Delicious deals at Taste
TASTE OF CHICAGO | Some booths offer deals to diners
At Robinson's No. 1 Ribs, you can get a half slab of baby-back ribs for $9.95.
At Taste of Chicago, rib-lovers will be able to get a little bit less than a half slab for $6.40, or 10 tickets -- the top price allowed.
At Taste of Chicago, rib-lovers will be able to get a little bit less than a half slab for $6.40, or 10 tickets -- the top price allowed.
"A bargain," says Charlie Robinson, owner of the popular Oak Park restaurant.
(Courtesy of City of Chicago)
* 1 sweet-potato biscuit from C'est Si Bon.
* 1 half-moon watermelon slice from Dominick's.
* 1 four-ounce slice of baklava from Pars Cove.
* 1 oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Potbelly Sandwich Works.
* 1 four-ounce pork-filled banana dumpling from Sabor Latino.
* 2 samosas from Arya Bhavan.
* 2 chocolate-dipped strawberries on a skewer from Chicago Chocolate Company.
* 2 chocolate-dipped ginger saffron cookies from Vermilion.
"A bargain," says Charlie Robinson, owner of the popular Oak Park restaurant.
This year's Taste runs June 29-July 8 in Grant Park. It will offer some good deals and some not-so-good deals, when you compare what you'll pay at the booths that restaurants operate at Taste with what you would pay if you just went to the restaurants.
A strip of 11 food tickets at Taste will sell for $7, or about 64 cents a ticket. Which means that the roasted, buttered corn on the cob, being offered for five tickets at the Dominick's, Abbey Pub and O'Briens booths, will cost Tastegoers the premium price of $3.20.
"We have to bring in the corn from California," says Abbey Pub's Tom Looney. "That's why it's a little more. But it's definitely worth it."
For those looking for a better bargain at Abbey Pub's booth, try the corned beef sandwich. At the pub, at 3420 W. Grace, it'll cost you $8.30, including tax. At Taste? Nine tickets, or $5.76.
Another good deal at Taste: the meatball sandwich from Connie's Pizza, at six tickets, or $3.84. That same six-inch sandwich would cost you $7.71, with tax, if you got it at the Archer Avenue pizzeria.
The same comparison for some other traditional Taste favorites:
• The chocolate-dipped frozen banana at Aunt Diana's Candy Makers booth: $3.20. At the Riverside store, it's $1.89 with tax.
• The four-inch Ricobene's breaded steak sandwich: $5.12 at Taste, while the nearest thing at the restaurant -- a six-inch version -- will run you $5.11 with tax.
• A pound of fresh-cut potato chips at the Harry Caray's booth: $5.12. The chips are free in the restaurant's bar. "Still, it's a mountain of potato chips," says Harry Caray's managing partner Grant DePorter.
• An Original Rainbow Cone: $4.48 at Taste, $3.75 with tax at the Beverly ice cream shop.
Some restaurateurs say they have to charge more at Taste.
"Inflation, shipping and gas prices -- everything is just rising so high now," says Helen Nixon, of Helen's, which offers two-pound turkey legs at Taste for 10 tickets each, or $6.40, compared with the $5 price at the South Side soul food restaurant.
"When I first started at the Taste 12 years ago, the turkey leg was five tickets," Nixon recalls.
The city takes a $1.50 amenities fee from each $7 strip of 11 tickets. That does not include sales tax, which Taste vendors pay separately. That doesn't leave much profit, some restaurant owners say.
Still, says Mike Stolfe of Connie's Pizza, "It's more about getting your name out there."
Since 1995, the city has required Taste food booths to offer smaller "taste" portions in addition to their regular offerings. This year, only Dominick's will have a taste portion for less than the $1.92, three-ticket maximum -- a 2.25-ounce bag of organic baby carrots for $1.28. At stores, that same bag costs 57 cents.