Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations1
• last inspectedFebruary 9, 2026 →
• address4064 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago 60618

Is Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano clean?

Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on February 9, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano?

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

• 🤒sick-employee policy not followedcritical
  Management, Food Employee And Conditional Employee; Knowledge, Responsibilities And Reporting
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container
• ⚠️Personal Cleanliness
• 🧻grimy wiping cloths
  Wiping Cloths: Properly Used & Stored
• ⚠️Single-Use/Single-Service Articles: Properly Stored & Used
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training

When was Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano last inspected?

Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano has 2 inspections on record going back to April 16, 2025.

Pupuseria Y Restaurant El Centro Americano vs North Center

North Center runs 83% clean across 493 tracked restaurants — 407 clean, 73 mid, 8 cooked.

Against the 493 spots Cooked tracks in North Center, this one comes out cleaner than 5% of them.

Other spots in North Center

• ✓! Domino's
  mid · April 21, 2025
• ✓ Bloop Bloop
  clean · April 10, 2025
• ✓ Timber Lanes
  clean · April 11, 2025
• ✓ Dewey's Cafe
  clean · August 7, 2026
• ✓ Mimi's On Lincoln
  clean · May 1, 2025
• ✓ Pastafi
  clean · July 20, 2026

See every restaurant inspection in North Center →

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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated February 9, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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