Out of 16 health inspections conducted in Tompkins County last month, one had critical violations, 10 had no violations, and five had unfixed violations remaining from previous inspections, according to new reports released by the Tompkins County Health Department.
There are over 90,000 food service establishments in New York state, according to health.ny.gov. Inspections include any establishment public or private that uses an on-site kitchen to serve food, this includes schools, nursing homes and more.
Due to the volume of food establishments inspected in the last month, a selection of the highest and lowest rated restaurants are shown below. You can search for current and past New York state health inspection reports on data.ithacajournal.com.
Some Tompkins County eateries with the most health violations last month
Critical violations must be corrected on the spot, while non-critical violations must be addressed by a future date.
Pizza Aroma
301 South Meadow Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 3, 2025
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Violations: 2 total. 0 critical, 2 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Taste Of Thai Express
209 South Meadow Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 3, 2025
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Violations: 2 total. 0 critical, 2 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Playa Bowls
740 South Meadow Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 1 total. 0 critical, 1 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Serendipity Catering
950 Danby Road, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 1 total. 0 critical, 1 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
New Delhi Diamond’s
106 West Green Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 5, 2025
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Violations: 1 total. 1 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Simeon’s On The Commons
224 East State Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 5, 2025
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Violations: 1 total. 0 critical, 1 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Tompkins County eateries with flawless health inspections last month
No health code infractions were found at these establishments during their inspections.
Maru Ramen Restaurant
512 West State Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 3, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Tc Action Casey Cntr Head Start Coi
29 Union Street, Dryden
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Inspection date: Sept. 3, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Hillendale Golf Course
218 North Applegate Road, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 3, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Titus Towers
2422 North Triphammer Road, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Ithaca Housing Authority
800 South Plain Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Just Be Cause Center
1013 West State Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Purity Ice Cream Co.
700 Cascadilla Street, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Flake
Throughout Tompkins County, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 4, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Bibibowl
202 Dryden Road, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 5, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
Kung Fu Tea – Collegetown
143 Dryden Road, Ithaca
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Inspection date: Sept. 5, 2025
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Violations: 0 total. 0 critical, 0 non-critical, 0 not fixed from previous inspection
What are critical and non-critical violations?
Red “critical” violations involve “food source and condition, food cooking and storage temperatures, sanitary practices of food workers, water and sewage, pest contamination of food and the use of toxic materials,” according to a spokesperson from the New York State Department of Health.
Critical violations must be corrected at the time of inspection because they include factors that could lead to foodborne illness.
In New York state, restaurant inspections are not conducted on a pass or fail basis.
Non-critical, or blue, violations are not related to factors that could directly cause foodborne illness, but they could have a negative effect on the operation of the restaurant. These types of violations relate to the maintenance, design, and cleanliness of the establishment.
Non-critical violations are not as urgent as critical ones and must be fixed according to the timeframe given by the health inspector.
How often are health inspections conducted in Tompkins County?
The frequency of food establishment inspections in New York state depends on the risk category of the establishment and the establishment’s history of health code compliance.
High-risk food establishments are inspected twice per year, medium-risk ones once per year, and low-risk ones every other year.
Examples of high-risk food establishments include table-service restaurants, diners and school kitchens which prepare foods – these are establishments that have complex food processes like preparing food in advance or reheating and cooling food.
Medium-risk food establishments don’t require such complex processes because they serve low maintenance food like pizza, hamburgers, sandwiches.
Bars and coffee shops are typical low-risk food service establishments due to the minimal preparation required for their food service.
The inspectors from health departments in each county are trained by the New York State Department of Health to standardize food establishment health inspections across the state. Information for each county’s health department can be found at health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/ctyadd1.htm.
How do I report food establishments that might be violating health standards in Tompkins County?
The health department in each respective county is responsible for enforcing public health regulations.
If you suspect that a food establishment is dirty or might be violating health standards, report them to the Tompkins County Health Department and an inspector will investigate the complaint. To file a report, submit a complaint on https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/food_safety/complaints.htm.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data scraped from local health department websites. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu.
This article originally appeared on Ithaca Journal: 10 Tompkins County eateries have flawless health inspections; one marked with critical violations in July
