Downtown Chicago
This Friday marks the return of one of Chicago’s best events; The Taste of Chicago. The Taste is mostly about the food but it is also features many additional forms of entertainment including live music, children’s activities and cooking demonstrations.
Wading through 200 food options can be difficult and even overwhelming. One way to narrow down the choices is to go to the city of Chicago website which lists all of the food vendors and all of their offerings. I prefer just walking around the festival to see what looks good. The final option is to take the advice of a complete stranger, such as myself.
The one thing I will always get every year and my favorite thing offered at the taste is Ricobene’s breaded steak sandwich. A deep fried steak covered in a tomato sauce may not be healthy, but the taste is once a year and it is not the time to suddenly become calorie conscious. The most exciting newcomer is Bobak Sausage Company. A local sausage maker that makes a wide variety of European style sausages which are always very tasty. Harold’s Chicken is deservedly a crowd favorite. Guard your last few tickets wisely because there are two classic deserts that are a must when attending the taste; Eli’s cheesecake and the Original Rainbow Cone. To walk away ticket-less and see someone else enjoying a rainbow cone can be heartbreaking.
On the entertainment front there are two stages offering lesser known music acts throughout the day. Every evening at 5:30 in the Petrillo Music Shell there will be nationally known acts performing. While you will not see the big name acts offered at Milwaukee’s Summerfest there are some fun acts to see. Opening night sees 80’s rap stars like Slick Rick and Salt-n-Pepa. Other good acts include Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys on the 29th , Rob Thomas on the 2nd and old school rocker Steve Miller on the 3rd. There will be daily cooking demonstrations near Buckingham Fountain. Food Network stars Mario Batali and Giada DeLaurentiis will both be doing demonstrations and book signings. Mario will be on Friday at 1 and Giada will make an appearance on the 1st at 3.
Things to do.
Try new foods: The best thing about the Taste is the opportunity to taste foods that you have never had before. If you do not like something you try it only costs you $5 or $6 and you still have a lot of opportunities to find something you like. So try the collard green egg rolls, popcornsicles, sweet potato fries, sautéed goat, jaibarito sandwich or anything you have never tasted.
Take advantage of the taste portions: All booths offer a smaller portion of certain dishes at about half the regular price. It is a great chance to try something without making a big commitment.
Go with other people: The more people you go with the more food you can share and the more things you get to try.
Go late: At the end of the day when booths know they are going to be stuck with leftover food the portions tend to get larger and can occasionally even be 2 for 1 .
Things to avoid.
Heat: Contrary to popular belief it does get hot in Chicago. Add large crowds, no shade and open bbq grill flames to the 90 degree temperatures and the Taste can get very unpleasant.
Crowds: The Taste can be very crowded. Obviously it is best to go on weekdays, preferable before the noon office worker rush or in the late afternoon.
Paying for drinks: While security watches closely for people trying to bring in alcohol, which is prohibited, other drinks like water and soda are allowed to be brought in. So bring your own rather than paying almost $3 for a soda.
Leaving with unused tickets: One of the things you see when you first arrive is groups of people trying to figure out how many tickets to buy. Odds are you will need more tickets than you think, but keep in mind there are tickets booths scattered around the festival so you can always buy more, but you can not return tickets.
The mustard catfish: Every year food critics recommend it so after years of taking a pass I finally gave in and tried it. There were 4 of us and we did not even finish one order.
Corn on the cob and pizza: I love pizza, but you can get it anywhere anytime. Corn is 19 cents at the grocery store and even the most inept cook can boil water so why pay almost $3 for something so simple.
Parking: Parking is always expensive in Chicago and with roads closed and high demand you will either have to spend a lot or park far away.
Eating at the end of the day: At the end of the day most of the food has either been sitting around for too long or it has run out.
The basics: The taste is located on Columbus, which is between Lake Michigan and Michigan Ave. The main entrances are on Congress and on Monroe. Admission is free. Food and beverage tickets come in strips of 12 for $10. There are a few ticket booths that accept credit cards but most are cash only. Hours are 11:00-9:00, ticket sales end a half an hour before closing. July 3rd has a 7:00 closing time and on the 4th it closes for the year at 6:00. Dates are Friday June 25th through the 4th of July. The city has cancelled the July 3rd fireworks.
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