Popular Pop-Up Restaurants Return To The 33rd Annual Taste of Chicago Presented By WTTW11’s Check, Please!

2013-06-04 — /travelprnews.com/ — The 33rd Annual Taste of Chicago, July 10-14 in Grant Park, will once again include the popular new feature of Pop-Ups, restaurants that literally pop up for just a day or two. New this year, many of the restaurants will be on site for two days in a row and an additional Pop-Up booth will be added daily, offering even more dining options.

“The Pop-Up Restaurant feature was introduced at Taste of Chicago last year as a new way to showcase unique neighborhood restaurants and emerging culinary gems. The program was successful for many of them, and we’re thrilled to welcome them back along with some new additions,” said Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. “This year, the Pop-Up restaurants can participate in Taste of Chicago over two days, doubling their exposure at the event while giving Taste patrons a second chance at menu items.”

Taste of Chicago has once again teamed up with WTTW11’s Check, Please! and creator and Executive Producer David Manilow, who worked to promote participation and to curate the Pop-Ups. Check, Please! is seen locally on WTTW, Channel 11 and on wttw.com/checkplease.

“WTTW and our most popular local series Check, Please! are delighted to have a presence at Taste of Chicago again this year,” said Executive Producer VJ McAleer.  “We have always sought to engage Chicagoans in the wide variety of dining experiences the city has to offer. Our program’s partnership with this event takes that process one step further, bringing exposure to even more restaurants while giving diners the tactile experience of actually sampling the cuisine,” McAleer added.

New restaurants participating in the Pop-Ups program this year are: Hearty Restaurant, Punky’s Pizza & Pasta, Pecking Order, Taco Joint Urban Taqueria & Cantina, Terzo Piano and Kilwin’s Chocolates. They will be located on Columbus Drive.

Many new menu items will be available, too including a Cilantro Garlic Pulled Pork Sandwich from The Hearty Restaurant, Panades from Garifuna Flava, Elotes from Taco Joint, Mini-Lamb Burgers from Terzo Piano and a Garlic Fried Rice Chicken Bowl from Pecking Order.

Pop-Ups accept the same food tickets as five-day restaurants which are sold on site at six ticket booths in strips of 12 for only $8. Attendees may purchase the tickets in Dominick’s locations for only $7 beginning July 1-9; remaining ticket strips sell for $8 when the event opens.

The lineup of Pop-Ups is as follows:

Taste of Chicago is presented by the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and sponsored in part by ABC 7 Chicago, Aquafina, Blue Bunny® Ice Cream, Bud Light, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Transit Authority, Communications Direct, CLTV-ChicagoLand’s Television, Dominick’s, Eli’s Cheesecake Company, Gallo Family Vineyards, Humana, Illinois Lottery, KISS-FM, LaGrou Distribution System, Mazda6, Pepsi, Radio Disney AM 1300 Chicago, Shoreline Sightseeing, V-103, WGN-Television, WTTW 11’s Check, Please! and 93XRT.

The 33rd Annual Taste of Chicago is July 10-14 in Grant Park. (Taste of Chicago hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m., Wed. – Fri.; 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sat. and Sun.) For more information on the free admission festival, call 312.744.3316; TTY: 312.744.2964 or visit tasteofchicago.us. To plan your trip to Chicago, visit choosechicago.com. Join the Taste conversation on Facebook at Taste of Chicago and follow us on Twitter, @TasteofChi2013.

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The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is dedicated to enriching Chicago’s artistic vitality and cultural vibrancy. This includes fostering the development of Chicago’s non-profit arts sector, independent working artists and for-profit arts businesses; providing a framework to guide the City’s future cultural and economic growth, via the 2012 Chicago Cultural Plan; marketing the City’s cultural assets to a worldwide audience; and presenting high-quality, free and affordable cultural programs for residents and visitors.