Taste of Chicago Food Festival July 2019 in Grant Park

1# Food and Drink Tickets

Buy enough food and drink tickets the first time you go to the ticket booth. That way you’ll only have to queue once to get them.

2# Smaller Crowds

If you prefer your crowds to be on a smaller scale then go to the festival on Wednesday or Thursday. The weekends are mega busy.

3# You won’t get lost

The Taste Chicago have got getting lost organised. Every street lamp in the park is marked with an individual location code. All you need to do is call in your location to friends, family or the emergency services to be easily found and reunited.

Chicago is in the state of Illinois in the USA and is America’s third most populated city.

While it’s a city of towering skyscrapers, it’s bordered by the beautiful Lake Michigan and has an incredible twenty-four beaches including one just for dogs.

It has its green zones too and Grant Park, where The Taste is held, is just one of numerous parks throughout the city.

Chicago has a rich history and will always be synonymous with the gangster culture of the early twentieth century when mobsters such as Al Capone roamed the streets. Is it windy? Not particularly. Though it is a city any resident would be happy to brag about.

Museum Campus

While you’re in the vicinity of Grant Park, you’ll be in just the right place to visit the Museum Campus. It’s a fifty-seven acre area at the south-eastern end of Grant Park where you’ll find the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium.

Chicago Lakefront Trail

If you feel as if you’ve been overindulging at The Taste, you’ll be able to walk it off on the Chicago Lakefront Trail. It’s a full eighteen miles of pathway which skirts around the shoreline of Lake Michigan and has some great views of the city and lake. Jog, walk or rent a bicycle to enjoy some city fresh air and stop off at the beach for a quick swim while you’re there.

Laugh Factory Chicago

Have a fun night out, literally, at the Laugh Factory in Chicago. To get a seat you’ll need to there early as it’s first come first served at the door and the queue to get in can be lengthy. It’ll be worth the wait though as you’ll soon be holding your sides as you chuckle with mirth at the jokes and banter of Chicago’s best stand-up comedians.

Chicago is not short of a hotel or two. So where you stay will depend on your own personal holiday budget and expectations. Yes, if you want views of Lake Michigan, you will need to pay a little more, but wherever you decide to stay, don’t leave it until the last minute to book.

Booking.com

Ambassador Chicago

A stone’s throw from Chicago’s North Beach, the Ambassador Chicago Hotel embodies the essence of Chicago in style and history. The list of famous guests who have stayed there ranges from Elizabeth Taylor to the Rolling Stones. Definitely worth spending a hundred dollars a night for as you never know who you’ll be rubbing shoulders with.

Sheraton Grand Chicago

If you want a real spoil yourself stay in Chicago, there’s really only one place to book a room and that’s at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. They have everything from standard rooms to enormous presidential suites with octagonal living rooms overlooking Lake Michigan.

The Inn of Chicago

The Inn of Chicago has that delightful touch of decadence associated with the roaring twenties, but in a more modern style. The rooms have a pleasing understated elegance and it’s perfect for couples who like a touch of class at a moderate price. They also have a choice of rooms which sleep four, so it’s good for groups and families too. It has a great location too. Close to the Magnificent Mile shopping district, it’s just fifteen minutes from Grant Park by public transport.

Urban Holiday Lofts Hostel

Great for groups or if you’re travelling to Chicago with friends and don’t mind sharing a dorm, the Urban Holiday Lofts Hostel has a great vibe. It’s super clean and very well maintained and has a fantastic recreational area. It is half an hour from Grant Park by bus, but for around twenty dollars a night, it’s a bargain.

Booking.com

Chicago certainly knows how to cook up a storm on the culinary front and not just during the five days of The Taste either.

Whether you want to eat Mexican, Mediterranean, Asian or a huge, straight off the grill steak, you’ll find a restaurant that’s serving it.

Smoque BBQ

If you love your meat barbecued, try the Smoque BBQ which is quite possibly a meat-lover’s idea of heaven. Their menu is uncomplicated, but be prepared for some seriously good quality ribs, pulled pork and Texas sausage.

If You Are Fan of Meat

For something completely different then it has to be the Girl and the Goat for escargot ravioli or milk braised pork cheek. Though be aware there are some pretty unusual things on the menu and yes, that includes goat. Boka restaurant promises American cuisine with a modern flare. Their dry aged beef tartar and slow roasted beef rib really deliver on the promise.

For Pro-Veg Buddies

If you prefer to be meat-free then check out Original Soul Vegetarian. Their food is one hundred percent plant-based, meat and chemical free. Try the tasty falafel platter or Seitan Sloppy Joe. Kitchen 17 is a vegan cafe who do an amazing array of dishes. Go for the Cauliflower Buffalo Wings or the Fireball pizza, you’ll love it.

From the Airport

Chicago is served by O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. O’Hare is seventeen miles from downtown Chicago and Midway ten.

Both have twenty-four hour L-train services running into the city. The CTA Blue Line serves O’Hare and the CTA orange line provides the service to Midway. They’re frequent, every ten minutes services. Once you know where you’ll be staying check which station is closest to your hotel so you know where to get off.

Go Airport Express provide a shared ride service from both airports which can be booked online and will drop you at your hotel. Prices vary depending on how many other passengers you share a ride with.

Trains & Buses

All trains and buses in Chicago are operated by the Chicago Transit Authority. The same tickets are valid for both types of service. There are over a hundred bus routes and one hundred and forty-four train stations.

Prices

A single journey costs $2.50. Though if you are arriving at O’Hare Airport your first journey from there has a $5 supplement applicable. If you’re planning on moving around the city the Ventra 1 Day ticket for $10 gives you unlimited use on both services for twenty-four hours. If you’re staying longer, there is also a 3 day pass for $20.

From the suburbs

If you’re arriving from the outer-lying suburbs on the Metra rail service, you’ll disembark at Union Street Station and be able to catch a connecting bus onto Grant Park.

Greyhound bus services

If you’re arriving on the Greyhound bus services, depending where you are coming from, you could arrive at any of their five hubs from where you’ll be able to connect with a CTA Chicago service.

From Milwaukee, Indianapolis or Detroit by car

If you’re driving to The Taste Chicago from Milwaukee, Indianapolis or Detroit it’ll take you three and five hours respectively.

Parking

Though parking isn’t easy around the festival site for safety and security reasons. Chicago has great public transport so it’ll be a lot less stressful to leave your car at home.

What happens when you combine a group of restaurant owners, a bright idea and the 4th of July?

The idea becomes an amazing food festival. Now in its thirty-eighth year, The Taste has seen some changes over the decades since its initiation.

Originally held over just one day on Michigan Avenue, The Taste has expanded in every sense of the word. As the event increased in popularity a new venue, with a large enough capacity to hold the hungry masses, was required and so The Taste moved to the spacious Grant Park.

Each year has seen it grow some more and it’s now the biggest food festival in the world.