What is summer without a local carnival or food fest? We might not be at the swimming pool at lot, but tasting food… you’ll find us! We paced ourselves this time and went during lunch on two separate days. It was so nice not stuffing ourselves to oblivion, but I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to taste everything. One day it rained, and vendors weren’t quite ready for the lunch crowd, but otherwise, it seemed like a successful “Taste”.

The Matcha Latte from TeaLula was great relief from the heat. It was like tasting green tea ice cream, melted. Mmmm… And, the Ryne Palmer (a.k.a. Arnold Palmer beverage) can’t be beat: fresh lemonade and fresh brewed tea. Uncle Dan’s, a new place in town, served up cheese pizza and cinnamon bread among other things. Both were tasty, but they ran out of calzones… bummer. I really wanted to try J.D. Kadd’s Smokehouse pulled pork sandwich. Since I’ve stopped working in the south suburbs, I haven’t found a sandwich that compares to the BBQ places near my old office. This one was nicely seasoned, not too salty, generous portions. One of our favorites was the Cajun Shrimp wrapped with bacon & remoulade sauce from Barbara at All on the Road. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the sauce had a nice kick. I’m such a sucker for cajun food.

Last year we tried the stuffed mushrooms from Cafe Zalute and were happy they were there again. The junk yard dawg fries at Dawg House Grill were a hit with our kids and us. What’s not to like: cheddar cheese, sour cream and bacon.  Lastly, we had a nice portion of  Salsaccia (Italian Sausage wrapped in a potato crust) from The 3 Olives. Never had this before, and while it was delicious, it was slightly salty for me.  Can’t wait until next year.