Manhattan, NY — Kossar's - Miss Wonton Dumpling, located at 1409 York Avenue on the Upper East Side, received a score of 32 during a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene inspection conducted on March 12, 2026. The score places the restaurant in Grade C territory, the lowest letter grade assigned under the city's restaurant grading system, after inspectors identified a critical food safety violation related to improper cooling of cooked food.
The inspection data was released by DOHMH on March 16, 2026.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors cited the establishment for one critical violation under code 02H: after cooking or removal from hot holding, time and temperature controlled for safety (TCS) food was not being cooled by an approved method. Specifically, the violation indicates that the internal temperature of cooked food was not being reduced from 140°F to 70°F or less within two hours, and from 70°F to 41°F or less within four additional hours, as required by food safety regulations.
Improper cooling of cooked food is classified as a critical violation because the temperature range between 140°F and 41°F — commonly referred to as the "temperature danger zone" — is where harmful bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus can multiply rapidly. The two-stage cooling method required by health code is specifically designed to minimize the amount of time food spends in this range.
No non-critical violations were cited during the inspection.
Food Safety Context
The cooling requirements cited in this violation are established under NYC Health Code Article 81 and align with the FDA Food Code's two-stage cooling process. These regulations recognize that improper cooling is one of the leading contributing factors in foodborne illness outbreaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The two-stage cooling method requires that food first be brought from 140°F to 70°F within two hours. If food does not reach 70°F within that first window, it must be reheated and the cooling process restarted. The second stage requires the food to continue cooling from 70°F to 41°F or below within an additional four hours, for a total cooling time not exceeding six hours.
Approved cooling methods include placing food in shallow pans, using ice baths, stirring food while in an ice bath, using rapid cooling equipment, or adding ice as an ingredient. The specific method that was lacking at the establishment was not detailed in the publicly available inspection data.
Inspection History
A review of publicly available DOHMH records shows the following inspection history for this establishment:
- March 12, 2026: Score 32 (Grade C range), one critical violation cited
- August 8, 2025: Score 8 (Grade A)
- June 27, 2025: Score 25 (no grade assigned at this cycle stage)
- January 26, 2024: Score 10 (Grade A)
- December 5, 2023: Score 29 (Grade C range)
The March 2026 inspection represents a notable change from the restaurant's most recent graded inspection in August 2025, when it earned a Grade A with a score of 8. However, the establishment does have a prior history of scoring in the Grade C range, having received a score of 29 during its December 2023 inspection.
The June 2025 score of 25, while not resulting in a posted letter grade at that stage of the inspection cycle, indicated the establishment was approaching the Grade C threshold at that time as well.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City's restaurant grading system, administered by DOHMH, assigns letter grades based on the total number of violation points identified during an inspection:
- Grade A: 0–13 points
- Grade B: 14–27 points
- Grade C: 28 or more points
Each violation carries a specific point value based on its severity and the condition of the establishment. Critical violations, such as improper food temperature control, carry higher point values than general violations. A score of 32 indicates the critical violation cited carried substantial weight under the scoring system.
Restaurants that receive a Grade B or C on an initial inspection may choose to post the grade or request a re-inspection. The re-inspection score then becomes the basis for the posted grade.
Consumers can look up any restaurant's inspection history, including violation details and scores, through the DOHMH restaurant inspection database available online or by searching NYC restaurant grades on the city's official website.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for Kossar's - Miss Wonton Dumpling including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.