Taqueria El Patron

• resultFail
• critical violations1
• last inspectedAugust 15, 2019
• address3233 W Cermak Rd, Chicago 60623

Is Taqueria El Patron clean?

Taqueria El Patron is currently Fail from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on August 15, 2019. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads cooked 🪳.

What did inspectors find at Taqueria El Patron?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on August 15, 2019, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • HANDWASH SINK IN REAR PREP AREA NOT ACCESSIBLE FOR EMPLOYEE USE, UNABLE TO PROPERLY DRAIN, WATER ACCUMULATION IN BASIN. INSTD TO REPAIR AND USE HANDWASH SINK IN FRONT PREP AREA. PRIORITY FOUNDATION 7-38-030(c).
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures • THE FOLLOWING TCS FOODS AT IMPROPER TEMPERATURES IN REACH IN COOLER: CONTAINER OF COOKED PORK AT 56.0F AND CONTAINER OF TRIPE AT 52.0F. ALL PRODUCT DISCARDED AND DENATURED AT THIS TIME APPROX 20LBS, AND $100 VALUE. CITATION ISSUED 7-38-005(A) PRIORITY VIOLATION.

When was Taqueria El Patron last inspected?

Taqueria El Patron has 6 inspections on record going back to February 16, 2018.

Taqueria El Patron vs North Lawndale

North Lawndale runs 60% clean across 620 tracked restaurants — 370 clean, 83 mid, 163 cooked.

Against the 620 spots Cooked tracks in North Lawndale, this one comes out cleaner than 22% of them.

Other spots in North Lawndale

• ✓ Fiesta Tapatia
  clean · April 29, 2026
• ✓! Ogden 1 Food Market
  mid · November 30, 2020
• ✓ Sonia's Oasis
  clean · November 2, 2017
• ✓ Atardecer Acapulqueno
  clean · December 3, 2020
• ✓ Three Food Mart
  clean · November 8, 2017
• ✓ King Mini Mart
  clean · February 7, 2018

See every restaurant inspection in North Lawndale →

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 15, 2019. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.