A Hot Cup Review: The Taste of Chicago

Any fan of A Hot Cup knows the love for food that runs rampant throughout this blog. We even detailed as much with a nod to the Taste last year. With a return trip this past weekend, including Big D, Chabala, Briu and Hatevan, we'll roadmap the path taken during our glorious day in downtown Chicago.

The day started off, predictably, at Robinson's Ribs. It's become A Hot Cup tradition to begin with a boneless rib sandwich, and this year did not disappoint. There was a bit less rib than normal, but still enough to make a nice strong meal.

The next stop was another sandwich, this time of the Vietnamese variety. The Noodle Vietnamese Cuisine provided a hearty selection of quality Vietnamese offerings, but the big highlight was the Bahn Mi Vietnamese Sandwich. It's essentially stir-fry on a bun, but that Vietnamese beef is so good, you'll forgive the simplicity.

After two sandwiches, it seemed dessert was in order, but on the walk to some of the sweet stands, the temptation of a cheap burger was too much. Big D and A Hot Cup split said burger, so it only cost two tickets apiece, or a dollar each. Sadly, even that may have been too pricey. While A Hot Cup cannot recall the name of the burger or the stand, if you see one for four tickets, please avoid.

Fortunately, the sugary stuff was right around the corner. Or rather, straight ahead, at the Chicago Sweet Connection Bakery. While all of the goodies looked...well...good, A Hot Cup chose to cool off a bit with an Oreo Parfait. Whipped cream, crumbled cake, and Oreo bits make up quite an amazing dish, and it was gobbled down quickly.

Just in time, too, because the group was descending on Texas de Brazil. A new offering at the Taste, this place specializes in Brazilian cuisine (as if the name didn't give it away), but sadly, there were no gauchos with skewers here. There was quality food at a good bargain, as four tickets (taste portion) netted A Hot Cup two solid pieces of chicken wrapped in bacon. After our mouths reformed themselves (they had melted from delicious euphoria), we moved onward to find some more treats, albeit after a brief rest. Because hey, you do have to rest if you're going to be partaking in the eating like we did.

Disappointment struck when it was discovered Original Rainbow Cone did not have their Rainbow Cake Roll. After disappearing for several years, it made a triumphant return last year, only to be displaced once again in 2011. Chabala thought it was worth waiting for just the generic rainbow cone, but the rest of us knew better, and took our talents to the Dominick's booth to get the best deal at the taste: a 2-ticket 1/2 slice of watermelon. And these are huge slices to begin with, so half of one is still quite hearty.

As we took a break to play some games, this post will take a break to allow you to digest a little bit. If you haven't already made it out to the Taste, definitely do so, since there is plenty to chow down.