Taste of Chicago

Catching up on some posts from the summer...

This year I finally experienced the infamous Taste of Chicago. Locals will generally agree it is overpriced and the food is not the best Chicago has to offer, but I wanted to go once. I met A for lunch during the week (got outside of the office, yay!). It was a bright sunny day, and since it was the middle of the week, it was less crowded (though there were still plenty of people!).

The entire span of Columbus Drive through Grant Park is blocked off for the Taste. Traffic for a week and a half is madness!

Here's how it works: Restaurants put up a tent. You buy tickets. Approximately $2 each. Then you go to the tents of your choice and buy a full-size entree ($$) or a taste portion ($). They list the prices of the food in numbers of tickets, so you think you're not paying much. Very tricky!

First stop: African for some goat. Yum!

See all the people?!

Next: Bratwurst. A got the sauerkraut.

Then Thai noodles.

We didn't eat at these next places, but I loved the tents. Some restaurants got really creative!

Bourbon chicken - delish!

For dessert... churros and chocolate. It was very popular!

We had a couple tickets left, so A got a taster from Vermillion, an Indian-Latin fusion place we tried out during Restaurant Week.

If you're looking to try an array of food, the Taste can be a good time. Just not on the weekend - way too crowded. But if you're looking for the high-end restaurants or anything fancy, this is not the place. Try Restaurant Week (or Chef's Week) instead!