I'm glad that the city is embracing food trucks. It was evident when I saw lines at least 30-40…read morepeople long during my lunch break. Even waiting to get a cupcake took about 20-30 minutes! I think vendors underestimated how many offices are starving when it hits noon. I liked that there was variety although I wish there were more. Perhaps that would have decreased the wait time. Since it was so long and I didn't want to spend 3/4 of my hour lunch waiting, I ate somewhere else. Mayor Emmanuel and other city officials, I hope you looked outside your windows today and saw the crowds at Daley Center. More food truck friendly events and laws need to be enacted because come on, who doesn't love food on the go? Looking forward to the next one with my office!

This is really cute! My favorite empanadas truck is here today, and I also got to try a tasty…read moredonut. When the weather is nice, it's so cool to have a bunch of easy options. Today's rally features two sandwich makers, one empanada truck, and two sweet choices (donuts and cupcakes). I guess I would appreciate more savory choices. I wonder if the trucks are taking turns or have to apply for a spot to set up on the plaza. This was pleasant. I would recommend stopping by if you're not rushed for time.

First of all the service was really nice. I'm a tourist so I'm usually a bit lost on what to order,…read morebut he helped me pick my sauce and safe to say it was really nice. I got the shrimp basket, it came with fries and some lemons in it. The shrimps were great, I was actually expecting just shrimp. The fries are amazing, but I guess that depends on your preference. It's really nicely seasoned. It's not just salt on fries, there's a lot of other spices that I can't place but I love them. Also try squeezing some lemons onto the shrimp. Order came out within 5-10 minutes. The surroundings are just those of a regular food court. I really recommend! Forgive my half empty box, I ate them on the way home

Through my Facebook feed, I saw that the Happy Lobster Truck would be parked in downtown Highland…read morePark, IL, so the Hubby and I were excited to try something new. Since their website mentioned they could sell out, I preordered and prepaid online for a 5:30 PM pickup. Unfortunately, when we arrived, our order wasn't ready, which was disappointing because preordering is supposed to save time. There were only about four other people waiting and two employees working the truck. We ended up waiting close to 20 minutes for our food. As for the meal itself, the lobster was fresh, buttery, and flavorful. I wish the rolls had more of a toasted crispness, they were squished flat. We also weren't fans of the coleslaw because it tasted overly vinegary, maybe it was just an off day? We would have preferred some crunchy french fries versus the Cape Cod Chips. The highlight of the meal ended up being the chocolate whoopie pie for dessert -- absolutely delicious! Not sure if we would try it again?

Fabulous and free jazz festival over Labor Day weekend in Chicago…read more Although it is not as big as other jazz festivals that I've been to like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Festival (my personal favorite), or Montreal Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival was perfect for a couple of hours to relax and enjoy some jazz. We walked to Millenium Park and then had a short wait to go through a limited security screen. Took a few photos of Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain and Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate (aka The Bean) before heading to the pavilions to enjoy some cool jazz. Loved the Sharel Cassity Alliance. So nice to see an all female jazz group. The Charlie Johnson Quartet was also quite good. Plenty of seating was available, but you could bring lawn chairs or even snacks into the park. Will have to come back again when we can spend more time enjoying some cool jazz on a hot summer day. Great way to end the summer in Chicago.

Jazz fest 2025 was fun. The fist band Ben Waltzer Quartet was amazing. But it went downhill from…read morethere. Abigail Richard's has a terrific voice but she had poor song selection and I think the sound was off a bit for her. The Beatles song was not good though people seemed to enjoy it. The Madison Electronique was not for me. And I don't think jazz fest liked the political commentary. We only saw one band on the main stage. They seemed mediocre. Overall a fun day for a few hours. We went to a great local jazz bar that night and the band was awesome.

A coworker brought these into work and I have been thinking about them for weeks! I used to pass…read morethis location going between the grocery stores on Cermak and never thought to stop by. Finally today I had a chance to park in the loading zone and grab a few of what was left: green and red salsa pork tamales and then 1 of each of the sweet ones for my kids. The pork tamales were great and had a lot of flavor. My daughter loved the strawberry and will try the other ones later. I will be back!

I usually think the great tamales are sold only on the streets in Pilsen, I normally see pop-ups…read moreand buy a dozen. I saw a store front called "The Tamale Lady" and I had to give it a try. I was surprised how reasonably priced these tamales are. I asked them which is most popular and she told me the green chicken tamales are most ordered. I bought a dozen of the red sauce pork ones also. Both choices are a hit with my family and I been coming here weekly for my tamale crave Payment is Zelle or Cash. Street Parking available too.

We started visiting the new Maxwell Street Market some time ago and ran across this little vendor…read more Mama Lula makes pupusas right in the stand and heats them up on a griddle. They can be made with cheese, pork meat, and refried beans and any combination of those. You never know what they'll have that Sunday but it will be made fresh and hot. The pupusas are somewhat like a peirogi - a filled dough pocket where the filling can be almost anything. The pockets are made with a cornmeal dough. I think pupusas are native to El Salvador. Anyway you order your pupusas - one, two, three...depends how hungry you are. You get them on a plate and then put on a little pickled cabbage mix called curtido for spunk...add a bit of hot sauce or salsa roja and have a seat at the tables under the tent. This isn't fancy food or pretentious surroundings but the pupusas are well worth the visit. They also have coffee and pop to buy. Our party of four had one coffee and split six pupusas - all for $13. You won't beat it for many reasons. The only problem is we cannot find Mama Lula's in a storefront. We think this might be the only place you can get her pupusas. So whether you spell it pupusas or papusas...get yourself down here and give them a try.

While the festival wasn't huge, there was a nice number of artists represented. The vendors were…read moremostly selling paintings, both originals and prints, though there were a few jewelry vendors, some blown glass necklaces, and a twisted metal tent. One awesome woman was giving away some of her art in exchange for a hug. She wanted to bring happiness to the visitors. How cool is that?! There was also a food truck at the top of the hill giving away free small cups of dip. Not too shabby.

Smallish but with a select group of interesting artists that I have not usually seen at the other…read moreart festivals, a nice mix of affordable, popular, and some higher level art, and some crafts as well. I found a nice Tshirt with the Chicago skyline, eyed a lot of the great Chicago photography but I still can't get myself to pay those prices for something that I know I could do with my own half decent photos for a fraction of the price.

Taste of Chicago happened to be going on when we were visiting, so we had to check it out!…read more And it was a fun time! We found several things to try, including pierogis, pizza, beer and ice cream. For the record, Rainbow Cone was our favorite, and the mac and cheese, which featured nacho cheese, was our least favorite. (Forget where the mac and cheese came from.) We found some shade under trees, which was a nice respite. And there seemed to be a great lineup of live entertainment. I also wish we had had time to better partake of the kids area. This is a must visit, especially if you like to try lots of foods and the summer heat isn't too intense.

Remember being a teenager with 20 dollars and a few friends. Going downtown to the Taste of Chicago…read morewas such a treat. You had a hand full of tickets and thought you were on top the world. It was always a good time walking around laughing, embracing the good times. Always running into someone else you knew. If you were lucky, you also enjoyed a free concert. I remember the year Stevie Wonder performed, I couldn't even get close to the stage. So glad I could hear him! As the years have passed the Taste has been through many changes; some good and some bad. It had even been cancelled before. I'm glad it's back and here to stay. A great place to visit in the summertime and get that sweet or savory bite of something new. There are no more tickets and the event is cashless but watch your receipts. Some venders are charging surcharges, including gratuities and a fee for using a card. I love that it was so crowded my most used words were "excuse me". I was on break so I only had time to stand in two lines. One for corn and another one for empanadas. They were both fresh and delicious. See you next year.

It's not every day that one of the major streets in the city is closed for blocks or a street…read morefestival. So we decided to head on down. We met a friend and her toddler there; we both drove since it was easier with our kids but of course most folks took the CTA. It was ok. It felt a little different from other street festivals in the city, maybe a little more flea-market-y. Or maybe that's my bougie-ness seeping through. I will commend them for not really having a bunch of booths--either merchandise or food--that I've seen in a lot of other places, and that's a great thing. It gets a little boring going to some of the north side stuff and seeing the same merchants each time. State was closed from Jackson to Randolph. There were lots of the aforementioned merchants, selling t-shirts, jewelry, personal care items, and more. There was a dance event happening--I'm not sure it was a class, exactly, but it was the folks participating seemed to know what they were doing. There was a little installation of sorts where you could take photos (or have a seat if you needed to). So there was a good variety of stuff happening. I don't think I'd go back, in part because it's just so far out of the way for me. Also, I didn't think to go on SpotHero for parking and as a result paid over $40 because I forgot the discount I get for my workplace doesn't work on weekends. Oops! If you do go and are able, taking the train is going to be your best bet.

Sunday on State is a great family friendly event in the heart of the loop with Iconic landmarks in…read morethe background, it's always a great mix of music, dance, art, and local flavors. This week July 13th, there's some 10'' tall day of the dead puppets, karaoke and multiple stages of performances spanning multiple blocks. Always look forward to this series of street fairs!