The Tamale Lady

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedJanuary 8, 2026 →
• address1932 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 January 8, 2026. Inspectors wrote up 1 critical violation — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. 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 January 8, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used
• 🥜allergen training missing
  Allergen Training As Required
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean
• ⚠️Approved Thawing Methods Used
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container
• 🪳pests in the house
  Insects, Rodents, & Animals Not Present

When was The Tamale Lady last inspected?

The Tamale Lady has 4 inspections on record going back to February 21, 2025.

The Tamale Lady vs Lower West Side

Lower West Side runs 80% clean across 699 tracked restaurants — 551 clean, 98 mid, 38 cooked.

Against the 699 spots Cooked tracks in Lower West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 20% 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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated January 8, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.