Wondering what to eat a Lolla? Lucky for you I ran around Chow Town yesterday and captured photos from almost every Chow Town stand. It turns out that strangers at Lolla are incredibly friendly and very willing to let food bloggers take photos of their food. The food vendors themselves were equally helpful. Thanks to everyone for the team effort on this post!
Chow Town has two sections (North and South), plus there is some food available at the Farmer’s Market. I’ll break it all down for you:
CHOW TOWN SOUTH
You can choose a single cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, or a rib eye steak sandwich at Billy Goat Tavern.
Looking for a sharable snack? BJ’s Market and Bakery Homemade Potato Chips are just the thing. Also on the menu: a Turkey Burger with Beer Battered Onion Rings, BBQ Chicken Tenders, and Fried Bacon Mac and Cheese.
Chubby Wieners is serving up the Chubby Wiener, a Veggie Dog, and Cheese Fries.
Connie’s Pizza is a staple at all Chicago festivals, and they have Deep Dish Cheese, and Sausage Slices, Thin Crust Veggie Personal Pizzas, Boneless Chicken Wings, and Waffle Fries.
County Barbecue is serving Burnt End Brisket Nachos, Pulled Pork Sandwiches, and Chile Verde and Cheese Nachos.
Goddess & Grocer is offering some of the lighter items at Lolla with a Thai Chicken Wrap with Peanut Sauce, a Thai Tofu Wrap with Peanut Sauce, a Chicken Noodle and Veggie Bowl, and Curly Fries available.
Graham Elliot Bistro is home to the most iconic Lolla food: the Lobster Corn Dog, which is a generous amount of lobster, coated in typical corn dog breading. You can order Truffle and Parmesan Popcorn too.
Leghorn Chicken has a Fried Chicken Sandwich available in both original and spicy, plus and Organic Kale Salad. (The original is on the top and the spicy is on the bottom).
The Original Rainbow Cone is serving its namesake rainbow ice creams in cones and cups.
Owen + Alchemy Cold-Pressed Juice has a trio of juices available. Grabbing one of these juices to drink between beers might be the best way to prevent the dredged Lolla hangover that is oh so easy to get when it is so steamy outside.
Publican Quality Meats has Jalapeño Cheddar Bratwurst, Andouille Sausage, and Beer Bratwurst.
Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs is the only vendor that serves fries with their sandwiches. They have four choices available: BBQ Pulled Chicken, Chicken Tenders, BBQ Angus Burger, and a Boneless Rib Sandwich.
Tank Noodle isn’t serving noodles, instead they have a Chicken Banh Mi (pictured), Satay Chicken Wings, Grilled Corn on the Cob, and Egg Rolls.
Tuscany has Italian Beef Sandwiches, Italian Sausage Sandwiches, Chicken Parmigiana Sandwiches, and Toasted Ravioli on the menu.
CHOW TOWN NORTH
Cheesie’s Pub and Grill is selling three different grilled cheese sandwiches: the Caprese, the Popper (pictured), and the Tenderizer, and Tater Tots and you can top with a choice of cheese sauce and bacon.
Dia De Los Tamales is selling individual tamales, and pairs of tamales that you can turn into a combo meal for $3 adding Cuban Style Black Beans and Spicy Corn Salad. They have Cuban Slow Roasted Pork, Buffalo Chicken, Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese, and Spicy Black Bean and Corn Tamales. All are gluten free, one two are vegetarian, and one is vegan. They also have house made chips and salsa.
Do-Rite Chicken Sandwiches has Fried Chicken Sandwiches available in both original and spicy, and Hand Cut Fries. I tried this, devoured it, loved it.
Edzo’s Burger Shop has Cheeseburgers, Bacon Cheeseburgers, and big cones of Fries that can be served plain or seasoned with truffle and parmesan.
Franco’s Ristorante was offering BBQ Bacon Sliders, a Nutella and Gelato Ice Cream Sandwich, and (drumroll please) Caramel Coated Bacon and a Stick, which my friend Emily was very excited to try.
Franks ‘N’ Dogs had The Southerner, a pork loin sausage with corn bread, cherry bourbon bbq sauce, and scallions, a Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese Dawg, Truffle Mac ‘n’ Cheese, and Triple Truffle Fries.
Kamehachi is serving California Crunch Rolls, Summer Shrimp Rolls, Chicken Teriyaki Sandwiches, and Edamame.
Labriola has Classic Italian Sandwiches, Sausage & Pepper Sandwiches, and Tater Tots.
Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria has slices and whole pies of Cheese, Sausage, and Pepperoni Pizza for sale. Mr. Malnati himself very kindly posed for this photo. Seriously, everyone was so nice.
MBurger has Cheeseburgers, Double Cheeseburgers, and Fries.
Pizano’s Pizza and Pasta is offering Deep Dish Pizza in three varieties: Cheese, Sausage, and Pepperoni.
Reggie’s has Veggie Burgers, Giant Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Mac and Cheese, and Fried Pickles. I ate the mac and cheese and it was wonderful cheesy deliciousness.
The Crave Bar would likely be the fastest way to get ice cream since the bars are packaged and ready to go – no scooping required. I discovered these treats at the Windy City Smokeout and let me explain: the stick is a pretzel and has been coated and caramel and chocolate, and then a square of ice cream is added on top. Yes. Please.
The Smoke Daddy has Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Pulled Chicken Sandwiches, and BBQ Chips. For $2 you can add chips to the sandwich.
Tsamma Juice has Watermelon Juice and Slices of Watermelon.
Windsor Ice Cream Shoppe is scooping Chocolate Chip Ice Cream on Waffle Cones, Brownie Sundaes with Hot Fudge in a Waffle Bowl, and Chocolate Dipped Frozen Cheesecake on a stick.
Wow Bao has their signature Hot Asian Buns filled with Mongolian Beef, Teryaki Chicken, BBQ Beef, and Vegetables. They have Chicken Potstickers too.
FARMERS MARKET
La Boulangerie has a French Dog and Pepperoni-Cheddar Baguettes, Chocolate and Ham and Cheese Croissants, Plain, Chocolate and Apple Beignets, and Butter Sugar and Chocolate Crepes.
Puffs of Doom (great name) has both sweet and savory cream puffs. The Savory can be filled with Bourbon BBQ Pork, Bacon Ranch Mac and Cheese (pictured), Sausage Potato Beer Cheese, Jalapeño Chicken Popper, Black Bean Cilantro Lime Enchilada, or Spinach Artichoke. The Sweet can be filled with Salted Caramel Chocolate, Banana Coconut Nutella, Peach Cobbler, Oreo, or Peanut Butter Cup. They have Ice Cream Puffs and Boozy Lollipops too.
Brunkow Cheese, which I discovered recently at Bar Takito, is serving grilled cheese – straight up. It’s cheese that has been grilled. You can get it drizzled with Black Rum Maple Syrup, Hot Pepper Jelly, or Pineapple Chipotle Syrup. They have Caprese Salad too.
DA BEER GARDEN
Da Brats is located in the Beer Garden and they are serving up
There you have it. Go eat (and rock) your hearts out Chicago.
In case you are wondering about the music, Paul McCartney was AMAZING last night. He’s a true entertainer and he seemed to be having a blast. He hit all the major Beatles songs, and even brought Britney from the Alabama Shakes out to sing Get Back with him (can you even imagine being asked to perform with Sir Paul?!).