May 17--With bands like The Roots, Kongos, The Isley Brothers, Billy Idol and The Decemberists, the 2016 Taste of Chicago can boast of arguably the best musical lineup ever.
And this year, the food lineup looks especially strong as well.
Long decried for its overly familiar list of food vendors, Taste today announced that 20 new vendors, including six new food trucks, will be serving at the annual food and music festival.
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The five-day lineup (restaurants serving every day at Taste) will include plenty of veterans, among them BJ's Market Bakery, Bobak, Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill, Eli's Cheesecake, Franco's Ristorante, Iyanze, Lou Malnati's, Oak Street Beach Cafe and Robinson's No. 1 Ribs. They will be joined by Abundance Bakery, a long-established bakery in Bronzeville; Frannie's Cafe, which features hot dogs, Italian beef and grilled sandwiches; and Brazilian-inspired, meat-centric Texas de Brazil.
The pop-up lineup -- restaurants that will be at Taste for one or two days only -- features 17 new participants, including sushi bar Arami, burger specialist Brgrbelly, Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken, Jin Ju, MAD Social, Nana, Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread Wine, Pork Mindy's and Rojo Gusano.
At the press conference to announce the lineups, several new pop-ups were offering free samples. MAD Social handed out chicken-waffle-bacon skewers, Nana served especially meaty Cuban sandwiches and Pastoral impressed with its cone-in-a-cup creation of vanilla ice cream striped with chocolate and butterscotch sauces, and topped with aged Gouda cheese. (Sounds weird, I know; tastes great.)
Six new operators will join Taste of Chicago's growing armada of on-site food trucks. The newcomers are Auntie Vee's, Da Lobsta, Firecakes Donuts, The Happy Lobster Truck, La Jefa and La Patrona, in addition to such previous participants as Beavers Coffee + Donuts, Giordano's and Harold's Chicken.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was present for the event and later answered questions from reporters, including one who referred to Emanuel as "governor." After the laughter died down, the mayor explained the difference.
"Here," he said, "we pass budgets."
Taste of Chicago will run July 6-10 in Grant Park.
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.
