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Taste of Melrose Park, 2012, Aug 31-Sept 2



1000 N. 25th, Melrose Park

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Cant wait. This is my Taste of Chicago! Looking forward to the artichoke casserole and the arancini and the sfingi...

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I used to think the brain was the most important part of the body. Then I realized who was telling me that.

Been going all my life: come for the neigborhood, stay for the "punctuation."

How do they decide who gets the quotation marks? I can't tell if it's a negative (you call this crap "ravioli"?) or positive (the winner, and still champion: Ray "Boom-Boom" Mancini).

Thanks for posting this David. Melrose Park always takes a lot of pride in the Taste event. I have already staked out what I am going to get as well, starting with the sfingi.

For what it is worth, you have what seems like a map to the stands there. The Italian Sausage should start the north end of the western street of stands and is the west side up until Steak Teriyaki. Then the next stands are the east side of that street also listed from north to south.

The eastern street is laid out with the following stands and runs starting from Cheese Puffs to Meatball sandwiches, and finally Italian Lemonade to Cotton Candy. I know overly complicated, just walk the whole thing. I hope everyone has a good time, and please stop by and say hello.

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There's always room for fried bologna. - d4v3

I am so excited for this. Last year I was the pregnant lady who had a great time chowing down. This year I'll be one of the annoying stroller-pushers chowing down AND enjoying an adult beverage or two.

Gosh I love this festival. For me it's the Arancini (!!!), Sfingi, Horchata, many Cannoli to go and sometimes the fried bologna sandwich. I am generally disappointed that the ceviche stand isn't up and running when I go at lunchtime -- the one year I had it, I really enjoyed it.

Recently realized this weekend is also the "Taste of Polonia," which is just down the road for us. No where NEAR the culinary destination of the Melrose fest, but always fun. Surprised to see Waco Brothers playing there Saturday night.

Anyway, not going to be a good weekend for my waistline.

Any advice on parking?
I have a feeling it's gonna be swamped.

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The cake is a lie

We've always found parking on side streets east of the event. Going earlier increases liklihood of finding a space closer to the event.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Crushed that I'm missing this -- will be out of town and have never been before. Looking forward to seeing a lot of pics here.

From my understanding, David is correct. Also, they are running shuttles down 25th Avenue to the event from the area.

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There's always room for fried bologna. - d4v3

I always park on the side streets to the east of 25th (perhaps 5 or six blocks away). Street parking has been plentiful in my experience - especially if you don't mind walking several blocks.

Taste of Melrose Park 2012
Taste Hours
Friday--August 31st 5p.m. - 11p.m.
Saturday--September 1st Noon - 11p.m.
Sunday--September 2nd Noon - 10p.m.

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"Life is a combination of magic and pasta." -- Federico Fellini

I'll be heading out at about 11:40 (rain or shine) - should be there by 12:00 no problem.
If anyone's flaoting around my name is Joe - you can ping me on my cell at 708 804-0100 and I'll be happy to meet up w/ you for a sfingi!

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The cake is a lie

I found myself at Taste of Melrose Park yesterday during the rain. I was not real happy with the food as most of it was prepared a minimum of an hour in advance and help in chafing pans. Maybe the food would have been better if there had been huge crowds.

The cannoli and the sfingli were very good. The gyros and the artichokes were not very good.

Are these places all restaurants OR can anyone set up a booth? Some places looked like a commercial operation while others, not so.

Parking was NOT bad except that those of us very unfamiliar with the area had to figure out where.

The good part was that the brief time we spent at the festival allowed us to head over to Elmhurst and allowed us to spend a couple of hours at the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art.
http://www.lizzadromuseum.org/

Have you actually read any post about Taste of Melrose Park from the last several years?

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For what we choose is what we are. He should not miss this second opportunity to re-create himself with food. Jim Crace "The Devil's Larder"

As soon as we stopped at Siciliano’s, Linda invited us into the back for a sandwich, a beer and some of her cheesecake. My brother was along and he said he was too full to eat anything, but he yielded to Linda’s entreaties, had a fried bologna sandwich and was very glad he did. What he liked most about the experience was that it gave him a brief glimpse into the fine cast of characters that comes to ToMP every year.



The rain on Saturday hurt business, and as Linda reminded me, "one bad night can ruin your profits."

Make no mistake, though, the folks here make their favorite family foods for love of traditional chow and community. Most are happy to break even. No vendors (with the possible exception of the Sfingi sisters) makes much money at this event, but they come every Labor Day weekend to reconnect, to bust balls, and to enjoy the camaraderie of old neighbors who may or may not still live in the neighborhood.

I like having the Siciliano’s sandwich and just seeing Dom “Big Head” Difazio selling the lupini beans, the Rosa family with their signature tiramisu, and Corinne Areola Principe making her popular artichoke salad while wearing her dearly departed mother’s smock. These are all very familiar sights, and I see them just once a year. I treasure that opportunity and find the experience, somehow, reassuring.

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“We all have to stand before the kitchen gods.” Chef Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni

Made the stop last night. With the threatening rains the crowd wasn't too bad! Busy but not shoulder to shoulder.

Our stops for the night...

Louie Ariolas Artichoke Casserole - Recommended from a friend and My Bride proclaimed it very tasty.
Corz Kids Garlic Shrimp - Nice sized shrimp with an excellent butter garlic sauce. Leftover sauce was applied to the above for an extra kick.
Scatchell's Stuffed Melrose Peppers - Good. Filling a little flat/firm. Needed a little more rice. Very good marinara sauce.
MaMa D's Braciole Sandwich - Wow! HUGE flavor but the meat was tough.
Old Fashioned Fried Bologna - The standout of the evening. Fried just right with very fresh bread and the sauteed onions and mustard topped it off perfectly.

Places we wanted to try. Maybe next year?

Melrose Park Style Hot Dogs - How are these different?
Shanahan's Chicken Sausage Jambalaya
Iannelli's Panzerotti
Cillas Steak Teriyaki
Italian Stuffed Mushrooms
Frankie G's Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Very cool idea!

Sacred Heart Food Trays

Other...

Saw plenty of Ellos Funnel Cakes and Donut Holes (available by the dozen in an egg holder) floating around.

We like the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in July better. Not as many vendors but more of a home town feel. Most of the best food vendors are there also. Smaller crowds too.

Stayed for the American English (Beatles tribute band) concert and fireworks afterwards. Made for an awesome evening. Great weather too.

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"Make Lunch, Not War" ~ Anon

I went on Sunday and was glad for the good weather, although crowds seemed down (although perhaps this was just an issue of timing), but the quality was as high as ever for most of my favorites.

But I had a parking question. Many of the streets near the Taste have signs that say "For Residents Only" with some threatening tow-away. I finally found a block without this sign. Does anyone know if these are not enforced during the Taste or if there are legal places to park.

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Toast, as every breakfaster knows, isn't really about the quality of the bread or how it's sliced or even the toaster. For man cannot live by toast alone. It's all about the butter. -- Adam Gopnik

I will try to get you a more definite answer, but they did have a tow truck on standby for the area. Parking has become more scarce for a number of reasons in the area, and I know it is something Melrose Park is trying to address. While I cannot speak for the Village, I would speculate that if a complaint came in, that it is likely towed.

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There's always room for fried bologna. - d4v3

Honestly, never heard of Melrose Park before.