Budlong Hot Chicken

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedJanuary 9, 2026
• address4619 N Western Ave, Chicago 60625

Is Budlong Hot Chicken clean?

Budlong Hot Chicken is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on January 9, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at Budlong Hot Chicken?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on January 9, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • MUST LABEL FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS (FLOUR AND CORN MEAL) IN THE REAR PREP AREA WITH THE COMMON NAME OF FOOD ITEM.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • NOTED DIRTY WIPING CLOTHS NOT STORED PROPERLY ON PREP TABLES AND BEING USED AS A LINER IN PREP COOLERS AND ON SHELVING IN THE FRONT PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO PROPERLY STORE ALL WASHCLOTHS IN A SANITIZING SOLUTION WHEN NOT IN USE.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED TORN GASKETS AND THE INNER LINING OF THE TWO DOOR REACH-IN COOLER IN DISREPAIR. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED PIPES UNDERNEATH HANDWASHING SINK IN THE DISHWASHING AREA LEAKING. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN.

When was Budlong Hot Chicken last inspected?

Budlong Hot Chicken has 5 inspections on record going back to May 5, 2023.

Budlong Hot Chicken vs Lincoln Square

Lincoln Square runs 59% clean across 922 tracked restaurants — 536 clean, 152 mid, 228 cooked.

Against the 922 spots Cooked tracks in Lincoln Square, this one comes out cleaner than 44% of them.

Other spots in Lincoln Square

• ✓ Ka Cafe
  clean · July 22, 2025
• ✓ Mix Mex-Cue
  clean · May 14, 2026
• ✓ Ashar International Market
  clean · June 8, 2023
• ✓ Teacago
  clean · December 5, 2025
• ✓ Hello Jasmine
  clean · March 10, 2026
• ✓ Small Cheval
  clean · February 4, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Lincoln Square →

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 January 9, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.