Taste of River North - 7.17.11

Sunday, July 17 started out like any other day. We were basically in recovery from The Chicago Challenge, the scavenger hunt that we had done the day before (more on that later). Our big task of the day was to make it over to our neighborhood street festival, the Taste of River North.

Wendy and I moved to River North from Lincoln Park after our first year of living in Chicago. This was a move made for financial reasons (we didn't feel we needed a second bedroom and we certainly didn't need a garage parking spot), but ended up having several other perks. It is much more convenient for both of us--Wendy and my workplaces are almost exactly one mile south and east of our place, respectively. We now have a doorman-- which offers not only a more secure living situation, but I also no longer have to break down any doors due to us locking ourselves out. We also have a huge food and wine market (Galleria Market) on the bottom floor. Needless to say we've enjoyed living in our building.

River North is an awesome neighborhood, to boot. Situated not too far from old site of the Cabrini Green this part of Chicago's downtown was somewhat of a no man's land (depending on what part of RN you're talking about) until as recently as the 90's. Some might tell you a little more recently than that. Now, however, it boasts the highest concentration of art galleries in the US outside of Manhattan, it's teeming with restaurants and clubs, and is a destination for people all over the city. We live in the western part of the neighborhood, which lies a safe distance from the more touristy part of the neighborhood (Hard Rock Cafe, RocknRoll McD's, Gino's) and maintains a good bit of originality. We rarely have to walk more than a couple of blocks to do our banking, pick up a prescription, or even to try a new restaurant. This is the type of thing (among many) that I will miss when we move back to Texas.

Neighborhood street festivals are the trademark of summertime in Chicago, and River North is no exception. After getting ourselves together on Sunday morning, we hit up our home neighborhood festival, Taste of River North, for the first time ever. It did not disappoint. The layout of the festival was different than any other one I've seen, with Kingsbury AND Erie housing a variety of booths in a T-shape (usually these are set up along one strip), all around Montgomery-Ward Park which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful parks in the city. Food vendors were from several hot spots in our neighborhood, including Moe's Cantina, Pie Guys, Zocalo, Erie Cafe, Citizen, and many more. Highlights included Zocalo's Sangria, Moe's Paella, and Hubbard Inn's Beet Salad. Live music was playing pleasantly (and not obnoxiously) while we ate, drank, and strolled.

There's really no better way to spend an afternoon.