1 Taste of Chicago (Grant Park) Chicago’s largest outdoor food festival offers the opportunity to sample offerings from Chicago restaurants ranging from small mom-and-pops to mega-groups. (July 8-10)
2 Roscoe Village Burger Fest (Belmont & Damen) Most of us like a good burger and this event serves up beef patties on buns as well as two music stages, arts and crafts plus a Kids’ Zone to keep the youngs busy as you pound burgers. (July 15-17)
3 Wicker Park Fest (Damen & North) If you’re throwing a fest in Chicago, you have to have some awesome chow available, and this fest has music, food vendors and it’s also held in a restaurant-rich neighborhood. (July 22-24)
4 Taste of Lincoln Avenue (Lincoln & Fullerton) Presumptuously promising “local food favorites that you’ve definitely missed over the last year,” Taste of Lincoln Avenue is an iconic festival, with lots of music and food, chowing into its thirty-seventh year. (July 22-24)
5 Lollapalooza (Grant Park) Many go to Lollapalooza for the music (understandable, with Dua Lipa, Machine Gun Kelly and others on stage), but many also come for the food, which promises to go way beyond “typical carnival-type fare.” (July 28-31)
Dining and Drinking Editor for Newcity, David also writes a weekly food column for Wednesday Journal in Oak Park and is a frequent contributor of food/drink and travel pieces to the Chicago Tribune, Plate Magazine and other publications. David has also contributed chapters to several books, including Street Food Around the World, Street Food, and The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Contact: dhammond@newcity.com
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Dining and Drinking Top 5: May 2022 The weather is encouraging us to go out and have fun, even with the enduring specter of the plague hanging over our heads. To be on the safe side, check websites for these events.
Dining & Drinking Top 5: February 2022 With COVID requirements in place, many restaurants/bars are opening up to something close to business-as-usual, and one-off events are moving ahead.
Dining & Drinking Top 5: September 2022 September—the last gasp of summer—is a fine time for food and drink events. Before winter befalls us, the next pandemic, or some other damn thing, let’s all make the heroic effort to eat, drink and be merry.
Dining and Drinking Top 5: August 2022 Food and drink events are coming on strong in August. Is this the last big blowout month before the invasion of Monkey Pox? Could be. So just to be on the safe side, go outside and have a good time while you can.
