For three days, a sold out audience of 54,000 sweaty concert-goers packed into Chicago's Union Park to catch a glimpse of the 45 performers at Pitchfork Music Festival. With crossed arms and idly bopping heads, crowds weathered the intense summer rays with assistance from 16 local vendors, forming lines that would put the Taste of Chicago to shame.
Beer aside, Temptation Ice Cream was the clear winner of the weekend, with their cold scoops pre-packaged and ready to hand to the melting crowds. On board since the beginning, The Rice Table served up Indonesian dishes like bahn mi and satay (interestingly no rice dishes though). And lest we forget the rare treat of Cevapcici, whose catering set-up is only available at outdoor festivals, grilling up Baltic meats. As the case with most music festivals, all the dishes were extremely expensive and usually covered in dirt swept in from Union Park's baseball diamond.
While we didn't catch any musicians grabbing grub from outside the VIP area, Pavement lead singer Stephen Malkmus handed off his own dining rec at Chicago institution, Beef and Brandy, during his set: "Have you ever been to that place Beef and Brandy? I recommend getting the beef...and brandy." Astute.
With Lollapalooza just around the corner and Graham Elliot Bowles running the show, we're excited to see if Pitchfork will step up its game for next year. In the meantime, if you missed out on the vendors this year or are itching for another taste, don't forget to check out our Feast List of where you find them in and around town.
