Why a B grade isn't a dirty kitchen
The honest middle of the grading scale, and what it usually means in practice.
Diners tend to read restaurant grades like school grades: A is good, B is mediocre, C is failing. Health inspection scales don't work that way, and treating them as if they do writes off thousands of well-run kitchens.
In letter-grade systems, a B typically means the inspection found a handful of violations whose deductions crossed a threshold — often including items corrected before the inspector left. A busy kitchen inspected mid-rush, a walk-in cooler two degrees warm on one shelf, a hand sink temporarily blocked by a delivery: real issues, worth citing, fixable in an afternoon.
What actually separates the tiers
The distance between an A and a B is usually a few minor deductions. The distance between a B and a closure order is enormous — active pest infestation, no hot water, sewage backup, an imminent-health-hazard finding. Inspectors have exactly one tool for genuinely dangerous kitchens, and it isn't a B: it's suspension of the permit.
The more informative signal is the trajectory. A B that follows years of As, then returns to an A at the next visit, is noise. A B that used to be an A and slides toward C is a trend. CleanPlate shows the full inspection history on every restaurant page precisely so you can see the direction, not just the snapshot.