Portage Park Food & Spirit

• resultFail
• critical violations2
• last inspectedDecember 17, 2015
• address4138 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago 60641
• cuisineGrocery Store

Is Portage Park Food & Spirit clean?

Portage Park Food & Spirit is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 17, 2015. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Portage Park Food & Spirit?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 17, 2015, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  Facilities To Maintain Proper Temperature • ALL REFRIGERATION AND FREEZERS MUST BE ON AND OPERATING AT PROPER TEMPERATURES.
• 🌡️food received at unsafe tempscritical
  Hand Washing Facilities: With Soap And Sanitary Hand Drying Devices, Convenient And Accessible To Food Prep Area • MUST PROVIDE PAPER TOWELS IN THE EMPLOYEE WASHROOM.
• ☠️toxic items stored near food
  No Evidence Of Rodent Or Insect Outer Openings Protected/Rodent Proofed, A Written Log Shall Be Maintained Available To The Inspectors • MUST HAVE A LICENSED PEST CONTROL CO. SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT AND PROVIDE ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION.
• ⚠️Outside Garbage Waste Grease And Storage Area; Clean, Rodent Proof, All Containers Covered • MUST PROVIDE AN OUTSIDE WASTE RECEPTACLE WITH TIGHT FITTING LID.
  Outside Garbage Waste Grease And Storage Area; Clean, Rodent Proof, All Containers Covered • MUST PROVIDE AN OUTSIDE WASTE RECEPTACLE WITH TIGHT FITTING LID.
• ⚠️Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • MISSING/DAMAGED WALL COVING IN REAR STORAGE AND ON SOUTH WALL AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE REAR. MUST REPAIR/SEAL.
  Walls, Ceilings, Attached Equipment Constructed Per Code: Good Repair, Surfaces Clean And Dust-Less Cleaning Methods • MISSING/DAMAGED WALL COVING IN REAR STORAGE AND ON SOUTH WALL AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE REAR. MUST REPAIR/SEAL.
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Premises Maintained Free Of Litter, Unnecessary Articles, Cleaning Equipment Properly Stored • ALL ITEMS MUST BE STORED ELEVATED FROM THE FLOOR 6" OR ABOVE AND MUST NOT USE PLASTIC CRATES TO ELEVATE ITEMS. FLOORS MUST BE ACCESSIBLE FOR CLEANING AND MONITORING. ALL UNNECESSARY ITEMS THROUGHOUT MUST BE REMOVED FROM PREMISES.

When was Portage Park Food & Spirit last inspected?

Portage Park Food & Spirit has 3 inspections on record going back to December 7, 2015.

Portage Park Food & Spirit vs Portage Park

Portage Park runs 65% clean across 715 tracked restaurants — 462 clean, 142 mid, 107 cooked.

Against the 715 spots Cooked tracks in Portage Park, this one comes out cleaner than 12% of them.

Other spots in Portage Park

• ✓ El Taco Feliz
  clean · April 15, 2026
• ✓ Taqueria La Estrella
  clean · March 5, 2020
• ✓ Good Life
  clean · December 29, 2015
• ✓ 7-Eleven
  clean · March 15, 2016
• ✓ Binny's Beverage Depot
  clean · June 27, 2017
• ✓ Afc Sushi @ Jewel Osco
  clean · February 13, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in Portage 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 December 17, 2015. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.