- Chicago Gourmet
- Taste of Chicago
- Chicago Food Truck Fest
- Culinary Fight Club
- Windy City BBQ Classic
Food plus alcohol, plus more alcohol equals the good time known as Chicago Gourmet. This is one of my all time favorite Chicago foodie events. Tickets can be a bit on the expensive side, but it is well worth the money. In the winter time, they offer discounted tickets for this awesome summertime event. It is a great opportunity to let your taste buds explore while having a chance to sit through food demonstrations by famous chefs you might see on the food network.
Chicago Gourmet is a celebration of food held in Millennium Park during the month of September. I return to this event each year because I always discover something new to enjoy. It is fun and well organized. I personally love food and entertaining, so I end up with enough cocktail recipes to make my own cookbook. While we are on the subject of alcohol, please remember to pace yourself. I am not much of a drinker, so I make the effort to coat my stomach with a bite or three before indulging in spirits. It also helps to make time to checkout the demonstrations in between drinks and eating.
This year’s new discovery was ground duck meatballs. I am not a fan of dark meat, but they won me over. It was also good to know, that I could purchase my new find at Mariano’s.
Taste of Chicago is one of my all time favorite summer events. It is always super crowded and great to attend with a bunch of friends. Over the years, the price of tickets have gone up and up, while the entertainment has varied significantly. If you do not like crowds, this is not the event for you. Plenty of neighborhoods throughout the city and surrounding suburbs do scaled down versions, but I am all about the original.
Chicago Food Truck Fest doesn’t have the history of the Taste or the posh of Chicago Gourmet, but it is well worth a visit. I really wasn’t sure if food trucks would take off in Chicago, but they have grown on me. I have discovered some great eats and even follow a few trucks on social media.
Every city worth living in needs some type of BBQ festival and Chicago answers the call with the Windy City BBQ Classic. Station after station of barbecue gladiators looking to prove their worth. The end of summer is upon us, but I look forward to 2016 so I can experience these events again. In the meantime, I have Culinary Fight Club to help in my search for foodie finds. They host iron chef like events at various locations with amazing chefs and homecooks battling it out while raising money to feed those in need. I love food and thank God every day that I get to enjoy being a foodie in an amazing city like Chicago.
Enjoy by Michele 