Elaine's Chop Suey 1

• resultFail
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMarch 27, 2025
• address4512 S Damen Ave, Chicago 60609

Is Elaine's Chop Suey 1 clean?

Elaine's Chop Suey 1 is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on March 27, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Elaine's Chop Suey 1?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 27, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • OBSERVED APPROXIMATELY 40-50 ADULT COCKROACHES ON GLUE BOARDS, BOTH DEAD AND ALIVE, BENEATH THE 2-DOOR SLIDING-DOOR COOLER IN THE MAIN COOK LINE AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE DEAD AND TRAPPED COCKROACHES, CLEAN AND SANITIZE THE AFFECTED AREA(S), AND CONTACT LICENSED PEST CONTROL SERVICE TO ELIMINATE COCKROACH ACTIVITY ON-SITE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION. 7-38-020(A) CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS AND MOP HEADS IN ORIGINAL PACKAGING STORED IN THE WASHROOM AREA SHELF. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE PAPER TOWELS AND MOP HEADS FROM PROHIBITED AREAS SUCH AS TOILET ROOMS AND MAINTAIN.
  Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used • OBSERVED DISPOSABLE PAPER TOWELS AND MOP HEADS IN ORIGINAL PACKAGING STORED IN THE WASHROOM AREA SHELF. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE PAPER TOWELS AND MOP HEADS FROM PROHIBITED AREAS SUCH AS TOILET ROOMS AND MAINTAIN.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED ALUMINUM FOIL USED TO LINE NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF COOKING EQUIPMENT AND SHELVES THROUGHOUT THE MAIN COOK LINE. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE ALUMINUM FOIL AND MAINTAIN NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES SMOOTH AND EASILY-CLEANABLE.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED HEAVY BUILD-UP OF GREASE ALONG NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF COOKING EQUIPMENT (DEEP FRYER, WOK LINE). INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN NONFOOD-CONTACT SURFACES OF COOKING EQUIPMENT AT ADEQUATE FREQUENCY TO PREVENT BUILD UP OF SOIL AND MAINTAIN.
• 🚻bathroom / plumbing issues
  Plumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • OBSERVED FRONT PREP AREA HANDWASHING SINK COLD WATER SUPPLY TO BE LEAKING, BUT FUNCTIONAL. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR OR REPLACE COLD WATER SUPPLY AT FRONT PREP AREA HANDWASHING SINK TO ELIMINATE LEAK AND MAINTAIN ALL PLUMBING FIXTURES IN GOOD REPAIR.

When was Elaine's Chop Suey 1 last inspected?

Elaine's Chop Suey 1 has 7 inspections on record going back to February 8, 2023.

Elaine's Chop Suey 1 vs New City

New City runs 64% clean across 490 tracked restaurants — 311 clean, 76 mid, 98 cooked.

Against the 490 spots Cooked tracks in New City, this one comes out cleaner than 16% of them.

Other spots in New City

• ✓ Joe's Grill
  clean · April 3, 2026
• ✓ El Salserin
  clean · July 25, 2025
• ✓! Cecina Y Mariscos
  mid · June 3, 2025
• ✓ Taqueria Restaurant
  clean · January 9, 2024
• ✓ Bbq For You
  clean · March 28, 2024
• ✓ La Fonda Gto
  clean · August 1, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in New City →

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 March 27, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.