Cooked?
Al's Beef
- resultPass
- critical violations1
- last inspectedMay 22, 2025
- address3420 N Clark St, Chicago 60657
Is Al's Beef clean?
Al's Beef is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 22, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.
What did inspectors find at Al's Beef?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 22, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED NO HAND WASHING SIGNS OR POSTERS NEAR HAND WASHING SINKS IN CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEE WASHROOMS. MUST PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
- 🚿plumbing acting upNon-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • ST NOT USE TINT FOIL AS A LINER FOR COOKING EQUIPMENT IN FRONT FOOD PREPARATION AREA. MUST BE SMOOTH AND CLEANABLE.
- 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimyPhysical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED A FEW MISSING CEILING TILES IN THE UNISEX EMPLOYEE WASHROOM. MUST REPAIR/REPLACE AND MAINTAIN. OBSERVED PEELING PAINT ON WALLS INSIDE UNISEX EMPLOYEE WASHROOM. OBSERVED DAMAGED AND BROKEN FLOOR TILES IN FRONT OF UTILITY SINK IN REAR OF PREMISES. MUST REPAIR/REPLACE AND MAINTAIN. OBSERVED DIRT AND DEBRIS ON FLOOR AROUND UTILITY SINK AND INSIDE EMPLOYEE WASHROOM. MUST CLEAN AND MAINTAIN. • OBSERVED UNUSED 2-DOOR COOLER IN FRONT PREP AREA. MUST RAPAIR OR REMOVE COOLER FROM PREMISES.
When was Al's Beef last inspected?
Al's Beef has 21 inspections on record going back to March 14, 2011. The 12 most recent are shown below.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2025 | Pass | |
| May 15, 2025 | Fail | |
| May 7, 2024 | Pass | |
| October 16, 2023 | Pass | |
| November 1, 2022 | Pass | |
| July 23, 2021 | Pass | |
| July 21, 2021 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| August 27, 2020 | Pass | |
| April 8, 2020 | Pass | |
| July 23, 2019 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| April 19, 2018 | Pass | |
| November 29, 2017 | Pass w/ Conditions |
Al's Beef vs Lake View
Lake View runs 68% clean across 2,211 tracked restaurants — 1,492 clean, 440 mid, 272 cooked.
Against the 2,211 spots Cooked tracks in Lake View, this one comes out cleaner than 32% of them.
Other spots in Lake View
How Chicago grades restaurants
Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.
Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated May 22, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.