Windy City Smokeout

The third annual Windy City Smokeout overtook Chicago this past weekend with three days of BBQ, drinks, and live country music. The fest is presented by Lettuce Entertain You restaurant, Bub City. It was my first time at Smokeout but it quickly became my favorite Chicago food fest I've experienced! If you've never been, you're definitely missing out.

The fest took place in a gigantic lot at Grand Street and the Chicago River. There was no shortage of fabulous food including BBQ from some of the best pitmasters and BBQ spots from across the US including Dinosaur BBQ, Pappy's Smokehouse in St. Louis, Ubons in Yazoo City, MS, The Salt Lick in Driftwood, TX, and Hogapalooza in Wynne, Arkansas. There also was a strong showing from local BBQ joints including Chicago Q, Bub City, Smoque, and Lillie's Q.

What were my favorites? Well, there were way more things I wanted to eat than I could fit in my stomach, so among the food I tried, my favorites were the pulled pork from Hogapalooza, the jalapeno cheddar sausage from Smoque, the smoked wings from Dinosaur BBQ, and the fried chicken from Gus's Fried Chicken, a Memphis favorite opening in September in Fulton Market. Seriously. It was some of the best fried chicken I've ever had!

To help me chronicle my eating adventures at Windy City Smokeout, the folks at Verizon Wireless let me test out the Samsung Galaxy S6 which takes amazing photos! As an avid iPhone user, I was a bit nervous about adapting to a new phone, but I actually found it to be super user friendly. The photos came out so clear and I loved the large, vivid screen. All of these photos were taken on the S6 and I didn't even have to edit them! Talk about a time saver.

Testing Out the Samsung Galaxy S6

Bub City

The Salt Lick

Pappy's Smokehouse 

Brisket From The Salt Lick

Gus's Fried Chicken

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage From Smoque

Hogapalooza

Pulled Pork Sandwich from Hogapalooza 

BBQ Chicken from Hogapalooza

Ribs from Ubons

Smoked Wings From Dinosaur BBQ

In addition to BBQ there was an awesome selection of sweets and bites from Summer House, Crave Bar, Doughnut Vault, Supreme Lobster, and La Colombe. I may or may not have had three different desserts :-O.

Doughnut Vault

Sir Kensington's & Summer House 

The beer selection also was fantastic. Brewers from across the country offered a wide selection of rare craft beer including special limited-edition drafts created for Windy City Smokeout.  Participating breweries included Founders, Goose Island, Local Option, Against the Grain, Moody Tongue, 18th Street and others!

Craft Beer Bar

Craft Beer Limited Releases

On the music front, there were headliners including Grammy award winner Kacey Musgraves, Grammy-nominated Pat Green, ACM Breakthrough Artist of the Year Chris Young, ACM ‘Single Record of the Year’ Lee Brice, as well as Dan + Shay, Will Hoge, Chris Stapleton and others.

Mark your calendars for the fourth annual Windy City Smokeout next July!

Note: Verizon Wireless provided me with a phone for this review and I received a complimentary ticket to attend the event; however, all opinions expressed herein are my own.