Rogers Park is very much a vibe. A vibe that consists of neighbors who know each other's names and always say hello, a global community, and of course really great taquerias. Next week on July 18 in RP, the Rogers Park Business Association (RPBA) is hosting their annual Taco Crawl along Clark Street. From 3 to 7pm, you can skip out on your last few hours of work and your dinner plans for a tour de taco including churros, margs, and even free ice cream.
This year marks a decade for this celebration of handmade tortillas filled with everything from beef tongue to cactus. The RPBA attempted to welcome other cuisines outside of the taco variety; for a couple years they renamed the event Taste of Clark Street, but quickly realized despite wanting to support the variety of businesses and restaurants that exist along Clark, they very much had to give the people what they want. Tacos and tacos only. Back to the crawl they went and never looked back and all the while giving that stretch of Clark some much deserved recognition.
“The catalyst for the event was really an effort to bring more recognition to the businesses on Clark Street. Clark Street was kind of neglected from public and private investment,” Sandi Price, executive director of the RPBA, said. “It was a time when all of the streetscape improvements were happening in a lot of commercial corridors, but never on Clark Street. It’s a very unique corridor, it has a lot of Spanish-speaking business owners, a lot of mom-and-pop, family-owned businesses and we wanted to spotlight that area.”
Any Chicagoan you meet has their favorite taqueria and order, especially in Rogers Park where Clark Street houses more taco joints than possibly any other stretch in the city. This year, due to overwhelming demand, there will be two different routes to choose from. Each one features eight different taquerias to try with offerings including asada, chicken, and vegetarian options.
“People have a taqueria that they love and they go to that taqueria every time they get tacos, so it gets people out to try something different or get a second favorite that they didn't know of,” Price said. “It’s like a mini-festival. There's a lot of people on the street. We have people who dress up, there is one woman who comes in a taco costume.”
The enthusiasm for the event is part of the community's vibe. Rogers Park and Rogers Parkians love to love RP and there is a lot to love. There is something very special about a neighborhood that so vehemently supports each other and makes an effort to always make everyone feel at home, no matter where you came from.
“Rogers Park is such an open community. People know before they move to Rogers Park how diverse it is, so people want to embrace that and participate in diverse things,” Price said. “Our participants are diverse, it’s an opportunity for them to be a part of something in their community, and it brings people from outside the community as well.”
Whether you live in RP or are just there for the tacos, odds are each person you pass will offer a hello and find out which place had the best hot sauce, which tortilla was the softest, and where you got that taco hat. Plan to leave with a full belly and a new best friend, I mean, it’s Rogers Park. How could you not?
Presale tickets are $20, day-of tickets are $30. For more information about the Taco Crawl and to purchase a ticket, visit business.rpba.org.
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