In case you missed it, over the last several days McCormick Place has been inundated with restaurateurs, food product and food equipment manufacturer's all as part of the National Restaurant Association's annual show. In case you're wondering, "Hey, isn't this supposed to be a technology blog?" Well, you're right. I knew going in there was technology involved, but nowhere near the amount I picked up as a result of the visit. Whether it was DNA tagging for shrimp farming, restaurant composting, green energy production, using light to measure alcohol distribution, or fryer oil reclamation - technology, and increasingly sustainability, is everywhere and in everything.
As you'd expect with any show in Chicago, the hot dog booth at Vienna beef and Eli's cheesecakse were swamped pretty much the entire time I was at the show. Aside from these staples, here's a few other booths I'd suggest you check out, if you have a chance to attend the last day (Tuesday):
- Dry Soda - a tasty soda company with a great design aesthetic
- Lighthouse Seafood - really friendly people who know their seafood
- Hudsonville Ice Cream - good ice cream, from good people. Maybe I'm a little biased because they're from Michigan.
- Grecian Delight - try the chicken shawarma with the spicy sauce, absolutely delicious
If you can't make it, there's an entire list of exhibitors here for your online perusal. Also, sorry I didn't note it earlier, but this show is only open to folks "in the biz". Sorry if you wanted to stop in for a lunch break.