The 37th annual Taste of Chicago celebration featured, as always, the best Chicago restaurants have to offer. This year the festival set a new attendance record with approximately 1.6 million people in attendance according to DCASE, the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Attending on the final day of the event, it was clear to us that the festive crowd was undeterred by the overbearing sun and intense heat. Cool drinks, popsicles from La Mexicana, ice cream and Italian ices were “in-the-hand” solutions for cooling down.
Even with 67 restaurants and food trucks from which to choose, making a choice was not insurmountable because of the festival’s excellent organization. A real convenience was the downloadable Taste App which enabled a festival goer to build a menu and plan out a schedule ahead of time. Cheesie’s Pub and Grub, Hakka Bakka Indian Kati Rolls and Seoul Taco were certainly popular. The event’s regulars such as Lou Malnalti’s, one of Chicago’s more popular pizzerias, remained clear favorites. According to DCASE they sold around 20,000 slices of pizza! Eli’s Cheesecake Company served 37,500 slices of cheesecake and O’Brien’s Restaurant and Bar served 28,224 ears of corn on the cob! That’s a lot of tasty consumption!
Healthy eating was made possible because of the 71 healthy food items available, all selected by a panel of nutrition experts. We knew that items “easy-to-eat-on-the-go” were popular because we saw them in the hands of so many festival goers. That included the ever popular funnel cakes from Churro Factory. They offered unique twists on that traditional festival sweet by adding ice cream and toppings of the buyer’s choosing.
As for entertainment possibilities, Taste showcased some of the best musical artists Chicago has to offer. All opening acts this year were Chicago based. There were hundreds of artists and bands gracing the stage. Among the groups were Alessia Cara, Café Tacvba, Ben Harper, Passion Pit and The O’Jays. One of the biggest successes at this year’s event was the theme of “a cultural experience for all your senses.” This was done wonderfully through daily activities all around the downtown area in three categories: food and beverage experiences, arts and music. One of the most intriguing of these was the Street Art and Graffiti Alley, which allowed viewers to see local artists create work in front of them. Given Chicago’s strong street art presence, this was a great addition.
Overall, this year’s Taste of Chicago beautifully captured all that is great about Chicago and not just on the taste bud spectrum. With a record breaking attendance, it will be interesting to see how next year’s festival will top this year’s.
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Jasmine Smith
- Creative Credit
- City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
