Taste of Chicago 2013 in review.
Jul. 17th, 2013 03:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
salad_barbarian posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
newgothamI'm a little late getting this posted but I said I'd do a write up for the Taste so here goes...
To take advantage of the best combination of pop-up restaurants my family and I went on Thursday the 11th and Sunday the 14th. We managed to find a nice shady spot in a field not too far from Buckingham Fountain.
On Thursday it was hot but not as bad as I was worried it would be. After walking from the Orange Line at Harold Washington Library the first thing I got was a dream cup from Rainbow cone (3 tickets) to cool down. There were several foods that I had been looking forward to trying so that's what I focused my time on.
*The Rabbit Corn Dog from Hearty Restaurant (5 ticket taste portion) was good. I'd never had rabbit before and it had a unique taste.
*The Mozzarella cheese stuffed meatball from Pazzo’s Cucina Italiana (5 ticket taste portion) was not so good. I only got two small meatballs and I couldn't taste any mozzarella.
*The Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich from Punky’s Pizza & Pasta (5 ticket taste portion) was okay. I don't know if the flavor of the sauce and cheese just overwhelmed it or if eggplant just doesn't have much of a flavor.
*The Gourmet Deli Rolls from Bobak Sausage Co. (5 ticket taste portion) were good. These came in a nice plastic container which was a big help since I was getting several items from this area at the time and it was easy to carry. I liked them so much I got them again on Sunday.
*The Triple Fudge Cupcake from Royal Cupcakes and Bakes (4 tickets) was great! I was really surprised at the cost of these. I had read that they were charging 9 tickets. This was one of the food trucks and I really hope they come back again. Heck I might try and track them down and buy from wherever they normally set up. Anyone here know where they might be?
The other foods I had were things I had had before and enjoyed: Deep Dish Sausage Pizza from Connie’s Pizza (8 tickets) and Combination plate: Baby Banana, Chocolate Banana, Fudge from The Fudge Pot (10 tickets).
To save tickets I brought my own soda (Chocolate Fudge soda and Capone Cola). Security let it through since they only care about alcohol getting in.
On Sunday it was warmer but the spot we had had a great breeze so it didn't take long to cool down after a walk. The foods I had this day were:
*The Breaded Pizza Balls from Bobak Sausage Co. (I think they were 7 tickets) were really bad. I don't like spicy hot food and these were.
*The Chocolate Chicago Lollipop from The Fudge Pot (10 tickets) saved me from the burning sensation left by the previous item. It was chocolate so of course it was good. It looked like this:
*The Mini Lamb Burgers (2) from Terzo Piano (16 tickets) were okay. I almost didn't get these because of the price. I thought there was a rule that nothing could be more than a strip of tickets? Why not sell one burger for eight? They didn't seem to be doing much business, probably because of the price.
*The Fudge from Kilwin’s Chocolates (5 ticket taste portion) was good. Not much to say here.
*The Fried Ripe Plantain and Plantain Chips Combination (I think 8 tickets) was okay. The chips were just like potato chips with a little sweeter taste. The fried plantains were the best part but there were only 3 pieces of that.
*The Strawberry Crepe (7 tickets) and Nutella Half (4 ticket taste portion) from Flip Crepes were both great. I'd never had crepes before and I really enjoyed these.
*The Turtle Cheesecake Smoosh with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce from Eli’s Cheesecake (9 tickets) was great.
*The Salted Peanut Butter with Brownie Chunks from Caffe Gelato (8 tickets) was very good. I wasn't sure how this would be but it was like peanut butter flavored ice cream with brownie bits mixed in.
*The Fried Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce from Tutto Italiano (5 ticket taste portion) was good. A bit crispy on the outside but not too bad.
I didn't have as much soda with me this day so I had to buy some. A bottle of Sierra Mist for 6 tickets. To me that's too much for a soda but it was nice and cold.
In the end my family and I managed to spend all of our tickets without a single extra left. (Previous years we've found one or two after getting home.) The food for the most part was good. We missed some places that were there in previous years like Beggars Pizza, Los Dos Loredos, Home Run Inn, and JR's Cheesecake. The addition of food trucks was great but while I was able to find them my family couldn't and I think they should have been able to open at the same time as the rest of the places.
One last complaint I need to get off my chest. Why was it moved away from the holiday? Having the 3rd of July fireworks seems like it would bring in more money. I know I spent more when they had them. My family and I would get a hotel room near the Taste facing the lake so we could watch them. I can deal with only five days of this great fest but I don't get the rescheduling. Still we all had a great time and hope that it comes back next year.
To take advantage of the best combination of pop-up restaurants my family and I went on Thursday the 11th and Sunday the 14th. We managed to find a nice shady spot in a field not too far from Buckingham Fountain.
On Thursday it was hot but not as bad as I was worried it would be. After walking from the Orange Line at Harold Washington Library the first thing I got was a dream cup from Rainbow cone (3 tickets) to cool down. There were several foods that I had been looking forward to trying so that's what I focused my time on.
*The Rabbit Corn Dog from Hearty Restaurant (5 ticket taste portion) was good. I'd never had rabbit before and it had a unique taste.
*The Mozzarella cheese stuffed meatball from Pazzo’s Cucina Italiana (5 ticket taste portion) was not so good. I only got two small meatballs and I couldn't taste any mozzarella.
*The Eggplant Parmigiana Sandwich from Punky’s Pizza & Pasta (5 ticket taste portion) was okay. I don't know if the flavor of the sauce and cheese just overwhelmed it or if eggplant just doesn't have much of a flavor.
*The Gourmet Deli Rolls from Bobak Sausage Co. (5 ticket taste portion) were good. These came in a nice plastic container which was a big help since I was getting several items from this area at the time and it was easy to carry. I liked them so much I got them again on Sunday.
*The Triple Fudge Cupcake from Royal Cupcakes and Bakes (4 tickets) was great! I was really surprised at the cost of these. I had read that they were charging 9 tickets. This was one of the food trucks and I really hope they come back again. Heck I might try and track them down and buy from wherever they normally set up. Anyone here know where they might be?
The other foods I had were things I had had before and enjoyed: Deep Dish Sausage Pizza from Connie’s Pizza (8 tickets) and Combination plate: Baby Banana, Chocolate Banana, Fudge from The Fudge Pot (10 tickets).
To save tickets I brought my own soda (Chocolate Fudge soda and Capone Cola). Security let it through since they only care about alcohol getting in.
On Sunday it was warmer but the spot we had had a great breeze so it didn't take long to cool down after a walk. The foods I had this day were:
*The Breaded Pizza Balls from Bobak Sausage Co. (I think they were 7 tickets) were really bad. I don't like spicy hot food and these were.
*The Chocolate Chicago Lollipop from The Fudge Pot (10 tickets) saved me from the burning sensation left by the previous item. It was chocolate so of course it was good. It looked like this:
*The Mini Lamb Burgers (2) from Terzo Piano (16 tickets) were okay. I almost didn't get these because of the price. I thought there was a rule that nothing could be more than a strip of tickets? Why not sell one burger for eight? They didn't seem to be doing much business, probably because of the price.
*The Fudge from Kilwin’s Chocolates (5 ticket taste portion) was good. Not much to say here.
*The Fried Ripe Plantain and Plantain Chips Combination (I think 8 tickets) was okay. The chips were just like potato chips with a little sweeter taste. The fried plantains were the best part but there were only 3 pieces of that.
*The Strawberry Crepe (7 tickets) and Nutella Half (4 ticket taste portion) from Flip Crepes were both great. I'd never had crepes before and I really enjoyed these.
*The Turtle Cheesecake Smoosh with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce from Eli’s Cheesecake (9 tickets) was great.
*The Salted Peanut Butter with Brownie Chunks from Caffe Gelato (8 tickets) was very good. I wasn't sure how this would be but it was like peanut butter flavored ice cream with brownie bits mixed in.
*The Fried Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce from Tutto Italiano (5 ticket taste portion) was good. A bit crispy on the outside but not too bad.
I didn't have as much soda with me this day so I had to buy some. A bottle of Sierra Mist for 6 tickets. To me that's too much for a soda but it was nice and cold.
In the end my family and I managed to spend all of our tickets without a single extra left. (Previous years we've found one or two after getting home.) The food for the most part was good. We missed some places that were there in previous years like Beggars Pizza, Los Dos Loredos, Home Run Inn, and JR's Cheesecake. The addition of food trucks was great but while I was able to find them my family couldn't and I think they should have been able to open at the same time as the rest of the places.
One last complaint I need to get off my chest. Why was it moved away from the holiday? Having the 3rd of July fireworks seems like it would bring in more money. I know I spent more when they had them. My family and I would get a hotel room near the Taste facing the lake so we could watch them. I can deal with only five days of this great fest but I don't get the rescheduling. Still we all had a great time and hope that it comes back next year.
