DOWNTOWN — This summer's Taste of Chicago will feature bites from nearly 70 restaurants, including 17 newcomers from all over the city.
City officials on Tuesday unveiled the restaurants coming to the big annual food festival running from July 5-9 in Grant Park. Admission is free and samples start at roughly $3 each. Tickets for food and drinks are sold in strips of 14 for $10.
"Taste of Chicago brings together a unique array of cuisines and cultural offerings, giving Chicagoans and visitors alike the opportunity to sample the greatest foods our city has to offer from both new restaurants and longtime favorites," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement.
The festival will last from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. July 5-7 and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. July 8-9. Music headliners include pop star Alessia Cara and legendary R&B group The O'Jays.
RELATED: Taste of Chicago's 2017 Headliners: Alessia Cara, Ben Harper, The O'Jays
The festival will once again feature pop-up restaurants from local celebrity chefs such as Parachute's Beverly Kim and John Clark and Paul Fehribach of Big Jones. Tickets to the "Celebrity Chef du Jour" cost $45 ($30 for July 8 brunch) and go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday on the Taste's website.
For the first time, the Taste will feature a "street art and graffiti alley" with live paintings by local artists, a "Stomping Grounds" with dance performances, a "SummerDance" with live music and a "March of the Puppets" daily procession.
Emanuel said at a press conference detailing the Taste on Thursday that such additions are a big reason the once moribund festival is continuing. More than 1.4 million people attended the Taste last summer, Emanuel said.
"When I became mayor people were saying to get rid of the Taste," he said. "Rather than throw in the towel, we reinvented it."
There will also be food trucks, a "spirit lounge" led by CH Distillery near Buckingham Fountain and a "Lifeway Foods Taste Kitchen" with demonstrations led by local chefs.
Here are the new restaurants coming to the Taste in 2017:
• American Glory
• Aztec Dave's Food Truck
• Ben's Bar Be Cue
• Bop Bar Truck
• Brightwok Kitchen
• Broken English Taco Pub
• Cheesie's Pub and Grub
• Doom Street Eats
• El Patron
• Hakka Bakka Indian Kati Rolls
• Just Salad
• Lawrence's Fish & Shrimp
• The Little Beet Table
• Seoul Taco
• The Cajun Connoisseur
• Ukai Japanese Restaurant
• Warm Belly Bakery
Here's the full Taste lineup:
Five-Day Restaurants
• Beat Kitchen
• Ben's Bar Be Cue (NEW)
• Billy Goat Tavern & Grill
• BJ's Market & Bakery
• Caffe Gelato
• Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill
• Chicago's Dog House
• Churro Factory
• Connie's Pizza
• Dia De Los Tamales
• Doom Street Eats (NEW)
• Farmer's Fridge
• Franco's Ristorante
• Frannie's Cafe Inc.
• Gold Coast Dogs
• Iyanze
• Kasia's Deli
• La Bomba Restaurant
• La Mexicana
• Lawrence's Fish and Shrimp (NEW)
• Lou Malnati's Pizzeria
• Miller's Pub
• Oak Street Beach Café
• O'Briens Restaurant & Bar
• Porkchop
• Punky's Pizza & Pasta
• Ricobene's on 26th Street
• Robinson's No. 1 Ribs
• Star of Siam
• Texas de Brazil
• The Eli's Cheesecake Co.
• The Fudge Pot
• Tuscany
• Ukai Japanese Restaurant (NEW)
• Vee-Vee's African Restaurant
Pop-Up Restaurants
• Brightwok Kitchen (NEW)
• Broken English (NEW)
• Dinky Donuts Inc.
• Garifuna Flava: A Taste of Belize
• Hakka Bakka Indian Kati Rolls (NEW)
• Jin Ju Restaurant
• Just Salad (NEW)
• MAD Social
• Pork & Mindy's
• Puffs of Doom
• Riva
• Rojo Gusano
• Seoul Taco (NEW)
• The Little Beet Table (NEW)
• Warm Belly Bakery (NEW)
• Yum Dum
Food Trucks
• American Glory (NEW)
• Auntie Vee's
• Aztec Dave's Food Truck (NEW)
• Beavers Coffe + Donuts
• Bop Bar Truck (NEW)
• Bruges Brothers
• Cheesie's Pub and Grub (NEW)
• Da Lobsta
• El Patron (NEW)
• Giordano's
• Harold's Chicken
• La Cocinita Food Truck
• Stan's Donuts & Coffee
• The Cajun Connoisseur (NEW)
• The Fat Shallot
• The Lifeway Kefir Shop