Had a blast at Ribfest. I love the spaces to chill and eat. The vendors were revved up and some even had their long lines move quickly. The musical act Caught Stealing' and The Whiskey Misfits were awesome. I tried plenty of things but my two favorite vendors were Hell's BBQ and Lexington Betty Smokehouse. Some of the pricing for samplers (3 bones) were high ranging from $12 to $18. Looking forward to next year. read more

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It's called ribfest, but there's stuff besides ribs. Elotes, carnival snacks like deep fried twinkies, burgers, and so on. This year (2024) they had folks pay at the vendor instead of the ticket system I know they've used in years past. I like that much better; the tickets are too annoying since you have to know exactly how many to buy and even worse might end up with too many. It's usually hot as heck out here so since I had the baby with me we didn't stay. But there are bands, vendors, kids activities... so there's a bit for everyone. It can get far too crowded for me but we stopped by early and it was not very busy yet. The brown line or bus is probably your best bet to get here. read more

First time at RibFest did the VIP option for fifty dollars - which was well worth it. Got a free tshirt and two drink tickets and most importantly - a place to sit down. Large turnout and you pay each vendor separately. Sweet Baby Rays was sponsor and gave out bottles of bbq sauce. Fun event and excellent jazz music from Pink Reaspberry Cats. Attended event on Saturday June 7th read more

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A great opportunity to try multiple vendors for ribs. The disappointment is that there were no local options. All were the street festival vendors. So no option to go back. Wonderful weather friendly people and staff. A great thing to do on a nice day. read more

Anyone coming to chicago in mid august should come and visit this place. Its also an annual compitetion. The best rib, the best rib sauce awards and many more awards. We tried the johnsons hickory smoked rib. It was good. So many food stalls in the place, raco, cuban food, columbian food, asian, so many sovenir shops, with livr band. We came here sunday afternoon, the third day of the event. Still lacked with people. Would come back next year. read more

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Ribfest Chicago is a fun time but man the money adds up quickly! There was a good number of food vendors, great music boppin' and some other random booths like State Farm Insurance and Arlington Race Track. The Arlington booth had the most miserable lady working who wasn't a good representation of the race track at all! It was really too bad she seemed to be hating running the booth and just generally hating life. Anyyyyyyyyways.... Rib samplers of 3 were available at each booth for $8. Important to note, you had to buy tickets in order to buy food. Kind of annoying when festivals do this as it seems like a big waste of time but oh well. My friend and I stuck to trying the ribs and didn't venture much further than that at the food booths. We found Chicago BBQ Company to be the most flavorful and a couple others we tried who I shall not name were dry and didn't pack a punch. They had 13 rib vendors and 16 vendors of other things. Black Dog Gelato was there and that's one of my favorite ice cream spots! For $6 we tried a very unique vanilla sundae with pineapples, oatmeal raisin cookies and BBQ sauce. It was madness but strangely worked! We enjoyed the bands while at the fest and there was a good amount of seating. However the tables were pretty disgusting. People are pretty gross not cleaning up after themselves. One cute and funny thing is they have baby wipes everywhere for cleaning up. So smart! Ribfest could be laid out a bit better. There were huge bottlenecks of people and it was quite hard navigating around. Not the worst in terms of Chicago fests I've seen, but it was a bit crowded. And people! Why are you bringing your giant dog and your giant baby stroller to the festival!? Then suddenly stopping for 5 minutes in the middle of flowing traffic causing people to almost walk right into each other. I love babies and love dogs - but if you're going to bring one or both to a street fest, please be mindful of those around you. The money went really fast at Ribfest! Between my friend and I we spent $40 on his beer, 3 rib samplers, water and the Black Dog ice cream sundae. Not to mention the $20 entrance for the two of us. They call it a donation, but I've been to enough fests to know the entrance fee is not a donation. Why these things don't call it an entrance fee being given to a charitable organization, I don't know...because it simply is not optional. So - $60 spent - we weren't completely full - however we did enjoy our time at Ribfest! read more

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I'm not a ribs-eating kinda girl, but I sure do love Ribfest. It's full of so much good food and a genuinely kind crowd, so it just makes for a really fun time. Tickets are $1 a piece. Ribs samplers are typically around 5-8 tickets, whereas full racks can go up to 25 tickets. Aside from the ribs (which the BF loved, but I can't really speak to) there are a TON of other options. Tacos, nachos, mac & cheese, elotes, funnel cake, ice cream (from both Crave and Black Dog Gelato), and so much more. I left highly satisfied with a full belly! There are free samples of juices scattered around, plenty of seating and standing table options, and pretty clearly defined lines for every booth. My only qualm about Ribfest is that they are VERY pushy with their donations. I used to live right on Lincoln Ave, and it was a struggle to get through without paying even though I LIVED in the middle of Ribfest and needed to go in and out for day to day life. They need to relax with that just a little bit, but again a very small issue. I love me some Ribfest :) read more

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Went yesterday (8/20 at 2pm). It was already somewhat crowded but still walkable. Straight to the point: Food got expensive ..real fast. I tok 60 dollars thinking that was more than enough. It was..but just barely. What booth to try: Murphy's was by far the stand out. First I tried 2 of the "award winning" booths. They had 2 booths that had a bunch of "award winning" banners posted up on their booths. Tried both and neither impressed. I was walking by Murphy's, saw there was no line, and decided to try a half slab of their ribs. They were amazing. Fall off the bone and tender across the entire rib (not just the fatty part). I was surprised they had no line whatsoever. Definitely stop at their stall. read more

My first Chicago festival and I'm a native?!? And what's more, I don't even like ribs! Lol. Really enjoyed myself yesterday. We went on a Sunday afternoon and lucked up on great, free street parking only half a block from the entrance. There are plenty of ticket booths throughout, so don't feel pressured to wait in the long lines at the entrance. I love that the ribfest isn't just for rib eaters. I enjoyed the Best Damn Rotisserie Chicken (no really, that is the name on the menu) of my life from Rockin Rodizio! Hubby had some great ribs from Robinson's (his first time) and loved them. We also had taco in a bag, fried Oreos (YUM), pina coladas, and fried green tomatoes. I didn't think we'd get so full so fast, but the portions were great! We'll definitely start making this an annual visit. Thanks to my fellow Yelpers for bringing it to my attention that it's not just for red meat eaters. You guys are the real MVPs :) read more

Ribfest Chicago - Fried Oreos. Yum! - Local Flavor Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The summer season of festivals have officially kicked off in my book starting with the Ribfest Chicago in the Northcenter 'hood. Despite the lousy weather, the the crowd and the food were good. Upon entering the fest, you receive the listing of the bands and the food participants. Then the fun begins..... roughly 15 rib vendors and another 15 festival food vendors were there for the choosing. The prices are very reasonable for this event. The Fireplace Inn and Robinsons #1 Ribs were the best. Before you leave this fest, make sure you stop at the Black Rock Pub for the Maple Bacon Donut Holes..mmmm good! I should mention not a good place for dogs, strollers or vegetarians. Street parking is extremely tight - try public transportation. read more

Ribfest is definitely a go for those who are lovers of them. The prices however have definitely gone up a little. Samplers used to be 5-8 and now they are 8 bucks all across the board and it's only for 3 tips. Half a slab - $15. Whole slab - $25. Clearly it's a fest that you now need to save up for lbvs. Of course there are other foods there, as well and the live music never disappoints. $10 to get in. Oh and towards the close, you may score free food. Happy Festing! read more

This festival was good years ago. Now, like many street festivals it's become way overcrowded and overrated. Went at 4 pm today and every vendor had at least a 30 minute wait so how many tastings are you realistically going to get in? The place we tried was almost out of ribs and what we did get was extremely tough to the point we felt like wild animals trying to rip through the meat. This festival has outlived its prime which was probably ten plus years ago. read more

$5 donation goes towards a good cause! Anyway, I want to sing a little ditty called "Where have all the good ribs goooone?" Plus points for guessing which song and artist that was. Actually, please don't. I have no idea how Paula Cole got into my subconscious. Yes, indeed, where the good ribs at, RibFest? Cy's (Restaurant closed for some unknown reason. RIP), Gale Street Inn (Where the hell were you?). So we had to deal with a super mediocre, overly saucy, not-smoky-at-all rib from Brown Trout, who has a restaurant right on Lincoln where RibFest is. It's like having to let the wimpy kid play ball because his rich dad bought him that shiny new bat that you like. Chicago Joe's ribs were better than Brown Trout, but I felt like the meat was overcooked. Sauce was good though. Entertainment was very good- Robbie Fulks, Mucca Pazza, and Ike Reilly & the Assasination. All were great Festival bands, but nothing will match the year they had Nada Surf there. Would like to see the occasional out of town band rather than all-Chicago talent. Ticket system: WHY?!? For the love of all that's holy, WHY?! There were two beer vending areas that had no ticket vendor anywhere near them- hence they were completely empty. Of course the ticket vendors are put in the middle of all the action on Lincoln, making a huge Cluster F. At least put ticket vending next to all of the beer vendors if you really need to use the ticket system. Still, I had a good time, but seems to be getting to be less of a great Fest from year to year. read more

Finally got a chance to try out this festival as for years I have been wanting to check it out, but friends would always flake out @ the last minute. I came with a group of 6 on the first day (Friday) and it wasnt too bad crowd wise when we got there, but by the time I left it got pretty packed...nothing wrong with that as ribs always brings peeps together. I made sure I stayed away from places I have eaten @ before (Smoke Daddy being the only one). I dont remember the places I tried, but the ribs were awesome at the 2 places I went to. One place had pretty good mac & cheese, but I squirted some bbq sauce on it to set it off right! I washed my meals down with 6 ticket strawberrita by bud light...8% alcohol content homie! Had a good time and can see myself adding it to my festival rotation every year. read more

I don't get how you have someone supposed to be monitoring the VIP area and people are constantly hopping over the gate and using the restroom and walking right out past the entrance monitors. What did we pay $50 for a gated area for??? read more

I think I got her at a good time, which was around 2 -3 pm. It was crowded, but still comfortable enough to walk around pretty freely. The line up of restaurants was awesome! Even though there were plenty of "non-rib" restaurants, i stuck with whoever was claiming had the best ribs. I pretty much just went around grabbing a bunch of the samples 3-bone deal. Everything was super delicious! The place that ended up being my favorite was Bistro Pub. The cornbread was also delicious! My girlfriend and I really enjoyed our time here! read more

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I don't really understand all of the 3 star reviews for this festival. I thought it was awesome! I came with Lydia R and we had a great time. It was decently priced for a festival and extremely easy to get to off the brown line. The ribs I had were fantastic (especially with the spicy sauce) and they had a variety of creative food there outside of the ribs. Examples include the loaded fries (they were great, normal fries can never compare now), pina colada drinks in the pineapple, bacon & sausage mac & cheese, and the list goes on. They also had carnival games here! I suck at darts but if I was better, I definitely would have tried to win a stuffed animal! And the best of all is the country music stage that they had. I LOVE country music, especially the more modern stuff and Jared and the Mill killed it. They were the band that we watched and they did a fantastic job. Even though it was raining, people stuck it out to be here because of the great food, music, and atmosphere that the people that set up this festival created. I had a blast and so far it's my favorite festival I've been to this summer. read more

Ribfest Chicago - Local Flavor Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I had a really good time here or maybe it was the circumstances lol. My date decided to surprise me and we ended up here. Truth be told i don't like ribs, but fear not they have something for everyone. First off public transportation is the way to go and super easy to take getting there. The fest is pretty much right off the brown line. They asked for a donation of $5 a person, but we just gave $5 total and kept it moving. I absolutely LOVE funnel cakes and this fest didn't disappoint. We shared funnel cake, tater tots, and got a bratwurst. All were delicious and non rib related. After $30 worth of food we were stuffed. This fest is actually reasonably priced and you get your money's worth. They have a band as well and right around the corner from Aldo...win/win. Lol read more

Ribfest Chicago - There's more than just Ribs! - Local Flavor Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Ribfest opened at 11am, and my friends and I arrived at 12:30. We found parking easily, it wasn't crowded, and we figured we could lounge around and easily get some eats. Nope. Almost EVERY booth we went to wasn't ready to serve food. It's an hour and a half in...WHY AREN'T THE RIBS READY, people?! We munched on some curry fries and got beer at a local bar since it was obviously cheaper to do that then spend $6 on a 8 oz. cup o'beer while we waited for vendors to get their act together. It was nearly 2pm until we got anything good (ribs, deep fried + chocolate covered bacon, bacon sausage). What we did eat was pretty delicious. By 5:30pm, most vendors were either only selling sample sizes of ribs or were completely out. ...The heck?! WHY ARE YOU OUT OF FOOD 4.5 hours before the fest ends?! I was glad to get the eats that we did, but it was overall disappointing. Not sure I'll attend next year...or if I do, will definitely get there around 2 or 3 and eat to my heart's content before vendors run out. Gahhh. read more

Ribfest Chicago - Local Flavor Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Let me start off by saying that if the rib samplers cost less (5 tickets, $1/ticket,) I give four-and-a-half stars. My main motivation for going was that I live 5 blocks away. I went for the ribs and was glad that I could try samples of the different restaurants that were there. I got there about 45 minutes after opening (11? Noon?) There were a good deal of people milling about. If memory serves me right, there were 8 or 9 vendors offering ribs, if not more. Here is what I found of the ribs: Chicago BBQ - tender, uses sauce for flavor. My favorite. Irish Bistro - They add Jameson whiskey to their sauce which gives it a bit of a bite that lingers afterwards. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender. Delicious. I would buy the next time I ate there w/o hesitation. Robinson's #1 - Its been a few years since I had theirs. Aside from the hot sauce added to the BBQ sauce, it didn't really stand out. Cordis Bros - Drier meat, flavored with a rub. Impressed me the least. There was a vendor offering black cows (root beer float,) deep fried Twinkies, snickers an milky way bars. You could also get a hot dog stuffed inside a twinkie. Funnel cakes, beer, salads, limited starches, ice cream from 2 (3?) vendors. There were a few arts and crafts booths, the knockoff sunglasses, the PlayStation trailer, RCN, AT&T and a few local organizations. It took a couple hours to peruse (since you couldn't move any faster) the tents, get some meal and dessert. I'd come back next year if I don't mind spending the money for the variety of ribs to sample. read more

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Wow was I underwhelmed by this event. Was it because I have turned into a foodie since moving here 5 yrs ago? Was it that the lack of wet naps seemed obvious and confusing? Ill never know. BUT I can tell you that the BBQ here was just ok. My favorite thing at Ribfest was the turkey tips? That doesn't make any sense, but it was.. I know, sad right? Well imagine my disappointment then. Regardless, its a street fest, has wine samples, and tons of food. 3 stars. read more

It's a SHAM!!! Multiple places ran out of ribs. How do you run out of ribs at something called RIBFEST? The places that did have ribs had ridiculously long lines. I don't know if it's like this every year, but I don't care to go back and find out. read more

Crazy how the temperature fluctuates in Chicago. 2011 - Chilly, drizzily, a pleasant walk in the sea of hot grills and smokers. 2012 - Sunny, hot, sweaty. Rotisserie pig heads. Not that has anything to do with Ribfest itself, but I thought I mention it. However, since we're talking about last year and this year, it appears there's less food booths in 2012. I come here to eat and boy there's more than just ribs, there's other heart clogging bad foods to choose from - deep fried chocolate bacon/twinkie/oreo/snickers bar? Ribfest offers BBQ flavors not just in the city, but from the midwest. There is a difference of quality from food stand to the actual restaurant, the latter being the better, but convenience of the converging of meats has it's price. read more

They say two wrongs don't make a right, but it turns out that two rights don't make a right either. Let me explain. Ribs = Good. Fests = Good. Ribs + Fests = Ribfest = Bad. The push of the crowd was overwhelming. This fest really needs some more room to breathe. Sometimes, you'd want to pull over to a vendor, but the traffic kept you gridlocked or crowd-surf you past your destination. Very few open spaces to enjoy the messy ribs. I might have considered wearing a bio-hazard suit to protect myself from the slightly overly-served who had grip problems with their goods. More than anything, it just felt like there weren't enough RIBS at Ribfest. It could have been that whole crowd-surfing effect, but I kept wanting more and feeling like I had depleted my options. Or, if there were other options, the lines were so daunting that it hardly seemed worth the wait. I'll probably return in the future to Ribfest, donate my dolla' to the good neighborhood cause and hope for future improvements. read more

What a letdown! This year is my second Ribfest. I enjoyed last year's tasty selection of ribs and couldn't wait to go back. I'll happily donate $5 for Northcenter's community programs, so the admission fee wasn't a bother for me. What bothered me this year was the long lines, running out of ribs, tickets (dumbest thing ever), lack of excellent vendors, and SUV sized strollers. Every food stand and ticket booth had long lines which bottlenecked and clustered up the middle of the street. Just trying to get to food became impossible. We honestly waited an hour for a small slab of ribs and a pulled pork sandwich. Both of us wanted to try more, but the lines made it impossible and undesirable to. I managed to procure an oatmeal shake from Titzal that kept me full while waiting in line for my sandwich. In terms of the food and ribs, my fiance's Honey 1 BBQ ones were good as well as the pulled pork sandwich. We waited forever for those ribs that almost didn't come. I saw Titzal and tried my first oatmeal shake. It was delicious and filling. Thank goodness it was or I would have starved waiting in line. After getting our one and only selection of ribs, I was thirsty and had some awesome limeade from Mexican food vendor. I was disappointed that Gale Street Inn and Cy's weren't here this year. I'm probably going to regret bitching about the strollers because it's in my future. So here goes, the SUV sized strollers added to the clustered chaos of the festival as they further clogged up the streets. I know that there's a kids fest on the grounds, but wheeling strollers in the middle of drunken idiots as well as people standing in long lines for food is just annoying. It's in an SUV parked in a compact parking spot. Overall, this year's Ribfest is mere "meh" for me. Without Cy's and Gale Street Inn, the rib selection was just alright. The long lines and clusters of people on a tiny street made returning to the fest next year less than desirable. Honestly, the lines and clustered space were worse than Taste of Randolph which is somewhat easy to navigate in the afternoon at 3p.m. I love you Northcenter, don't make me quit you because of a poorly planned festival. read more

I like giving back to my community so when Laura Engle, who owns Angel Sales in the building where I work, asked me if I would like to volunteer, I said sure. My job was to pour beer in the south beer tent from 7:15pm until close on Friday, June 12. It was a lot of fun. The people I worked with made it bearable even though as soon as we poured the beer, it would be gone. A nice perk of volunteering was that I got to eat before my shift and hung out with Deborah F and Kyle L who were manning the yelp booth. They were both super nice and gave me a yelp bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes and you know what, it sure did come in handy. I had Robinsons boneless rib sandwich, Fireside's rib taste, and a combo of potato, cheese and meat perogies served with grilled onions, which were amazing. Then I saw that Tiztal was serving up their oatmeal shake and once they gave me a sample, I finally understood what was so amazing about it, and ordered a full size for myself. So refreshingly good and different. Loved the cinammon spice taste to it. All in all, I had a blast donating my time to such a wonderful community event, even though it did get super crowded towards the end of the night. read more

This review isn't really fair. I'm not a big fan of ribs and I don't like barbecue sauce. So why did I go to a rib festival? I'm not sure. To spend time with friends? Because there was beer? I'm still trying to figure it out. I was able to find some citrus chicken wings that were pretty good, but other than that I just stuck to beer. What really irritated me about this festival was the ticket system. I know why they do it, they don't want their vendors handling money. I get it. It still bugs me. I don't want to have to wait in line for tickets and then wait in line to get food. Plus, there's a $20 minimum on the ticket sales. I'm not sure how hard they enforce this rule, but the sign dictating the minimum irked me too. read more

This is my favorite street fest each summer. I love ribs and eating with my hands. I made a pig of myself and tried ribs from 7 places. I appreciated the sampler option rather than having to order a half slab. * Browntrout - gross ribs. They seemed like they were covered in tomato sauce rather than bbq sauce. * Mrs. Murphy & Sons - eh. After a less-than-stellar experience (read: ONE star review) from a terrible Mother's Day brunch, I was reluctant to try their ribs. However, my husband convinced me otherwise. Their sauce was good, but the meat was overcooked. *Chicago BBQ Company - nice, meaty ribs with tangy sauce. Tasty enough for me to be interested in going to their restaurant. *Chicago 41 - good sauce with chewy, tough ribs. I wasn't a fan. *Pitchfork - THE BEST RIBS - the sauce was tangy and had enough heat. I loved the sauce. The meat was tender and fall-off-the-bone and glorious. These ribs are from the former Cordis Brothers. I WILL be going to this restaurant. *Rub BBQ Company - smoky sauce with good flavor that was a bit too thin. Not enough meat on the bone, but tasty. *Bar-b-que Bob's - this place was intriguing because they had the longest line each time I came by. Finally, we waited in line. The meat was amazing. The sauce was very flavorful. However, they cooked them very slow and they tasted a bit like lighter fluid. They had enough promise, though, for me to want to go to their restaurant. Ok, so the review isn't a five star for this reason: last year, I was able to get a deep-fried-bacon-wrapped hot dog. This year, they weren't here. I don't like to be teased with a bacon-wrapped anything one year without being able to access it the next year. The weather this weekend was less-than-ideal; however, it kept the crowds under control. I was there in the rain; the rain won't keep me from eating ribs. This festival has a ton of port-o-potties that remained as fresh as a port-o-potty can be. I was disappointed that Hecky's and Gale Street Inn weren't at the festival. Smokin' Woody's is just down the street and opted to have the same deals at their restaurant as they would have had at the festival...without the hassle of having to haul their ribs 2 blocks down. Great job, Northcenter Chamber, on a fantastic event! read more

All the tepid reviews and forewarnings from friends that it would be a mob situation did not deter my curiosity over ribfest. Sure it's super crowded, you might get bbq sauce shoved into your back by a random stranger, or accidentally step on a dog, but...ribs! For festival prices, I thought $6 = 3 ribs, $11 = half rack, $20 = full rack of ribs was on the reasonable side, especially given that most places had pretty decent sized ribs for sample. My favorite place, out of half dozen rib places I tried, was surprisingly the Irish place. Fall off the bone, generously sauced, and piping hot off the smoker. 3 ribs of these babies make for a modest sized meal. The trick to not getting anxious at ribfest is to spend half your tickets on ribs when you still have the patience to fight the crowds, then go drink a couple beers at a nearby bar, then come back with renewed tranquility for more pushing the crowd and eating the ribs. read more

How I Survived Ribfest Chicago 2010 Go with a group of people that you're comfortable sharing food with. In this instance a group of siblings, spouses and cousin. That way, we could all share rib samplers and just get a taste of some of the different offerings without feeling like someone has to roll us down Lincoln once we're done. Unless of course you want it all for yourself, in that case, go for it! Find a spot and claim it as your own. Since my toddler nephew was with us, instead of having to walk up and down the street dodging folks,dogs and other stroller kids, we found a spot on the sidewalk and used it as our "base camp." Each of us would take turns bringing some food/beer back so we could enjoy it without crowding the main area on the street. So happy that Pitchfork was there because out of the 4-5 different places we tried. Pitchfork had the BEST ribs. Nice peppery flavor to the meat and a sweet/tangy sauce. Meat falling off the bone. The hubs went back for seconds for us to share. If Bar B Que Bob's comes back, get to them early. They ran out of ribs early (3pm!) and many folks we talked to earlier had said BBQBob's was pretty good. Skip the Smoke Daddy. That is unless you like your ribs to just taste like smoke. That's it, just smoke. Robinson's was OK, pretty average. And Mrs Murphy's was saucy--made the biggest mess with those. Another good reason to share--if you have a craving for sweet after all those ribs, the deep fried twinkie was yummy. Not very sweet at all, just a nice cake with a battered crust. The deep fried snickers was good too. VERY rich, I could only handle a small bite. Nice children's area with inflatable jumpy castles. Enough port-a-potties that there wasn't a long wait. Ribfest has a great location adjacent to a CVS--perfect for those (like my cousin) that needed some antacids. read more

I'm beginning to think that I am not a big fan of street festivals. I get so excited about them, and then they let me down big time. The Andersonville Midsommar Fest being the one exception - they somehow manage to keep it spacious enough so that you don't feel like you're constantly pushing through crowds to get anywhere. Great work, gays! As I always say, best to live near the gays - they know how to live well. Anyways, my fiance and I and a few friends decided to try Ribfest this year, and it was a complete pain in the ass. I don't like to have to work that hard to get my food and beverage. Stand in line to pay $5 to enter, stand in line to get tickets (which are a necessity if you want to purchase anything at the food stands), stand in oppressively long lines to get ribs. Stand in line to get your ID checked and get a bracelet, then stand in another line to get beer. All the while elbowing your way through wall to wall people. ACK! Way too many lines and people for this gal. I'm thinking they need to open up a few more blocks next year and spread this thing out a little. Seems that it has gotten too big for its britches. Ah well, won't matter to me, as my first Ribfest will likely be my last. OH the ONE redeeming thing was that TIZTAL was there with their freakin' OATMEAL SHAKES! I finally got to try one. Holy hell, was that great. They also had samples of their garlicy breakfast potatoes. Hope they scored some new business out of the fest. read more

For starters, at the door they scream "Five Dollars" and then whisper "suggested donation" and blocked the entrance so that everyone felt obligated to pay. Kind of crummy when it wasn't even really a charity that was receiving the suggested donations (as well as revenue from the event!) Way too crowded, it's impossible to move anywhere and even find where a line starts/ends. There was no place to eat, no way to really move anywhere with all of the crowds. It definitely did not help that people brought DOUBLE strollers to a street fest like this. You have to wait in line to get in to Ribfest, then wait in line to get a over 21 wristband, and then wait in line to buy tickets, AND THEN wait in line to get food/drinks. All of that waiting is not made any better by how expensive the food is. $6 for a 2-3 rib sampler? Seriously?! Basically all of the places at Ribfest have actual locations in Chicago where you can go and eat much more reasonably. I love ribs, bacon, and pretty much everything that falls under the umbrella of meat. Which is why I was so disappointed that it was so awful. I think that Ribfest could be one of the better festivals if it was better managed. read more

Hmmm...I remember Ribfest being funner in years past. There seemed to be a lot less vendor booths this year. And HOLY MOLEY it was crowded - even at 9 pm! It was still a pretty good time with the rockin music and the tasty ribs. Although this year I didn't have any ribs (went to Pita Inn for lunch earlier), I still recommend the Celtic Crown booth for the best deal (I think it was 6 tickets for 5 bones or somethin?) of tasty ribs and OMG tater tots! Very pricey if you want to sample more than one booth, you could easily just go to one of the local restaurants and eat a rib dinner there without having to deal with the pushy crowds and choking on all the smoke *ack*. I think that's why we decided to just go out to eat instead. The plan for next year - Bring lots of $$$ and stay away from the band areas if you don't like to be smooshed by your fellow neighbors. read more

Ribfest is probably my favorite Chicago neighborhood festival. I might be a little bit biased because it's in my neighborhood, but come on, it's RIBS! My friends and I stuffed our faces with ribs, pulled pork, pulled lamb, corn on the cob, and funnel cakes, then came back to do it again on the second day. I don't think I've ever gone back to a festival two days in a row before this. 4 stars, but it would get 5 if the organizers added a rib-eating contest. North Center Chamber of Commerce, are you listening? read more

Rib fest is like any other fest in the City of Chicago. It gets crowded, it's over-priced and sometime during the night you're going to see someone puke behind a port a potty. This is in my opinion one of the better fests. The weather was hot and sticky both nights and it was super crowded. Minus one star for the extra hammered guy that thought it was a good idea to scream at the top of his lungs letting everyone know how wasted he was every two minutes. Hey, please go home and beat off a couple times get some of that aggression out. What I was most impressed with was how fast the beer line moved. I never really had to wait more than a couple minutes for a beer, which is key on such a hot day. The food lines were a little tougher to deal with, but the booths I did try were pretty good. The best of the bunch was Gale Street Inn, but I figured that was a given. I have to give a shout out to Celtic Crown though their ribs were surprisingly meaty and tasty, plus they had tater tots for only 3 tickets. I think they should expand this fest another block if possible I think that would help the crowd situation. read more

I want to say straight from the start that I love 90% of Ribfest and wanted to give it a 4 or 5 star rating, but there was one glaring problem. The food: great! The bands: really, surprisingly good! The professional rib-eating competition that they added this year: so, so good! BUT: I know there are mixed opinions about charging money (even if it is an "optional donation") for a street festival that takes place in a public location. Generally, though, I feel that it is worth it and it adds to the local economy, so I have no problem with it. And the local economy angle is always how the street festivals like to spin the fact that they're charging money. But the thing that angers me to no end is that Ribfest claims to support their local economy and yet they let Annheuser have a stranglehold on supplying beer. Seriously, people?! Do they realize how many amazing breweries are located in the greater Chicago area? Support small and local breweries by asking Chicago street festivals to serve beer that doesn't taste like water and is made locally. read more

I was sorely disappointed by this festival. It was obviously nothing more than a ploy by the Northcenter Chamber of Commerce to get people to spend way too much money on very little substance. I assumed that if they want you to rate the different ribs they need to do two things. First, lower the price of a sample. Three-bucks-here-and-three-bucks-there plus four dollar per drink adds up fast. And second, encourage each vendor to offer something unique or at least different from the guy next door. I've had tastier and more tender baby back ribs at national chain restaurants. Bonus for next year. Have a rib eating contest. I would sign up in a second. read more

I'm very appreciative of the booth (Delicious Cafe) that had vegan "ribs". Otherwise I would have no business visiting an event called "Ribfest"! The seitan ribs were pretty tasty; even a non-vegan buddy thought they were ok. I wish they put more sauce on mine though. The beer was expensive for not having a good selection. The quality of the merchandise booths was minimal... A couple nicer handmade-jewelry stands and that's about it. Well, the Sugar Bear booth was bizarre to see. But how can you be selling rib-sized animals to a crowd of drunken carnivores? Doesn't make sense to me, even if the little critters were cute. Overall, I don't think I'd go out of my way to visit Ribfest again. There are other neighbourhood fests with better offerings. read more

This year was hella busy despite the bad weather. Actually the last few years it's been getting more and more busy, obviously too many people know about this awesome event. This was my first Rib fest without eating!! It was all about the kids. In years' past I'd seen the kid's area but never had reason to enter. Took the nieces and nephew this year, all wee ones and super excited to be at a Chicago festival. Dude, these festivals really know how to work your wallet. $5 cover into Rib fest and remember that is a donation and they can't force you to pay it. Kids get in free with parents. Now for the rub, kid's area entry is a $5 charge per child. You know, there should really be a backdoor into the kids' area for those that have no plans to eat. Although most parents I met or saw within these confines were liquored and or BBQ'd up. The fest management did a great job by having a beer tent next door to the kid's area. Great people watching. Little kids are just like adults. Had the camera on standby, so got some great photos of the kids flying off slides and jumping around in those "Jumpy things". The fest offered many of those inflatable jumpy things, like a castle with huge wall climbs and slides, scary train, Spongebob jumpy with slide, etc (If you've seen one of these things, that's what I'm talking about.) Thank goodness I didn't see any kids pushing or shoving, most were polite but doing their own thing. I have to special mention one of my nieces Abbie and my nephew Joshua. Inside the huge castle jumpy area there was a small girl that was crying because she couldn't figure her way out. Children had to climb up maybe four feet up to a slide. The steps on this wall were like pockets, but with the magnitude of kids flying through there some kids were getting washed to the sides. Abbie is 9, has always been helpful, she stopped and asked the little girl if she needed help then helped her over. During and after bigger kids pushed through and passed them. Then, not even a minute later I see little Joshua that is age five coming around and another kid younger than he is standing there unsure whether he can make it up. Joshua told the kid not to worry and that he'd help. Joshua, step by step pushed the kid up, leg after leg. Again, bigger kids were nearby but doing their own thing, pushing passed. These kids are effing awesome kids, so proud. In the last few years prices just continue to rise more and more, (Management) please get a handle on that. While the prices are soaring; one awesome detail to look for are that some regulars and some newbies will offer a fair amount of tasters for a competitive rate. Sometimes it's a lower cost and better value. You just have to walk the fest back and forth and be willing to brave that line. Some vendors, the cost is so high, I make a note of their offer and then decide per reviews to visit their location. For $5 entry, it's a great deal. Blows the socks off of Lakeview fest and their $10 entry charge. read more

It was only one year ago when I swore off Ribfests and similar fests. Anyone who knows me understands I lack certain disciplines. When asked to meet some friends at Ribfest I immediately said yes. I was in need of instant gratification and was on my way. The previous year Smoke Daddy and some other rib were good, this was not the case this year. We were there much later and all the decent foods were long gone, all that was left was briny, mealy really awful ribs. They were awful! Everyone. The only thing I enjoyed for my efforts of destroying $60 was a pulled pork sandwich from the first stall. Please if you see me at Ribfest or anything that rhymes with RibZest punch me in the balls and poke my ears with long thin objects. read more