Cooked?
Taqueria El Sauz
- resultPass w/ Conditions
- critical violations1
- last inspectedJune 11, 2026
- address2000 W 51St St, Chicago 60609
Is Taqueria El Sauz clean?
Taqueria El Sauz is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on June 11, 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 Taqueria El Sauz?
These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on June 11, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.
- 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecriticalAdequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • Obstructed hand wash sink, found spatulas and spoons placed in prep kitchen hand hand wash sink, instructed to keep sink free from any utensils for proper hands washing. Priority foundation violation 7-38-030(C).
- 🌡️thermometers missingThermometers Provided & Accurate • Inaccurate food Thermometers, thermometer is inaccurate by 12 degrees. Instructed to obtain accurate food thermometers. Priority foundation violation 7-38-005.
- 🚻bathroom / plumbing issuesPlumbing Installed; Proper Backflow Devices • Unable to locate backflow prevention device for ice maker, instructed to install.
When was Taqueria El Sauz last inspected?
Taqueria El Sauz has 12 inspections on record going back to October 14, 2020.
| date | result | score |
|---|---|---|
| June 11, 2026 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| July 21, 2025 | Pass | |
| July 9, 2024 | Pass | |
| April 9, 2024 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| March 28, 2023 | Pass | |
| June 8, 2022 | Pass | |
| April 22, 2022 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| January 19, 2022 | Pass | |
| January 12, 2022 | Fail | |
| June 21, 2021 | Pass w/ Conditions | |
| June 14, 2021 | Fail | |
| October 14, 2020 | Pass |
Taqueria El Sauz vs New City
New City runs 64% clean across 490 tracked restaurants — 311 clean, 76 mid, 98 cooked.
Against the 490 spots Cooked tracks in New City, this one comes out cleaner than 58% of them.
Other spots in New City
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 11, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.