A Tasty View of the Taste

Just one hour past noon and the Taste of Chicago’s Main Street, Columbus Drive, was swimming in people and all of them seemed to be in terrific spirits.  That good times energy stayed locked in place throughout the 2 hours of back and forth looking for that perfect “taste” that would mark the discovery of a new dining jewel.

Excursions to the Taste tend to be couple and small group affairs which meant the air was filled with questions like, “Where should we start first?”,  “What do you feel like?” and “How many tickets do you have left?”

If you haven’t been to the Taste of Chicago in a while, enough has changed that you might feel a little disoriented. Grabbing a map when you snag your tickets would be a smart move.

Tickets come in $10 blocks of 14 tickets.  On average, $20 or 28 tickets should easily fill the tank.  But if your strategy is to spend several hours in the mix, you’ll need to up your investment accordingly.  Options remain clearly listed in front of each booth, pop-up or food truck.  And as usual, you can get full portions as well as taste servings.  Most people still opt for the smaller portions and the size of that taste still can vary wildly.

Aunty Joy’s Jamaican Kitchen, new to the party as of this year, should be a favorite for all the right reasons.  Jerk options are all over the place but I doubt if many of them can clear the high bar Auntie Joy’s has set.  Succulent isn’t a word you usually hear about a Taste of Chicago experience but it certainly applies to the offerings at booth #38.  The taste portion includes two respectable drumsticks and your choice of a slice of white bread or, what’s highly recommended, a Festival which is a chubby cylinder of fried dough.  With its slightest hint of sugar that plays off so beautifully with the wonderful spices used to flavor the chicken, the dish is a hands down winner.   Moist, tender and delicious, thoughts of scoring the full portion were seriously entertained.  But no, more adventures beckoned.

Sun Wah, a staple in little Viet Nam up on Broadway and Argyle, has been enjoying notable fame and glory for their prowess with duck for years.  Another newcomer to the taste this summer, the curious wondered how they’d be treating their renowned Peking specialty.  Heading to booth 24 to find out, a new Taste reality reared its head.

Not all vendors are there for all 5 days of the festival.  There’s a little strip of booths dedicated to Pop Ups, or one day concessions, that change from one day to the next.  Sun Wah’s day in the sun was  yesterday.   So, if not duck, what?

There are certain combinations that sound heavenly.  Lobster and mac and cheese is one of them which may explain the long line waiting patiently in front of Da Lobsta, a food truck on the far south end of the drive.  The decision to wait in that queue verified you can’t always believe a long line means good food.  With small flecks of fake lobster studded on top of mediocre mac and cheese, you have the Taste of Chicago of old.  Perhaps not a rip-off, but definitely a disappointment.  Chucking most of that sad delusion into the trash and beginning to wither in the heat, a break and a rethink were in order.

The Taste of Chicago has never been known to be very accommodating when considering the comfort of the thousands of people prowling the thoroughfare for fun food.  But on the north end of the strip and beneath a thick haven of shade trees, a wide and long swath of brightly colored and inventively decorated astroturf was provided for folks to stop and drop.  Located in an area designated as the Artist Garden, it proved the perfect to spot to recharge and decide to go back and check out what some of the other new concessions had to offer.

Hakka Bakka Indian Kati Rolls was doing their one day shot on Pop Up row and had something called the chicken tikka kati roll.  After hearing the server’s rather vague description, it still sounded like it had potential.    My understanding of Kati rolls is that they’re usually crisp and dry.  These are not and remind you more of a thick, moist crepe.  Even though the portion size may have been modest compared to Auntie Joy’s, the flavor satisfaction compared favorably to those delightful drumsticks.  The spice profile was definitely on point and the chicken was beautifully prepared.  If anything, the dish could have used just a small sprinkle more of salt to allow all of the flavors to bloom more fully.  It was still a wonderful choice and, for some, having two exceptional experiences at a Taste outing is practically unheard of.

But there were still 10 tickets looking for reason to fly and, for all practical purposes, only one place to release them.  Esperanza, also making their debut this year, was featuring mango sorbet with swirls of red chili syrup and topped with fresh mango chunks. Ideal for any otherwise sated but weary and overheated  hedonist.  Granted, 10 tickets is steep and the diced mango may have been far from ripe, but the cup was deep and the satisfaction of repeated spoon dives in restorative sorbet was mighty.  Those 10 tickets were well used.

It’ll be a challenge to get back to the Taste before the tents fold on Sunday, but it’s definitely worth a valiant try.

Taste of Chicago

July 11 – 15, 2018

Grant Park

Chicago