Most of you who are familiar with the list of “tourist foods” in Chicago have heard (and maybe fell in love with) good ol Garrett Popcorn… Well, after living here for a while, I’ve discovered a number of popcorn companies in the city that are attempting to take over Garrett’s monopoly on tourists’ tastebuds!
Admittedly, Garrett’s was the first popcorn that mixed cheese and caramel that I ever liked. I’m hooked now. All I ever want is the “Chicago Mix”… its like the best of both worlds!
I have to give props to the guys from Lets Get Poppin’ on Chicago’s South Side. I met them in a bar and after convincing me I'd love it more than Garrett popcorn, they went to their car and brought in a bag for me to take home. Why wait? My friends and I ate cheese/caramel mix right there at the bar and loved it… cheese fingers and all! They also showed up to the Chicago Greek picnic with mini bags, which my girls and I all bought and devoured!
You also have to consider Nuts on Clark – which has locations in both airports and Union Station – great locations to inspire a tasty travel snack and tasty stuff.
While I haven’t tried Mix Match Gourmet, it seems to be popping up in a lot of places around the city… Next time I’ll have to grab a bag and see how it tastes!
I also haven’t tried Chicago Popcorn Works but they boast some VERY interesting flavors… the Banana Foster and Grape popcorns sound borderline scary. I’ll have to see if they can do a “tasting” because my curiosity is truly piqued and the “Caramel Apple” sounds awesome.
Now my REAL inspiration for this post came from a Yelp Summerfest in Chicago that I attended yesterday…. Have I mentioned that I’m a carnivore? When I saw the Salted Caramel table with… get this…. Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn!!! I tossed out my other food sample to free up my hands. This was popcorn with real pieces of bacon!!!! WHAT??!?!?! OMG – it was awesome… Must have more. This goes down as my winner (so far at least) for the Chicago Popcorn competition!
Cherish (A.K.A. Chicago)
