In salute to one of Chicago’s favorite vices, people from across the Midwest have gathered downtown every day for the last week to celebrate a great tradition of the region: gluttony. Whether sampling Greek, African or Thai cuisine, or just munching on a cheeseburger, overeating is always at the top of the menu.
The 21st annual Taste of Chicago, from June 29 to July 8, draws thousands to the food and music at Grant Park. And whether the visitor is too young to stand in line for 15 minutes to buy the festival’s overpriced beers or too old to remember the last time he or she had to flash an ID before grabbing a brew, the Taste boasts something for all.
For $6, one can walk away with 10 greasy little tickets and a dilemma: which food and drinks, among the hundreds offered, to drop the dough on. Mini-portions, or “A Taste of Taste,” are available at all of the booths at the cost of a ticket or three. Anything cheaper is a hard find.
Columbus Drive offers samples from the Taste’s 64 vendors, but the best place to browse often is the plate of the fellow festival-goer. Frozen bananas, deep dish pizza, barbecued turkey leg and cheesecake sit piled on dishes throughout the park. Among the other favorites are fried dough, corn on the cob, watermelon, hot dogs, bratwurst, burgers and ice cream.
Complementing the local offerings are booths displaying more unusual food. Grizzly’s Lodge offers Cajun alligator on a stick and wild boar ravioli while the Millennium Steakhouse offers steakburger with roquefort cheese and mango BBQ shrimp.
But booths also offer more simple ethnic foods. Vee-Vee’s African Restaurant and Ofie specialize in African food. At Tommy’s Greek Express, the hungry visitor can try the flaming cheese, better known as Saganaki. Traditional Polish food, such as the local-favorite polish sausage, is offered at both Kasia’s Deli or Polka Sausage & Deli. The culinary caravan also includes Kitty O’Shea’s, where the visitor can taste Bailey’s Irish Cream ice cream.
Although the Taste tries to include a host of ethnic cuisines, several nationalities are underrepresented. Of the vendors present, only one specializes in Mexican food. At the same time, not a single Indian restaurant was in attendance, and visitors noticed.
Amy Rosenthal of Buffalo Grove commented that though the Taste, “offers a vast sampling of food, it does not exhibit the cultural diversity known to Chicago.”
Weston Clay found the experience more than daunting than it was worth.
“It’s more of a celebration of hot, crowded dirtiness than the essence of Chicago food,” said Clay, of Longmount, Ill.
But if the food doesn’t hit the spot, the festival also offers music to meet all tastes. All headlining acts perform at the Petrillo Music Shell, located at the north end of Grant Park between Jackson and Monroe drives. And the music, unlike some of the festival’s paltry portions, is free.
George Clinton kicked off the festival on June 29. For country music buffs, Lee Ann Womack and Waylon Jennings played Saturday and Sunday afternoons, during the 11th annual Chicago Country Music festival. Wayne Newton played on Monday, Senior Citizen Day, while Wilco and Semisonic catered to the younger crowds on Wednesday.
And the music hasn’t stopped. Visitors can still check out the Beatles tribute, “A Walk Down Abbey Road,” at 5 p.m. Thursday. Veteran R & B group The Whispers are scheduled to appear 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Go-Go’s, most recently of VH1’s Behind the Music special, are performing at the Shell at 5 p.m. Saturday.
But braving the fierce crowds at the Shell isn’t always necessary. Three side stages display local music acts all day long. Performers scheduled are the ska group Deals Gone Bad; PeKing Turtle, described as amphibious funk; Joe Walega’s Happy Hearts Orchestra, a Polka ensemble; and plenty of blues and jazz to satisfy the local aficionado.
“The Blues music was classic Chicago blues, which completed the whole experience,” said Tina Amirtha of Glendale Heights.
