Tamal Gourmet

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedJune 13, 2025
• address6659 W Archer Ave, Chicago 60638

Is Tamal Gourmet clean?

Tamal Gourmet is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 13, 2025. 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 Tamal Gourmet?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 13, 2025, 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 WITHOUT CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED MANAGER CERTIFICATE. INSTD TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN ON SITE
• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • NO CITY OF CHICAGO CERTIFIED MANAGER ON SITE WHILE HANDLING TCS FOODS (RICE, EGGS, ETC) NOR CERTIFICATE POSTED. INSTD TO HAVE ON SITE ALL TIMES. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-012 PRIORITY FOUNDATION
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • THE FOLLOWING TCS FOODS AT IMPROPER COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURES IN UPRIGHT COOLER: RICE 54.9F, TAMALES 55.9F, EGGS 56.8F, MILK 56.0F, CHEESE 56.2F ALL DISCARDED AND DENATURED AT THIS TIME. APPROX 15LBS $100 VALUE. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005 PRIORITY
• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • UPRIGHT COOLER UNABLE TO MAINTAIN PROPER COLD HOLDING TEMPERATURE, AIR TEMPERATURE OF 54.0F. COOLER TAGGED AND HELD FOR INSPECTION AT THIS TIME. INSTD NOT TO USE UNTIL REPAIRED, ABLE TO MAINTAIN 41F OR BELOW, AND REINSPECTED BY CDPH. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005 PRIORITY

When was Tamal Gourmet last inspected?

Tamal Gourmet has 3 inspections on record going back to November 7, 2024.

Tamal Gourmet vs Clearing

Clearing runs 73% clean across 157 tracked restaurants — 115 clean, 23 mid, 19 cooked.

Against the 157 spots Cooked tracks in Clearing, this one comes out cleaner than 13% of them.

Other spots in Clearing

• ✓ Pepes Restaurant
  clean · August 8, 2025
• ✓ Pepes Restaurant
  clean · December 4, 2024
• ✓ La Concha Bakery
  clean · April 9, 2025
• ✓ Palenque 2
  clean · September 9, 2025
• ✓ El Patron Pinches Tacos
  clean · December 2, 2025
• ✓ El Patron Pinches Tacos
  clean · December 2, 2025

See every restaurant inspection in Clearing →

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 June 13, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.