Taste of Randolph 2026 Preview: We Walked It Before the Crowds Arrived
Taste of Randolph 2026 Preview: We Walked It Before the Crowds Arrived
Every summer there are a handful of Chicago street festivals that feel like unofficial holidays.
For us, Taste of Randolph is one of them.
Before the gates officially opened, Bella and I took a walk through Randolph Street to see what was being set up, what food vendors were returning, what was new this year, and whether the festival looked ready for another massive weekend in the West Loop.
Spoiler alert: it does.
We’ve been coming to Taste of Randolph for years. Part of it is supporting local restaurants and businesses. Part of it is the food. Part of it is people watching. But let’s be honest, a huge part of it is the music. Q101 consistently does a great job with its PIQNIQ programming and this year looks no different.
Walking the festival before opening gave us a chance to actually look at everything without fighting through crowds.
Some of the setups that immediately stood out included Goose Island, which brought its CTA-inspired L train car display back to the festival, along with a large footprint near the entrance.
Gibsons was preparing its popular filet sliders and jumbo shrimp cocktail.
Jubilee Juice had its smoothie station ready alongside chicken breast sandwiches.
Nia was back with what may be some of the most underrated skewers at the entire festival.
Hide + Seek had one of the more interesting menus featuring short rib, shrimp skewers, watermelon salad, and cheeseburgers.
The beer garden area was already taking shape, including Señorita THC Margaritas and an impressive two-story cabana club setup that will undoubtedly attract attention all weekend.
Goddess and the Grocer brought a menu with several vegetarian-friendly options including coconut chicken, lemongrass skewers, rainbow cake, tofu dishes, and sweet potato fries.
Nicholas High Quality Meats was loading up on festival favorites including pork and chicken kebobs, gyros, lamb burgers, and Greek sausage.
Blue Agave may have one of the most ambitious menus this year with octopus, birria tacos, birria ramen, taquitos, nachos, chips and salsa, and chicken rice bowls.
Kama continued doing what Kama does best taking Indian flavors and reimagining them through dishes like chicken tikka masala calzones, spicy gnocchi, sweet potato chaat, and samosas.
Mac’s Deli kept things classic with Chicago-style festival staples including hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, beef brisket, and Maxwell Street Polish sausages.
Alhambra Palace was serving Mediterranean favorites including hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, tabouli, kofta, and vegetable skewers.
Gutenberg had burgers, German pretzels, bacon fries, truffle fries, and sweet potato fries ready for the inevitable carb enthusiasts.
Pitaki featured spicy feta and crisps, hummus and crisps, chicken gyros, and lamb gyros.
Carbon brought steak sliders, chicken parmigiana sandwiches, and truffle fries.
Gangnam Market had one of the more visually interesting setups, including a branded mini car display.
Cone Ice Cream was preparing frozen chocolate bananas, root beer floats, patty melts, fruit-o-tinis, and plenty of ice cream options.
Tullamore D.E.W. had one of the cleaner liquor activations on the grounds, while Celsius was building out a large pop-up presence nearby.
Looks like a kids zone too but nothing was setup for that yet.
At opposite ends of the festival grounds, Stella Artois and Q101 each had major stage and entertainment areas ready for the weekend crowds.
Music Schedule
Friday
• Joyce Manor
• Action/Adventure
• Action Perez
Saturday
• The Happy Fits
• Out In Front
• Inept
• Fueled By Emo
• Yada Yada
• One For The Ditch
• Naked Brunch
Sunday
• Matt Maeson
• Jakob’s Castle
• Night Moves
• Liquid Soul
• Pleaser
• Neptune’s Core
• OK Cool
First Impression
The food looks strong. The beverage activations are bigger than usual. The sponsor footprints are impressive. The music lineup is solid.
And this is all before the first beer gets poured.
We’ll be back throughout the weekend to see how everything actually tastes once the grills are fired up, the bands hit the stage, and Randolph Street turns into one of Chicago’s biggest summer parties.
For now, Bella approves of the walk-through, and that’s usually a pretty good sign.
One thing did make us laugh.
Prince Street Pizza didn’t appear to have an official Taste of Randolph booth this year.
The solution?
Apparently someone looked at one of the busiest pizza spots in the West Loop and said:
“You know what would improve crowd control? A fence and a row of portable toilets.”
We have absolutely no idea if that was intentional, but from the sidewalk it looked like the festival equivalent of putting your fastest player on the bench.
Prince Street will still have customers lined up as usual, proving once again that if people want pizza, a fence, a festival, and a strategically placed porta-potty are merely suggestions.
It almost felt like a very Chicago version of “pay to play.”
“You can absolutely participate…”
“…from behind the fence.”
Then again, if you’ve ever had Prince Street Pizza, you’re probably willing to navigate far worse obstacles than that.
