Salsa Picante

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedOctober 4, 2023
• address949 N Western Ave, Chicago 60622

Is Salsa Picante clean?

Salsa Picante is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on October 4, 2023. 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 Salsa Picante?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on October 4, 2023, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋no certified food manager on dutycritical
  Person In Charge Present, Demonstrates Knowledge, And Performs Duties • PERSON IN CHARGE DOES NOT HAVE A CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD MANAGER CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT THAT THE PERSON IN CHARGE MUST HAVE A VALID CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD MANAGER CERTIFICATE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION.
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER ON THE PREMISES WHILE TCS FOODS (STEAK, CHICKEN, RICE, BEANS, ETC.) WERE BEING PREPARED AND SERVED. INSTRUCTED MANAGEMENT THAT A CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER MUST BE PRESENT AT ALL TIMES WHILE TCS FOODS ARE BEING PREPARED OR SERVED. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION, 7-38-012. CITATION ISSUED.
• 🛠️surfaces / setup not up to code
  Food & Non-Food Contact Surfaces Cleanable, Properly Designed, Constructed & Used • OBSERVED FACILITY STORING RAW VEGGIES AND ORANGE PEPPERS INSIDE OF SINGLE USE THANK YOU BAGS IN THE FREEZER. INSTRUCTED TO STORE FOOD ITEMS IN FOOD GRADE CONTAINERS OR BAGS. • OBSERVED DAMAGED/TORN GASKETS INSIDE THE TWO DOOR REACH-IN COOLER IN THE PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO REPAIR.
• 🚿plumbing acting up
  Non-Food/Food Contact Surfaces Clean • OBSERVED SPILL FOOD DEBRIS ON THE BOTTOM AND IN BETWEEN GASKETS IN REACH-IN COOLERS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN AND MAINTAIN.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • UNABLE TO LOCATE AND VERIFY FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES DURING INSPECTION. MUST PROVIDE AND KEEP CERTIFICATES ON SITE.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • UNABLE TO LOCATE AND VERIFY FOOD HANDLER CERTIFICATES DURING INSPECTION. MUST PROVIDE AND KEEP CERTIFICATES ON SITE.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • SEE VIOLATION #60
• ⚠️Previous Core Violation Corrected • FOUND PREVIOUS CORE VIOLATION NOT CORRECTED FROM REPORT DATED 05-17-22 INSPECTION #2555916. VIOLATION 58: OBSERVED THE CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD CERTIFIED MANAGER WITH NO PROOF OF ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED ALL CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS OBTAIN THIS CERTIFICATE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. CITATION ISSUED, 7-42-090.
  Previous Core Violation Corrected • FOUND PREVIOUS CORE VIOLATION NOT CORRECTED FROM REPORT DATED 05-17-22 INSPECTION #2555916. VIOLATION 58: OBSERVED THE CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD CERTIFIED MANAGER WITH NO PROOF OF ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE. INSTRUCTED ALL CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGERS OBTAIN THIS CERTIFICATE. PRIORITY FOUNDATION. CITATION ISSUED, 7-42-090.

When was Salsa Picante last inspected?

Salsa Picante has 13 inspections on record going back to June 2, 2015. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Salsa Picante vs West Town

West Town runs 72% clean across 2,068 tracked restaurants — 1,475 clean, 422 mid, 160 cooked.

Against the 2,068 spots Cooked tracks in West Town, this one comes out cleaner than 10% of them.

Other spots in West Town

• ✓ Local Foods
  clean · December 15, 2022
• ✓ Wendy's
  clean · June 1, 2026
• ✓ Half Acre Beer Co.
  clean · July 10, 2015
• ✓ Mon Ame Chocolat
  clean · October 6, 2015
• ✓! Burger King
  mid · August 15, 2019
• ✓ Caldero
  clean · June 16, 2016

See every restaurant inspection in West Town →

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 October 4, 2023. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.