If you are lucky enough to work in the food industry - a producer, manufacturer or processor, then…read moreyou might be able to take part in this industry-only trade show. It takes place on the last week of October once every 2 years. A joint show featuring meat industry equipment, dairy products, ingredients suppliers and building maintenance/construction services, this is THE premier show for the meat & dairy industry. Admission relates to your connections, whether you can obtain a pass or not. Since my workplace is a major exhibitor at the show, I was able to obtain a free pass. Really, the whole place becomes a giant buffet, with different exhibitors giving away different foods, drinks and yes, ICE CREAM and plenty of it! I recommend skipping lunch, and ultimately I skip dinner as well. The show features new food processing technologies, automation, and introduction of new products. Several years ago, I got to taste the fluffy "whipped" yogurt a few month before Yoplait introduced Whips! line of yogurts. Similarly, I have seen bottled water in collapsible plastic pouches that look more like Capri-Sun than the traditional water bottle, which is bulky waste. Ingredients manufacturers give out marinades, seasoning salts, spice packs, or drink mixes. Meat processing people give out free hot dogs, ham cubes, cheeses, pork loin slices, and even whole burgers made of 85% lean beef! It's amazing all the things offered on the floor. I got to sample the #1 ice cream sold in Scandinavian countries. Another place put a scoop of ice ceam into a donut-shaped brownie. And this roving food orgy went on for about 3 hours till I covered the North and South exhibit halls and my belly was full. At the same time, there's a bit of a dark underbelly to this show. Back in 2007, I tasted a 70% soy burger that when flavored properly deceived even me into thinking it's all beef! This was a vendor that sold to the school cafeteria folks. And then there's a company that makes slaughtering equipment. You get to see the hoof cutters, saws and drills used to chop up cows, pigs or sheep. And if you saw "No Country for Old Men," they even had one of those stunners like the one the serial killer was using. The place also played a video loop of some pretty graphic animal slaughtering. Definitely not a place for PETA folks or vegetarians/vegans but a nice overall experience trying new food samples and seeing what will be in the marketplace in the coming year(s). While 2009's show was a bit tame compared to previous years and the number & amount of freebies was a little bit down, I did not leave disappointed. If you're lucky enough to attend, make an effort to see it and your tummy won't be disappointed.

The place was packed, the lines were long and the weather was terrible but it was well worth it!…read moreFor occasional sippers with a low tolerance, cider is most appreciated. It is typically low in alcoholic content but full of flavor. It is great to see its growth in the marketplace and this event is great for consumers who are in search of ciders unknown. The Summit admission ticket included admission to a four hour session, a glass compliments of Binny's and 8-10 tickets. The tickets are used to sample ciders or cheese. Most cider tastings were 6 oz for one ticket. The higher end ciders were 2 tickets per tasting. There were tons of vendors, some of which are not even on the market yet. They range from dry to sweet and are made with different type apples and various processes. There were many vendors with no line at all. Not because they were not good, they were perhaps unknown or pretty popular (AppleTroew, Angry Orchard etc). The longest lines seem to have been for the Ice Ciders. It is a very unique flavor in comparison to traditional ciders. I tried one Prohibition (Sea Cider) that is reportedly paired best with BBQ or a sweet dessert. Other ciders were made with whiskey or mixed with other fruit flavors (Bluberries, Peach, Apricot, Pear and Cherry). I even tried a cider with a pecan and cinnamon flavor (Totally Toasted). Designated drivers received admission for $5 and it included a bottle of water. If you lacked a DD, Uber was onsite to offer rides and a $20 off discount for first time users.

I really enjoyed Cider Summit 2019! It seems like the organizers really listened to some past…read morecomplaints about the event, because this year it felt very organized and we had more tickets to use. I don't drink beer but I love hard ciders, and this event introduced me to so many new options!

This two-day festival which I'd never heard of before this year takes place in Lincoln Park, just…read morenorth of North Ave, along Clark Street. And it's all about Chillin and Grillin. Sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens with a heavy dash of Weber Grill, it's a nice little intimate affair, with the summerfest requisites of food/drink tickets, small food booths from select restaurants such as Girl and The Goat, Belly Shack, Nacional 27, Meatloaf Bakery, and maybe a dozen others. Each offers a small plate such as goat sloppy joes with slaw, beef tenderloins sliders, meatball kebabs, and more. And of course there is beer and wine, a nicely restrained commercial presence by Weber Grill, some celeb chefs and grilling classes you can take right there. And in addition to these standard fest features, and what I liked best (in addition to the great tastings) were real picnic tables where you could sit and eat or drink, the wooded setting vs. the claustrophobic littered street fest ambiance of say the Andersonville Sommerfest or the North Center Ribfest. You can actually walk around, sit, beg or roll over nice a normal human being. Really pleasant fest in a town where it's five months fest and seven months rest. Let the summer fun begin! Chillin and Grillin sure got me in the mood. Oh, and I forgot to mention, a blues band, too.

I have really mixed feelings about attending this. First of all, I really hadn't heard much about…read moreit, but received an email invitation to meet Jazz through a listserve because of being a GSA advisor. I jumped at that chance. Meeting Jazz and her parents made my day. They were wonderful, gracious, and really out there for the people who came to see them. I got photos and a chance to chat with Jazz's mom. Again, that was wonderful! Jazz and her family remained available to the fans. Unfortunately, they were in the minority. We saw them and the Little People talking to fans, taking photos with fans, or at least out in the crowds. And that is where I have the biggest issue. So many of the stars remained aloof, guarded behind a blockade and security. That was confusing. So many people here because of the chance to meet the stars, as advertised. The best examples I have are that people lined up to meet the Long Island Medium, but they were informed that she would sign for 30 minutes. Once that time was up, she was done. What? People in line and waiting an hour or more, and she couldn't/wouldn't sign or take a photo if she hit 31 minutes? I'm confused and not in line. Other stars on stage escaped off stage to waiting golf carts to be whisked away or remained behind the barricade. Disappointing to see people running to the fence and the stars too far away to sign or get photos. Some of the stars would come to the fence, but again, disappointing. And only 4 food trucks showed up for this event. I was really expecting this to be a showcase for the food trucks. Empanadas, hot dogs, steak sandwiches, and ice cream were the only trucks available. I thought Chicago was a food truck city. The people on stage were good including the band The Breakfast Club. And another great event was packing food for the Northern Illinois Food Depository. My friend and I packed for a long time, and we talked to a few of the people who sponsored this part of the event. When we left, over 13,000 meals had been packed. That's awesome! So, mixed review. Would I go again? Probably not. Was it worth my time. Yes, but because of the Jennings family, some of the stage acts, and the food depository.

I really enjoyed this!! Brought a friend of mine and her 2 daughters and she also had a cousin in…read morefrom California. The stars we saw were all so cordial.. Cake Boss.. Long Island Medium...The Roloff family. They all took pictures with us and it was great!! Great food from the Food Trucks and we also had beautiful weather. I received the invitation via email as I was on the list for TLC's list from an earlier promotion. Hope the have one again soon!!

Random assortment of pics…read more.. The very 1st year where they offer 2 different parking lots - $40 (a block & half away) or $25 (4 blocks away). Yet the $40 lot was completely full when we left. Admission was an $8 donation, so it was voluntary. Proceeds go to Pilsen. My 2 chicken tacos & 1 Oaxaqueño tamale (peppers & cheese) were yummy. My horchata came in a plastic resealable bottle, which was unexpected yet clever. Suddenly, hoards of people came! We were prepared to shop & eat more, but there were SSSOOO many people that we couldn't even breathe!, so we had no choice but to leave. 3 stars - Parking fees are waayyy too high. The food was quite expensive, considering seating arrangements were scarce. Please limit the quantity of people allowed in at 1 time.

TACOS Y MAS TACOS PERO POCO TAMALES TACOS & MORE TACOS BUT…read moreFEW TAMALES We hit up the Tacos & Tamales Festival on July 20, 2019. It was incredibly hot and muggy. We had a steak Torta and Al pastor tacos. We tried several steak tacos. I was supposed to get 5 tacos. Two Al Pastor and 3 steak tacos ($10). I received 1 al pastor and 3 steak tacos (not 5). I had to ask (beg is more like it) for napkins. I was disappointed how bland the steak tacos tasted. I got the tacos from a food truck "Tacos Mario's" from 4540 W 63rd St., Chicago. The meat was good. The Al pastor was very good, but I inhaled it, before I could take a picture of the Al pastor. We never tried tamales. There were more vendors selling their goods than there were vendors selling food. I did not see very many food trucks. I noticed only 2 food vendors selling tamales. There were tacos, tacos and more tacos. There were tortas and burritos and elotes. I had high expectations believing the food would be more high quality Mexican food. I was disappointed. It was pricey. The quality was missing and so was the sabor (flavor). They had a DJ spinning music on one end of the festival. On the extreme end of the festival was an excellent mariachi band. Sadly, there were only 5 people listening to them perform. My husband and I listened but the heat, humidity and blazing hot sun were too much for us to continue listening. The heat and humidity contributed to people leaving quickly. We arrived at 12:00 and left by 1:30 p.m. There was an area with tables and chairs quite a distance from the food vendors. These areas were very difficult, if not impossible, to get in and out of. It was poorly designed. You had to squeeze through huge blocks of concrete in order to get to the tables and chairs. Who the "F" was the genius, or should I say idiot, who put the chairs and tables underneath these tents (this is a rhetorical question)? I am very petite, weigh less than 135 lbs and had a hard time climbing over these concrete blocks to sit down at a table. Seriously, this was an accident waiting to happen. There was a table at the main entrance stating $5 Donation (not required, but optional). We made the $5 donation, paid $10 to park in a parking lot. We spent $30 on food (excluding the $5 donation and $10 for parking). This is only their 4th Year, but they still need to work out a lot of issues. They need MORE tables and chairs much closer to the food vendors, please. They need MORE napkins. MORE water. They need MORE food vendors. They need MORE forks & spoons. They need to display their name and location because many didn't have this information displayed. Very few food vendirs had business cards for the taking. Many of the food vendors did not have napkins, forks or spoons. I asked. WTF! I had to use my fingers to pick up the meat that was spilling out of my steak tacos. One of my pet peeves is touching food with my fingers. It is not something I like doing. Please have less vendors selling their "stuff" and cheap souvenirs. I believe this Festival has potential and it CAN be successful if they make some improvements and changes. Of course, I hope someone in charge of this Festival reads this review and takes this as constructive criticism for improving the Festival. Maybe they need to drop "Tamale" from the festival name, because there weren't many vendors selling tamales. Maybe they should consider changing the name to "Tacos, Tortas and Burritos" instead.

Another great find, how does my daughter find these local events/fairs? She finds all these great…read morethings and places to visit when we are on vacation. Quality/Quantity - 44th annual McDonalds fair, thank you! So many booths to visit, see pictures. Many food and drink options. Free McDonald slushy sample. Done well and quick. Plus it tasted good and hit the spot since it was refreshing on such a hot day. Atmosphere - Approximately 3 blocks long. Free entertainment. Outhouses/bathrooms every few blocks. Hand washing station behind many of the food booths. Kid friendly. See pictures. Thousands of people here, who then rolled out to the neighboring restaurants. Actually, there were 40,000 people, but the good news is that it did not feel that way at the fair, but it sure felt that way at the local restaurants and businesses. Easy access from public transportation. My daughter wanted to try the subway which I can NOT recommend. And Uber was cheaper from our hotel. Service - Overall good. Price - Depends on what you do, eat, or drink. Owner Comment - Congrats on your success since 1979 with this family friendly annual event. What a great history, see website.

Took a tour of the Chinatown Summer Fair with the Yelp Elites. I really enjoyed seeing all the…read morebooths and learning about the Chinese culture. Our tour guide was excellent. We were given four free sample coupons to use at various booths and I could not believe the size of the samples. They were like full meals. I had crab meat ragoons, general Tso's chicken, bbq pork bun, and bubble tea. Everything was so good! I met some pretty cool friends. I also got a sweet yelp bag and bag of noodles. Thanks Anna and Yelp for a great day!

I was impressed by the Chicago Cocktail Social. The range, creativity, and quality of the drinks…read morewas fantastic. The food was delicious. There were lines, but that was to be expected. The location was perfectly suited for the event.

Great race course- nice and flat, a large loop through town that didn't have any awkward turn…read morearounds, and allowed for running in the shade some of the time. This race is smaller than some of the others I've been in- busier streets are not blocked off, but instead traffic is stopped for the runners by police. This is not a chip-timed race, but there are mile markers with volunteers standing to call out the time to you. After the race, they have water, bagels, and fruit. The location at the school allowed for a lot of fun items to be set up for the kids- music, raffles, games, etc, which kept my nieces entertained while they waited! The sponsors donate gift cards, which was a fun incentive to stick around too. Money goes to support a scholarship fund. All around great time, will run this again!