The Tamale Lady

• resultPass
• critical violations0
• last inspectedMay 7, 2024
• address2021 W Cermak Rd, Chicago 60608

Is The Tamale Lady clean?

The Tamale Lady is currently Pass from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on May 7, 2024. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. On Cooked's ladder that reads clean 😇.

What did inspectors find at The Tamale Lady?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on May 7, 2024, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • 3-302.12 OBSERVED CONTAINERS OF TAMALES INSIDE OF THE WALK-IN COOLER AND BAGS OF TAMALES INSIDE OF THE FREEZERS WITHOUT LABELS CONTAINING THE COMMON NAME OF THE FOOD. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE.
• ⚠️Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • 4-603.15 OBSERVED CLEAN-IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND POTS TOO LARGE TO BE SUBMERGED IN THE 3-COMPARTMENT SINKS TO BE PROPERLY WASHED, RINSED, AND SANITIZED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A WRITTEN PROCEDURE ON THE WASHING, RINSING, AND SANITIZING OF CLEAN IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND LARGE POTS OR REMOVE CLEAN IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND LARGE POTS OR PROVIDE A LARGER 3-COMPARTMENT SINK.
  Warewashing Facilities: Installed, Maintained & Used; Test Strips • 4-603.15 OBSERVED CLEAN-IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND POTS TOO LARGE TO BE SUBMERGED IN THE 3-COMPARTMENT SINKS TO BE PROPERLY WASHED, RINSED, AND SANITIZED. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A WRITTEN PROCEDURE ON THE WASHING, RINSING, AND SANITIZING OF CLEAN IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND LARGE POTS OR REMOVE CLEAN IN-PLACE EQUIPMENT AND LARGE POTS OR PROVIDE A LARGER 3-COMPARTMENT SINK.
• ⚠️Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • 5-501.17 OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE INSIDE THE EMPLOYEE'S TOILET ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A COVERED RECEPTACLE.
  Toilet Facilities: Properly Constructed, Supplied, & Cleaned • 5-501.17 OBSERVED NO COVERED RECEPTACLE INSIDE THE EMPLOYEE'S TOILET ROOM. INSTRUCTED TO PROVIDE A COVERED RECEPTACLE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • 6-201.11 OBSERVED CONCRETE AND UNEVEN FLOORS IN THE BASEMENT FOOD PREP/DISHWASHING AREA AND THE 1ST FLOOR FOOD PREP AREA. INSTRUCTED TO MAKE FOOD PREP/DISHWASHING AREA FLOOR SURFACES SMOOTH, EASILY CLEANABLE AND NON-ABSORBANT.
• ⚠️All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • 2-102.13 OBSERVED NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING PROVIDED FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS. INSTRUCTED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.
  All Food Employees Have Food Handler Training • 2-102.13 OBSERVED NO PROOF OF FOOD HANDLER TRAINING PROVIDED FOR ALL FOOD HANDLERS. INSTRUCTED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required • 2-102.13 OBSERVED NO ALLERGEN TRAINING CERTIFICATE PROVIDED FOR CITY OF CHICAGO FOOD SERVICE SANITATION MANAGERS. INSTRUCTED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.

When was The Tamale Lady last inspected?

The Tamale Lady has 7 inspections on record going back to March 14, 2023.

The Tamale Lady vs Lower West Side

Lower West Side runs 68% clean across 1,153 tracked restaurants — 775 clean, 162 mid, 205 cooked.

Against the 1,153 spots Cooked tracks in Lower West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 34% of them.

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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 May 7, 2024. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.