For Mass Consumption: What I Ate at the Taste of Chicago

Here's shocking news: I went to the Taste of Chicago today.

Yes, even though the Taste is smaller, shorter and a couple weeks later than it used to be, I still enjoy it, even if only for a single, sub-2 hour visit per year (at full bloom, I often went twice).

If you need a long preamble about my opinions on the Taste, and my dining strategies at it, please refer to my post about TOC from last year. Most of what I wrote then still holds true, and looking at it now, I ate some of the same things I did this year.

So while noting Phil Vettel's Taste Tips in the Tribune, which I largely heeded, here's a simple rundown of what I consumed for $24 = 36 Taste tickets:

Mongolian Beef Bao
from The Noodle Vietnamese
4 tickets
Rating: @@@@

Tortilla Encrusted Tilapia Taco with Tequila-Lime sauce and Red Pepper sauce 
from Carbon
4 tickets
Rating: @@@@@

Bhel Puri
from Bombay Spice
5 tickets
@@@@1/2

Chorizo, Frijoles and Cheese Empanada
from Beat Kitchen
5 tickets
Rating: @@@@

Rabbit Corn Dog
from Hearty Restaurant (a pop-up booth Wed/Thurs only)
5 tickets (Taste portion)
Rating: @@@@1/2

Mustard-Fried Catfish
from BJ's Market & Bakery
5 tickets
Rating: @@@@@

Watermelon 
from Dominick's
2 tickets
Rating: @@@@@

Chocolate Chip Crunch Dipper
from Eli's Cheesecake
6 tickets
Rating: @@@@1/2 (it seems to have shrunk from past years, yet costs more)

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Just in case anyone important -- in a civic sense -- sees this post, here's my previously-created suggestion for a Chicago marketing postcard: