One of my favorite food festivals is returning to Chicago this August, and it’s one of those “can’t miss” summer events. The Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON is coming back to The Salt Shed on August 23 & 24 from 12 p.m. CT to 6 p.m. CT with early entry tickets available for Chase Sapphire Reserve, Preferred, or JPMorgan Reserve card members.
Fan-favorite restaurants will be featured with performances and live conversations. Last year, hip-hop legend and Chicago native Common was at EEEEEATSCON talking about growing up in the city, his connection with the host, and more.
What restaurants will be at EEEEEATSCON Chi?
My mouth is watering just thinking about the range of flavors and options at this year’s event. There’s a diverse range of food options for everyone, including kids and vegans. Some include:
- Bloom Plant Based Kitchen – Vegan restaurant
- Caffè Panna – Italian Ice
- Chiu Quon Bakery – Chinese bakery
- Cmarty’s Jerk – a NYC restaurant
- Cowy Burger – a Miami restaurant
- Dayglow – a coffee shop
- Galit x Cafe Yaya – Middle Eastern restaurants
- Holey Dough & Co – a pop-up with bagels
- Kanin – a Filipino-Hawaiian restaurant
- Lem’s Bar-B-Q x 3LP Chi – a BBQ spot and a Chinese spot
- And more
Celebrity guest speakers and performers who will be in attendance
I recommend grabbing your food and snagging a seat early because the floor seats fill quickly. However, the stage is centered, so you can still get a good view of the speakers and performers regardless of where you sit in The Salt Shed. There are also two large screens on each side of the stage. This year’s speakers and performers will be:
- Lyrical Lemonade (Saturday, Aug 23)
- Celebrity Memoir Book Club (Saturday, Aug 23)
- Restaurant People (Saturday, Aug 23)
- How Long Gone featuring Joe Freshgoods (Sunday, Aug 24)
- The Second City (Sunday, Aug 24)
- Ca$h Era (Sunday, August 24)
- And more
My experience at EEEEEATSCON Chi ’23 & ’24
If you’re looking for the ultimate Chicago food festival this summer, I highly recommend EEEEEATSCON. I was invited to attend the very first one in the city on August 20, 2023, and it was an experience I truly loved. It was HOT outside, but there were areas for attendees to cool off and drinks to buy that were refreshing.
I also went to last year’s event, on July 13, and got an up-close view of rapper Common, who spit some bars for the crowd. There were so many tasty food options to choose from, but I tried one of the best bagels I’ve ever eaten from a New York restaurant, and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since.
Those in attendance get the chance to play games and win cool prizes, too.
Photo credit: Courtesy of The Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON
