I went to this event yesterday and ended up spending more time there then I originally anticipated…read moreI would! It was such a well put together event and such a fun, relaxing time. This event celebrates street food & artistry in Chicago, just as the event title suggests. It brings together art, music and delicious food! This was the first year the event went out and it was held at the Galleria Marchetti. This was a great location with an indoor section, fancy tented area that was wedding reception-esque, and two outdoor areas. I loved the outdoor areas! The weather was perfect so it was so pleasant to grab some bites, listen to some music and soak up the sun in a decent temperature! They had a silent auction going on and I wish I knew it was because they had some great items for sale! A signed Justin Bieber album!??!? Ummmm amazing!!! And other artists on the same level as him like Michael Jackson! hehe I'm only kidding! Half kidding. Really some amazing items with low starting bids. Seriously wish I had known! Tickets were $31 and I think well worth the price! They had a kid's cooking demo, some amazing musical acts plus an awesome hip hop tap dance group M.A.D.D. Rhythms! I loved all of the music and bands that played!!! On to the yummies! There were some food trucks & carts representing and the best part for me was trying new ones I haven't tried before! I had never had any of these before! The coolest part was talking to the people who ran the trucks & carts. It's not often you get that privilege and for a foodie like myself it was a good thing. Homage Street Food - New food truck to Chicago! The owner was super nice and enthusiastic about what he is bringing to the city and how different it is. Both dishes we tried had some kick to them. I had the buckwheat noodles and really enjoyed them! Arrf Scarf Cart - Treats for dogs! Friendly group and have yet to say how the dog likes these treats. I got treats to give to one of my BFF's dogs Minion...I'll keep you posted on how Minion likes them! Bergstein's NY Deli Truck - I tried their slider and potato pancake. Both were yummy! Puffs of Doom Cart - Super friendly people here! I'm not a huge fan of cream puffs but these little guys were cool. Interesting choices in flavors and I opted for the oreo, yum! Uptown Pie Company Truck - I think they were a no show! Sad. Herby Pop - Gourmet popcorn and it was tasty! I just had my onion & dill popcorn sample after dinner tonight and really enjoyed the savory taste of it. Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen - Now that was some good naan! The hummus was some of the best I've ever had! Everything on this HUGE sampling plate was delicious! Adding this to my list of restaurants I must visit. English & Porkchop both had pulled pork sandwiches. Both were good but it was kind of funny they had the same dish and were right next to each other. I have been to English a bit for the bar aspect of it so was interesting to see them at a food event Old School Root Beer Float Carts - Awesome! Root beer floats are the bomb diggity! A root beer float sitting outside on the grass was the perfect treat! Dark Matter Coffee Company had hangover coffee! It doesn't get cooler then that! Wow Bao is always good! They had pulled pork buns and some other flavors which I didn't get to try! e.leaven had some yummy food plus amazing brownie bites! They were so thick and delicious! Macy's Chefs A-Go-Go Tour - Takashi!!! My friend and I are big Takashi fans and it was so cool to see him there and walking around the event. I wish I would have had more courage to ask for a picture! Either way, I ate his cold noodle dish for lunch today and loved it! Yum.Yum.Yum. The Macy's truck was also handing out Bananas Fosters Pops from Emeril! They were beyond delicious and I don't like bananas! Forever Yogurt Truck - Ended the night with some strawberry lemonade frozen yogurt with no toppings. Delicious and I loved the cute, colorful truck! All in all, a fantastic event and I hope they throw it again next year!

The festival was fun. There were alot of vendors to choose from. Everyone was friendly. The…read morestaff kept everyone in check. Definitely had fun!

The musical talent at this event is outstanding. I attended Saturday which was the second day of…read morethe event. Jack White did not disappoint. He was outstanding live. Also enjoyed James and The Beach Boys. They do a great job setting up the stages so they don't interfere with other band's performances. They fall short with the food, water station, and bathrooms. Please keep in mind if you plan on attending this event in the future, it is an outdoor event and you will feel the full effect of the weather.

The Winter Fest is an excellent annual evening of fun for the whole family! The main event is in…read moreUptown Park Ridge right outside the library on Black Friday at 6pm. Santa comes in via fire truck and you can get his photo taken in the library. You will need to go in beforehand and get a ticket for one of the groups (every half hour). There are several activities in the library and also some cookies / cider. The event is on both sides of town and connected by a trolley. You can also easily drive across and avoid the long wait. In South Park there are live Reindeer at PNC Bank to get your photos with. The fire station has an open house with refreshments and equipment tours. Many local businesses open their doors during the event. They offer some discounts for Black Friday along with refreshments. You can stop by Perry's for a sample of pizza or any of the local businesses for more cookies than you should eat the day after Thanksgiving.

We've been coming to Winterfest every year for maybe the last 5 years and I realized that I never…read morewrote about it before. Park Ridge Winterfest always takes place on the Friday evening following Thanksgiving. It consists of many shops along Prospect, Northwest Highway, and the shops around Hodges Park, plus the strip south of the Metra station. The shops around town are open late. Many offer cookies, cocoa, candy or other treats for people who stop in. There are special sales and promos at many shops as well. On the street, there are carolers. Even Santa makes a stop at the library where the line goes out the door for people and kids waiting to see him. Trolleys shuttle people around the fest area, or between the South Park portion of the fest and Uptown Park Ridge. For the first time, I have to say it was poorly executed, mostly centered around how the trolleys worked. We got there at 6:30 and started exploring the shops. We were going to hop on the shuttle to head to Whole Foods from the Five Guys area maybe half a mile away. It was supposed to be coming at 10-15 minute intervals. A police officer at the crossing told us it should be any minute since the trolley was there maybe 10 minutes ago. So we waited... 15 minutes and the trolley finally came. We could have stopped at Iannelli Studio on the west end of the trolley route but decided against it since we figured the trolley would leave us stranded there away from the other sights, just far enough outside the boundaries of the main part of Winterfest. Looking at the folks gazing at the trolley from inside Iannelli Studios, I presume they were hoping someone would come out to visit but nobody on the trolley did. Even if we visited, what would be there to see? We were not sure. When stopped at a location near the Northwest Highway boutiques, a woman from one of the stores came on the trolley and told us they have special offers in each shop if people stop in. Nobody got off the trolley. What offers? I had no idea but I won't wait for the next trolley to get back to the main strip of Uptown. We didn't bother going to South Park's shops at all since the trolley line for that was very long and would have required more than one trolley to get everyone there. We finally stopped at Whole Foods and got to sample some of their chili, bought a few things and then waited for the trolley - about 25-30 minutes from the dropoff time. By then it was nearly 8:30 and no new people came to see Whole Foods, as the trolley was on its last run. Now if this fest goes from about 6 till 8:30 PM, you can see how much time is wasted with these trolleys being so inefficient at circulating people around town during the fest. So to any Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce folks reading this, perk up your ears. To make this fest better next time, I got a few suggestions: 1. If you use trolleys to get people around, make it quicker or more frequent. Too much time is wasted waiting or wondering if a trolley will come to take you back. If the 25 minute intervals were reduced to 10-15 minutes as promised, more people would be able to see more things and not worry about taking a long walk back or waiting for the next one. Better circulation of people = better $ales at more shops. Don't leave festgoers stranded or having to sacrifice seeing some places in favor of others. 2. How about an itinerary of all the things to see and do during Winterfest? If every participating shop gave a short summary of their specials, more people would be curious or know where to go and what to expect. Why not post these in some spots or hand them out to people on the trolley? I am sure we will be back next year, but how much we will be able to see will depend on the planning that goes into the event.

This was me and The Heiress Apparent (La J) first time at this event. We are both lovers of Mac…read moreand Cheese, so of course when we heard about this event, we were in. Tickets were $65 for General Admission and and $105 for VIP. Both tickets got you all you can eat samples and five drink tickets. We got the VIP tickets because there was priority check in, free tee shirts and a VIP section we could sit in so we could be comfortable eating our mac and cheese. The VIP section was good, plenty of seats. This was our first time at the fest, so we have no comparison in terms of organization. But I would say that the event was very well organized. There were a good number of vendors representing different types of mac and cheese, very creative. The samples were a good size for getting a flavor of eat one. It was a brilliant idea to have the samples already out on the table ready to pick up. The only vendor that had a line was Public House (Chef Jeremy Tannehill) for the Chicken, Mac, & Waffles. It eventually settled down and we go to sample it...waffle cone, mac/cheese and a chicken meatball in hot sauce. It was good. Millie's Supper Club had a a great Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese. Texican (Chef Kim Dalton) Texas Chili Mac, Warren's Ale House (Chef Kevin Hay) Ghost Pepper Mac with Smoked BBQ Brisket (wasn't that hot and that was good), and ConeCepts (Chef Turn Cummings) Beer Braised Brisket Mac & Cheese were all good. Another favorite for me was Carmine's. They came up with a Mac and Cheese slider and it was so good. Other favorites were Carnivale's (Chef Rodolfo Cuadios) Mac & Cheese Cake Pops. I could not wrap my mind around a mac and cheese dessert, but it was like eating cheese cake. That was my personal favorite of all the vendors. La J enjoyed Mahoney's Pub & Grille's (Chef Alex Gomez) Strawberry Mac & Cheesecake and Kitty O'Sheas at the Hilton Chicago's (Chef Mario Garcia & Chef Erica McGhee) something like an apple crumble. Again, not thinking of mac and cheese as a dessert, but both worked. The five drink tickets were good and I ended up getting more from some nice people. Not sure what all was there for adult beverages as I hit the table serving wine. Pretty decent whites and they have a sparkling, so I was in heaven. The pours were very generous. We didn't get to hit all of the restaurants as we got so full! We had a plan of attack for hitting all of the vendors, but made the mistake of repeating samples that we liked. All and all, it was a good time and I look forward to doing this next year.

Tubular elbow pasta has been one of America's favorite comfort foods ever since Yankee Doodle stuck…read morea feather in his cap. This annual one-day indoor festival provides a venue for talented local chefs to flex their creative muscles and compete for the Golden Noodle Award, and for foodies to sample something potentially more awesome than the familiar Kraft product. Tickets are pricey but the event donates a portion of the proceeds to a worthy charity. This was the first time the Missus and I attended the Fest (we were invited as VIP lunch guests). Many of the offerings we tasted were truly a quantum leap above the comparatively bland grocery aisle version. Some had unusual twists. For example, mac & cheese cake pops (Carnivale), whose flavor is best described as cheddar cheesecake. My personal fave was the sweet-and-savory concoction of Kitty O'Shea's (a past award recipient); it was redolent of caramelized onions. Several of the booths were elaborately decorated. To wash down the high-carb repast, participants could choose from an array of 5 oz. pours of beers, wines, and hard ciders. A deejay spun contemporary songs. The feeding frenzy concluded with the announcement of the winner and runners-up (by popular vote) for the Golden Noodle Award, a trophy that looks like a drainpipe on a pedestal. What a hoot! We're longtime fans of food festivals, and this exceptionally well-run event was among the best we've attended.

What a freakin blast!!!…read more Wine Riot was an amazing event! The location of Union Station was perfect. A great central location to accommodate the event. You know what that means - the typical annoyance of Downtown Chicago parking, but whatever, it's Chicago, get over it! The place was PACKED! There were so many booths to go and sample wines from, as each worker educated you on the brand that they were representing. Wines were from all over the world and varied between whites and darks, drys and sweets. Maps located by most stations gave a direct look at where the wine was from as well as other facts about the brand. Every representative I interacted with was very patient and cheerful. There was a Bubbly Bar that was strictly for champagnes, mini classes were taught on wine knowledge, temp tattoos were cool, and went well with your pic if you decided to jump in the picture line. The amount of people stumbling around due to being tipsy?! HUH-LARIOUS! One chic fell flat on her face and tried to blame it on the floor being slippery. Yeah. Okay. Then as she walked off, someone mentioned that she'd been there drinking since the event started..... almost 5 hours ago. Sheesh! This was totally worth the $55 I paid. Only thing is, I wish there were Port and Ice wines. That would've been awesome. Needless to say, I will be back when the event returns in October. #ChiTownFoodieChic #WHONEEDSLOVEWHENYOUHAVEBOOZE

Oh my goodness, this was SO MUCH FUN…read more How could you not have fun drinking various wines for four hours straight and hopping on the train afterwards so you don't have to worry about driving!? YES. This is my kind of thing. Wine Riot had a tattoo booth (I might have gone a little crazy there), a photo booth/Instagram station with fun quotes and props, a cool phone app to keep track of all the drinks you liked (and didn't like), and dozens of wine to sample. The cheese sample table was pretty sweet, too. Somewhere, a DJ was playing music, free bottled water was given away, and a food truck had food to purchase. All in the beautiful setting of Union Station. It was a great place for this event -- close to public transportation and not too crowded or chaotic. Some of the vendor spokespeople were very sweet, sharing information with us about the wine/company and pouring us generous samples. Others were standoff-ish, not saying anything and generally ignoring us. You can bet my friend and I returned to the tables with the nicer workers (and generally preferred those wines anyway). I thought that the four hours that Saturday afternoon would be more than enough time, but my friend and I ended up staying until closing (and could have stayed longer)! I left the event with a nice buzz and a list of new favorite wines. Thank you so much for the tickets, Candice/Yelp!! Much love! They were definitely put to good use. ;D

Well let me start by saying I attended this event for free so generally it was fine. But...had I…read morepaid for the event I may have been gravely disappointed . First there were not many vendors. The definitely need more food and wine vendors. They also need more activities for patrons while attending. The band was awesome. The free glass was very affordable looking.

Sangria fast was held in Humboldt Park. I was fortunate to win tickets from an Instagram raffle…read more My tickets included VIP passes for 2. I went on a early Sunday afternoon around 2 PM. We were able to find parking nearby for free. Getting into the sangria fast was easy as we were able to scan our codes from evebtbrite. Upon entering we were given our sangria glasses, VIP identification and 5 samples of sangria off the bat. Once we were further into the festival, it was discovered that VIP identification had our punch card for redeeming drink tickets. There were several vendors and attendants including places to try sangria, beer, Goya products. We did get sample some really good white wine out of Italy from a wine tasting company. In addition to the sangria samples there were food vendors, live musicians and artistic items to purchase. After trying some of the samples we headed over to the VIP area which had its own pre-made bar set up. You could only use your VIP punch cards in the VIP area. Both my husband and I tried several different flavors of sangria. We both agreed that the pear was our favorite. A close second was probably the pomegranated or the mango sangria. Overall we had a good time but it may have been hard to justify the price tag for what you get. Just being in that neighborhood I think the regular admission price should be lower or there should be more samples. The view from the park was fantastic, we were able to see a part of the air and water show.

This sail boat ride does not disappoint with beautiful views of Lake Michigan, Chicago skyline, and…read morefar away cities. The pirate show is always fun. The friendly staff allows patrons to hoist the sails. No umbrellas are allowed. I was really dark in the photo because my friend was fair skinned in the $30-plus same photo with steering wheel. I was disappointed to pay another $30 for electriconic verson. I would not pay for photos again because the electronic photo was not included in the price.

Took a firework sail on the Windy and it was great! Superb view of the fireworks, great cocktails,…read morefun and knowledgeable staff. A must for a trip to Chicago!

Not having known much about this event to begin with, I had little expectations. With that being…read moresaid, when I heard the chef lineup representing at the Cookoff, I felt like a starstruck groupie. It was a stellar portrayal of Chicago talent featuring some of my faves like Fat Rice and Seoul Taco. The creativity was buzzing from booth to booth. I took so many insta-worthy photos. Food was delicious, and that signature drink of mango and spice is something that I will forever try to replicate until I get it correct. This might have been my first time here, but I can assure you, it won't be my last. It was a casual, comfortable atmosphere free of pretension, but full of incredibly talented chefs that are there to chat with you because that's how grounded and cool they are and this event is. Well done Taste Talks!

Could not have asked for a more perfect day for an outdoor food fest in October! Amazing weather,…read moregreat food, friendly people and a well organized event! First and foremost we cannot compliment the organizers enough for such a well thought out event! Hubby and I go to our fair share of these and can usually count on long lines, drunk people and general mass confusion. We had none of this here. The lines were short and moved quite quickly. With the well organized check off system you didn't have people insisting on getting more than their fair share. And finally, the crowd control was well orchestrated so that the event space was never over crowded. It was smart not to serve much alcohol so us foodies could concentrate on the food and no one got out of control. Our favorites were the Bulgogi taco from Seoul Taco followed by the Smoked and grilled salmon with risotto, succotash, mole and poblano from Good Fortune! This was bill as an "All Star Cookout" and it was!