Lolla Concessions
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Aug 4, 2008 3:15PM
The logistics needed to pull off an event as large as Lollapalooza are enormous. Accommodating the needs of what amounts to a small town within a city take months of preparation. For those vendors and sponsors lucky enough to be able to do business within the gates it also makes for invaluable advertising.
One of the reasons Budweiser can proclaim itself the "King of Beers" isn't because their brew is good, but because they shell out the bucks at events like Lollapalooza. Bud/Bud Light tents were ubiquitous throughout the park. So was Blackstone wine. Sport bottles of Blackstone (at $24 a pop) were big sellers all weekend long. For those who didn't pack Camelbacks of water or sports drinks, Vitamin and Smart Water also sold at a brisk clip.
For noshing there were "Chow Towns" set up along Jackson and Balbo. The quality of food ranged from above average for a festival (Adobo Grill's pork taco and chicken tamale combo was both tasty and nicely presented) to downright awful (the boneless chicken nuggets from Cans almost made us want to swear off meat). Bleeding Heart Bakery was having good sales of their organic cookies and cupcakes, but we were floored by their fruit drinks, particularly a honeydew and limeade mix.