I finally made it to Taste of Chicago (one of my Chicago summer bucket list items) over the weekend. I was dying to go last year but I had no one to go with. Womp, womp. Normally that doesn’t stop me, but it’s a huge festival that can be kind of intimidating to do alone. I was determined to try Taste after the SoFabU conference on Saturday, and I made it happen!
We started off with 24 tickets each (12 tickets cost $8.50). We were walking around and mulling over our options when I saw Lou Malnati’s. I had yet to try it, so I rushed over immediately to grab myself a cheese and Graham a sausage pizza. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite.
We next headed to Dia de Los Tamales to grab tamales. I tried the black bean and corn while Graham chose pork. Again, yum! I loved the salsa on top. I also tried my friend’s veggie burger before moving on to Chicago-style fries from Gold Coast Dogs.
Have you ever been to Taste of Chicago? What did you eat?! Let me know in the comments. Also, check out my video of the weekend and subscribe to my channel for more.
What you should know before you go:
- The free festival is packed! The security line at the gate was long, but it moved quickly.
- You can pay for tickets with cash or credit/debit, but the cash lines were shorter.
- Each booth had Taste portions and bigger portions. The Taste portions were usually 3-5 tickets, which full-size portions could be 8-9 but I also saw some items listed for 12-13.
- Booths typically had lines but most seemed to move quickly.
- Check the schedule if you’re looking for a particular restaurant because some were only there on certain days.

Marette Flora is the founder of Floradise blog and personalized gift shop. Marette is a passionate storyteller and creator. She attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication.
She is passionate about creating helpful and meaningful things.