Brooklyn, NY — El Rincon De Macon, a Spanish restaurant at 522 Nostrand Avenue, received a Grade B score of 21 points following a health inspection conducted on March 3, 2026. Inspectors documented two critical food temperature violations during the visit. The score places the restaurant in the upper range of the Grade B category, six points from the Grade C threshold of 28.
The inspection data was released by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) on March 6, 2026.
What Inspectors Found
Both violations cited during the inspection involved improper food temperature control, a fundamental food safety requirement:
- Hot food not held at proper temperature: Inspectors found hot Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food items not held at or above 140 °F. When hot foods fall below this threshold, they enter the temperature danger zone where harmful bacteria can multiply rapidly.
- Cold food not held at proper temperature: Cold TCS food items were found held above 41 °F. This violation also covers smoked or processed fish held above 38 °F, intact raw eggs held above 45 °F, and reduced oxygen packaged TCS foods held above required temperatures.
Both violations are classified as critical, meaning they are conditions most likely to contribute to foodborne illness if not corrected.
Food Safety Context
Temperature control is one of the most important factors in preventing foodborne illness. The FDA Food Code identifies the range between 41 °F and 140 °F as the "temperature danger zone," where bacteria such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria can double in number in as little as 20 minutes.
NYC Health Code Article 81 requires food service establishments to maintain hot TCS foods at 140 °F or above and cold TCS foods at 41 °F or below. Having both hot-holding and cold-holding violations cited in a single inspection indicates a broad temperature control issue across the establishment's food handling operations.
A score of 21 falls within the Grade B range but sits notably close to the Grade C cutoff of 28 points. Each critical temperature violation carries significant point value in the DOHMH scoring system, and the two violations accounted for the entirety of the restaurant's score, as no non-critical violations were recorded.
Inspection History
El Rincon De Macon has a varied inspection record over the past several years:
- Jan 12, 2024: Score 9 (Grade A)
- May 12, 2025: Score 43
- Jul 21, 2025: Score 76, closed by DOHMH
- Aug 14, 2025: Score 13
- Aug 15, 2025: Score 2 (Grade Z)
- Oct 28, 2025: Score 48
- Dec 30, 2025: Score 33 (Grade Z)
- Mar 3, 2026: Score 21 (Grade B)
The restaurant was closed by DOHMH in July 2025 after receiving a score of 76. Following that closure, the establishment showed improvement with a score of 13 in August 2025, though subsequent inspections in October and December 2025 recorded elevated scores of 48 and 33 respectively. The current score of 21 represents an improvement from those recent results.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City assigns letter grades to restaurants based on inspection scores:
- Grade A: 0–13 points
- Grade B: 14–27 points
- Grade C: 28 or more points
Lower scores indicate fewer or less severe violations. Restaurants that receive a Grade B or C may request a re-inspection and can contest their grade through an administrative tribunal hearing.
Consumers can look up any restaurant's inspection history through the DOHMH restaurant inspection database or by checking the letter grade posted at the establishment's entrance. Detailed inspection results for El Rincon De Macon and all NYC restaurants are available at [NYCRestaurantInspections.com](https://nycrestaurantinspections.com).
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for El Rincon De Macon including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.