The Taste of Chicago

I fondly remember the first time my cousin and I caught the bus downtown to go to “The Taste” (The Taste of Chicago). We weren’t quite teenagers, so it was an exhilarating feeling to come downtown without adult supervision. We had purchased our strip of Taste tickets in advance at our neighborhood grocery store.

The highlight for me was The Original Rainbow Cone, Ice Cream Shop. I loved people-watching as I ate the cone, layered with five different flavors. It was interesting to navigate through the heavily crowded streets of Chicago to find your spot to eat.

Whenever we visited family in other parts of the world, there were always two things they knew about Chicago: the city’s nickname, “the Windy City,” and The Taste of Chicago.

The Taste of Chicago started in 1980 when Jane Byrne was mayor. It was a one-day event and took place July 4^th on the Magnificent Mile’s N. Michigan Avenue, from Ohio Street to Wacker Drive. Admission and all the smells were free, but if you wanted to try a new dish, you needed a coupon book for $2.50, which gave you 5 tickets to exchange for food and beverages from restaurants like Arnie Morton, Morton’s The Steakhouse.

Morton is often credited with the idea for The Taste of Chicago, modeled after New York’s now discontinued food festival, Taste of the Big Apple. Designed to introduce visitors to a variety of restaurants, the festival was a great success. The next year, 1981, The Taste moved to Grant Park.

The next few years, The Taste didn’t happen due to a lack of sponsorship. However, it returned in 1984, when Harold Washington was mayor, and expanded its dates to include live performances. Over the decade, The Taste grew, going from an 8-day event to a 10-day one. 

For a long time, the Taste happened around July 4^th, but that has changed over time, as Grant Park has come to host many other summer events. The Taste’s format and vendor lists have also developed to accommodate new food trends, such as food trucks. In September 2024, The Taste will feature neighborhood pop-ups, giving selected neighborhoods the opportunity to showcase their eateries.

In Special Collections we have creative ways of collecting Chicago food history and preserving the joys of summer and festivals. If you would like to see any of the items shared in this post or learn more about the library’s special collections, feel free to make an appointment.