La Palapa

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedAugust 25, 2025
• address2000 W 34Th St, Chicago 60608

Is La Palapa clean?

La Palapa is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on August 25, 2025. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at La Palapa?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 25, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • BULK INGREDIENT CONTAINERS IN THE DISH WASHING AREA NOT LABELED. INSTRUCTED TO LABEL CONTAINERS AND MAINTAIN.
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present • FLY STRIP HANGING IN THE FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE FLY STRIP AND CEASE USING IN FOOD PREP AREAS. MAINTAIN SAME.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • THE WHITE PANEL IN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACINE WITH A PINKISH AND BLACKISH SUBSTANCE ON IT. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • THE WHITE PANEL IN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACINE WITH A PINKISH AND BLACKISH SUBSTANCE ON IT. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE INTERIOR OF THE ICE MACHINE.
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness • FOOD HANDLERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE PREP AREAS AND NOT WEARING A HAIR RESTRAINT. INSTRUCTED TO HAVE ALL ENTERING THE FOOD PREP AREAS TO WEAR A HAIR RESTRAINT. MAINTAIN SAME.
  Personal Cleanliness • FOOD HANDLERS AND EMPLOYEES IN THE PREP AREAS AND NOT WEARING A HAIR RESTRAINT. INSTRUCTED TO HAVE ALL ENTERING THE FOOD PREP AREAS TO WEAR A HAIR RESTRAINT. MAINTAIN SAME.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored • WIPING CLOTHS NOT PROPERLY STORED WHEN NOT IN USE. INSTRUCTED TO STORE CLOTHS IN SANITIZING SOLUTION (SANITIZER MUST BE AT THE REQUIRED PPM) WHEN NOT IN USE. MAINTAIN SAME.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • ICE SCOOP IN BAR AREA NOT PROPERLY STORED WHEN NOT IN USE. INSTRUCTED TO STORE IN A CLEAN BIN/CONTAINER OR IN THE ICE HANDLE UP. MAINTAIN SAME.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • ICE SCOOP IN BAR AREA NOT PROPERLY STORED WHEN NOT IN USE. INSTRUCTED TO STORE IN A CLEAN BIN/CONTAINER OR IN THE ICE HANDLE UP. MAINTAIN SAME.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • CUTTING BOARD IN THE COOKING PREP AREA ON TOP OF THE PREP COOLER WITH DEEP, DARK GROOVES AND STAINS. INSTRUCTED TO SAND OR REPLACE CUTTING BOARDS TO MAINTAIN A SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE SURFACE. • RUSTY RACKS ABOVE 3-COMPARTMENT SINK AND INSIDE THE WALK IN COOLER. INSTRUCTED TO REMOVE RUST OR REPLACE RACKS. MUST MAINTAIN A RUST FREE, SMOOTH AND EASILY CLEANABLE SURFACE.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • THE INTERIOR OF THE FRYERS IN THE FOOD PREP AREA WITH GREASE, DIRT AND FOOD BUILD UP. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN THE INTERIOR OF THE FRYERS. • THE INTERIOR OF NOZZLES AT THE BAR WITH A SLIMISH BUILD UP. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN NOZZLES.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN THE REAR EMPLOYEE TOILET ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • NO COVERED RECEPTACLE IN THE REAR EMPLOYEE TOILET ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • WATER STAINED CEILING TILES IN THE PREP, REAR AND FRONT. INSTRUCTED TO REPLACE CEILING TILES AND MAINTAIN. • FLOORS IN THE CORNERS AND UNDER/AROUND ALL HEAVY EQUIPMENT WITH FOOD, GREASE, DIRT AND DEBRIS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN FLOORS THROUGHOUT.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • CFM ON SITE HAS NO ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN A VALID ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE.

When was La Palapa last inspected?

La Palapa has 32 inspections on record going back to September 15, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

La Palapa vs Mckinley Park

Mckinley Park runs 68% clean across 229 tracked restaurants — 154 clean, 39 mid, 35 cooked.

Against the 229 spots Cooked tracks in Mckinley Park, this one comes out cleaner than 34% of them.

Other spots in Mckinley Park

• ✕ Jumping Jims Juice Llc
  cooked · July 18, 2011
• ✓ Inferno's
  clean · November 1, 2012
• ✕ Enrique Castillo
  cooked · April 8, 2010
• ✕ China Wok Rest
  cooked · January 28, 2010
• ? La Cascada
  cooked · October 4, 2011
• ✓! 35Th & Ashland Oil, Inc.
  mid · January 12, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Mckinley Park →

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 August 25, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.