Cooked?
La Cocina
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations2
- last inspectedNovember 14, 2017
- address2518 W 26Th St, Chicago 60608
Is La Cocina clean?
La Cocina is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on November 14, 2017. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.
What did inspectors find at La Cocina?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on November 14, 2017, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 📋certified manager paperwork missingcriticalFacilities To Maintain Proper Temperature • FACILITIES DO NOT MAINTAIN PROPER TEMPERATURE. OBSERVED THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER WITH AN AIR TEMPERATURE OF 48.1F. THE COOLER WAS USED TO STORE POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS SUCH AS MEAT AND CHEESE. MANAGEMENT INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR AND MAINTAIN THE COOLER BELOW 40F. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-005A.
- 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcriticalPotentially Hazardous Food Meets Temperature Requirement During Storage, Preparation Display And Service • OBSERVED POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOODS AT IMPROPER TEMPERATURES INSIDE OF THE 2 DOOR PREP COOLER. OBSERVED HAM AT 48.9F, SOUR CREAM AT 45F, RICE AT 47.7F, EGGS AT 48.2F, STEAK AT 50F, BACON AT 48.9F, CHEESE AT 47.1F, AND HOT DOGS AT 48.2F. MANAGEMENT VOLUNTARILY DISCARDED APPROXIMATELY 50# OF FOOD WORTH $350. CRITICAL VIOLATION 7-38-005A.
- 🧫food prep surfaces dirtyFood And Non-Food Contact Equipment Utensils Clean, Free Of Abrasive Detergents • FOUND FOLLOWING NOT CLEAN: SINKS, INTERIOR OF COOLERS, AND TABLES. MUST CLEAN AND SANITIZE ALL MENTIONED.
- ⚠️Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • FOUND FLOORS NOT CLEAN AT KITCHEN AREAS. MUST CLEAN AND SANITIZE ALL KITCHEN AREAS.Floors: Constructed Per Code, Cleaned, Good Repair, Coving Installed, Dust-Less Cleaning Methods Used • FOUND FLOORS NOT CLEAN AT KITCHEN AREAS. MUST CLEAN AND SANITIZE ALL KITCHEN AREAS.
- 🌡️thermometers missingLighting: Required Minimum Foot-Candles Of Light Provided, Fixtures Shielded • OBSERVED A LIGHT SHIELD MISSING FROM THE REAR PREP AREA. MUST REPLACE.
When was La Cocina last inspected?
La Cocina has 11 inspections on record going back to December 16, 2011.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| November 14, 2017 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| October 30, 2017 | Fail | |
| July 5, 2016 | Pass | |
| June 27, 2016 | Fail | |
| July 9, 2015 | Pass | |
| May 27, 2014 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| May 19, 2014 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| August 6, 2013 | Pass | |
| July 30, 2013 | Fail | |
| January 5, 2012 | Pass | |
| December 16, 2011 | Fail |
La Cocina vs Lower West Side
Lower West Side runs 68% clean across 1,153 tracked restaurants — 775 clean, 162 mid, 205 cooked.
Against the 1,153 spots Cooked tracks in Lower West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 19% of them.
Other spots in Lower West Side
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 November 14, 2017. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.