Heights
How New York grades restaurants
New York City health inspectors score violations in points, and lower is better: 0–13 points earns an A, 14–27 a B, and 28 or more a C. Every restaurant is inspected at least once a year, and the letter has to be posted in the window. A restaurant that scores 14 or more on the first inspection of a cycle does not get a letter right away — it stays “Grade Pending” until a re-inspection settles it, which is why some spots here show an hourglass instead of a letter. Cooked only ever shows a letter the city actually posted; we never infer one from a score.
Source: NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) via NYC Open Data. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated October 29, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.