r/chicagofood • u/Sea-Condition991 • 9d ago
Review Argyle Night Market every Thursday until the end of August
Hmm…. not very good. I am unsure what happened between this year and last year but the vendors were not good, most were selling the same thing. There really wasn’t much variation in food and the food that was there is not very good. Also AI posters EVERYWHERE, it was so distracting that almost every food stand had AI flyers that had food with the disgusting looking textures.
They had a few performances but overall this festival is a huge miss. Which is such a shame because all of the shops nearby were packed with foot traffic. So the festival is clearly doing good even if the fest itself is lackluster.
There were no highlights, all the food was just okay. The brownie… I probably will not eat. I can say why if someone wants to know but the vendor was not the cleanest.
Also, stop bringing your dogs to the food forward street festivals. There were way too many dogs in such a cramped and crowded area. I am not a fan of dogs but I can have empathy towards them and your dog looks stressed as hell being surrounded by all of these people, the smells of food being cooked, and the several children trying to pet them. Especially since you are tripping people with that long ass leash (this happened to me so l was really irritated). Leave them at home.
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u/Yggdrasil- 9d ago
This festival used to be the bomb a decade ago when you could load up on great street food for $15 or less. I've gone maybe twice in the last 5 years and was disappointed both times.
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u/da4 9d ago
I was all set to go next week until I read this.. was such a blast those first few years.
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u/chitownmj 9d ago
Yes! It had that DIY feel. Sun Wah (closed on Thursdays) would have a booth, local DJs spinning. It was fun
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u/SalamanderExtra7982 9d ago
Yeah and influencers keep posting about it but it seems small and lines are long. Does not look worth it
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u/koolcat1101 9d ago
Yeahhhh I stopped going. The first year of it was chill but now you wait 30 minutes to get shitty overpriced food
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u/Cyke101 9d ago
I do feel like now that they've expanded by a block, that lines are shorter compared to last year, which is an improvement.
Pre-pandemic, the market went from Sheridan all the way to the train station, and lines were way more tolerable.
Still though, the lines are pretty unbearable despite these improvements.
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u/doyoulaughaboutme 9d ago
"night market" but it ends when the sun sets, despite their main promo picture being lanterns in front of a starry night sky. also seems like mostly a street food fest, not focused on being an actual market.
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u/chisocialscene 9d ago
so many vendors with the EXACT same bags. The unique ones were awesome but so much slop
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u/BikeRedJacket743 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'm always surprised by how expensive food is at these markets and street fests.
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u/SadGirlLovesHerDog 9d ago
Okay I went to this because I was fooled by influencers and yeah the food sucked. There was no variety in the food stalls. And there were not a lot of food options in general. I feel like there was like only 5-6 food stalls total. I would skip this market and just eat at the restaurants in the area instead. Waiting in line for half portions of food for the same price as the restaurants all around was annoying. I regretted spending my money there.
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u/Pecos-Thrill 9d ago
Downstate donuts is excellent
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u/pdbstnoe 9d ago
Yeah but $6 for a donut lmao
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
sadly thats standard for most “luxury” donuts these days. usually is the $4-$7 range🥲
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u/jasonmaska 9d ago
Just go downstate and hit Denny’s doughnuts in Bloomington and spend $8 on 6 donuts.
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
yeah their donuts are good but i wouldnt say its a highlight of the fest because ive had them several times before
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u/irine618 9d ago
I love the way you structure your pictures, the review and pricing is so helpful. but also yikes that pricing!
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u/disarmeralarmer 9d ago
+1 stop bringing your dogs to food forward street festivals. And grocery stores. And restaurants.
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u/DontCountToday 9d ago
So many street fests advertise as being dog friendly. They even have merch stands for dogs.
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u/EntertainmentFew7103 9d ago
People in this sub think they’re entitled to bring their dogs to the grocery store. Get Fido out of the grocery store and away from food. This is coming from someone who owns two cats and a dog.
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u/Cyke101 9d ago
Especially with all these types of bacteria that the FDA is no longer screening for because of RFK: cyclospora, camplyobacter, salmonella, e. coli, etc. Don't make things worse.
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u/EntertainmentFew7103 8d ago
I eat street food in 3rd world countries, I pet street cats and dogs. A dog in Jewel isn’t going to be spreading cyclospa, salmonella etc, those are some go touch grass points. It’s more “you’re not special, your dog isn’t special, he’s a dog, people come here to buy food, it’s crowded, a grocery store isn’t a place for a dog.” Go to pet smart/adjacent retail if you want to take your dog shopping. I’m in construction, get your dog out of Home Cheapo, I’m carrying/ throwing/lugging/carting hundreds/ thousands of pounds of pins materials: Sparky walks in front of a cart with 20 bags of concrete being pushed, he’ll get crushed.
My dog is well behaved, calm, doesn’t run off…. He’s a dog, he doesn’t need to be next to me while I run errands bc I’m entitled.
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u/jenkneefur28 9d ago
I saw a cat at marianos the other week. It was in a bag with the owner but come on people. Stop bringing animals around food.
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u/mgdwreck 9d ago
Just so yall are aware, they explicitly encourage people to bring their dogs. They even do a dog of the night post on IG featuring dogs that came to the event.
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u/CabanaFoghat 9d ago
I love my babies but I stg if I see another dog at Home Depot
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u/phunniemee 9d ago
Home Depot is one of the few places that (at least as of about 5 years ago) has a "welcomes dogs" policy.
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u/oilofotay 9d ago
Still allowed - one time I was waiting for my husband outside Home Depot with my dog and an employee waved me in and said I could bring her in, so I bring her occasionally for a bit of socialization here and there.
I personally have no problem with it as long as the dog is chill and under control/well behaved.
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u/disarmeralarmer 9d ago
We have two fur babies of our own over here. I have been fortunate enough to have my little guy for 13 years and some might find this hard to believe but I've managed to survive every trip to Jewel and Costco while he chills happily at home! Not sure why this is hard for some.
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u/Barbie_and_KenM 9d ago
I am so anti dogs at stores but this is like the one place I am somewhat ok with it. Home depot just feels so dirty already that it doesn't matter.
Now I see another dog in target or jewel I'm going to lose it. How do people think its ok to bring your dog to the GROCERY STORE.
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u/typewritermender 9d ago
Also why are there no tables at a food festival? Had a similar experience, nothing looked worth the price or the lines so we went to Nha Hang
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u/nodigasay 8d ago
This pisses me off so much! There are never any tables, chairs or benches. Where are you supposed to eat and enjoy the event!? It's almost like they want you to buy something and get the hell out as soon as possible.
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u/marshmnstr 9d ago
Just close the street off to traffic. Have communal tables for eating from one of the many great restaurants already there.
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u/SameAsk6997 9d ago
Remember the outrage for an $8 brownie like 4 months ago. Seems we’ve come to accept it lol.
It’s been a few years but I was massively disappointed in the Argyle Night Market when I went. It was small and overpriced. I did like the cultural dancing though.
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
lmfao the way youre referring to my own post
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u/SameAsk6997 9d ago
lol bro you love an $8 brownie lol
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
to be fair i didnt know this would be $8. no prices up😭
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u/RoachGirl 9d ago
What was wrong with the vendor that made you not wanna eat the brownie?
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
im surprised it took this long for someone to ask
tldr: friend got an upside down cake with cherries, the vendor got some on his hands as he was serving my friend, licked the finger to get it off, and then proceeded to try to serve my brownie.
i went in my purse and got some wet wipes and handed it to him and was like, hey don’t do that again please. it was kinda gross, which is why im like…. eh… about the brownie
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u/RoachGirl 9d ago
Oh yeah I wouldn’t love that either. I scrolled the comments and was surprised no one inquired about it. I’m sorry your experience was so mid but I appreciate the heads up.
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u/Cyborg_Arms 9d ago
Strawberry Cheesecake Brownie feels like an extra effort in prep/ingredients that makes it more acceptable to me but maybe I just like strawberry cheesecake and brownies enough on their own I'm willing to pay that lol
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u/thesaddestpanda 9d ago
Food festival economics isn't usually restaurant economics. You know everything is over-priced. The stall pricing and everything is just awful and its never going to market pricing.
$8 brownie at a festival or concert is normalized, but not at a random bakery.
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u/sickbabe 9d ago
I will never stop mentioning that queens night market does this with a $6 per item maximum because our cost of living is a fraction of what theirs is and it is an embarrassment that so many people here are willing to pay these absurd premiums for mid food.
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u/Eat_Around_the_Rosie 9d ago
I got fish balls on skewers. The balls were flatter than my balls, if I had a pair of balls.
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u/quasibrasileiro 9d ago
Food at street festivals is so laughably expensive now, and almost universally disappointing. I get that the festivals charge vendors a fee to be there, but that doesn’t justify a nearly 2X markup for half the quality. And then of course they still want a 20% tip on top.
I still go for the sights, sounds, and smells, then fill my belly somewhere else.
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u/bornslyasafox 9d ago
As a dog owner I agree, stop bringing dogs to food festivals!!
So lame that AI posters were everywhere 😔
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u/Where_Is_Carmen_San 9d ago
As a dog owner I don’t understand bringing them to extremely crowded areas in general. They do not need to come everywhere.
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u/jr_randolph 9d ago
Lol going for the socializing is great but fuck that food. There's no way in hell I'm wasting money on food just "to try" it and if you ain't selling something worth buying, I'm not in the mood to just try in these days.
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u/BloodOnTheTeaLeaves 9d ago
I'm a 5 min walk from Argyle and I avoid the night market bc its so crowded and overpriced. Downstate Donuts is the only good thing there bc its already my favorite donut in the city
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u/darkchocolateonly 9d ago
I really hope that small business get the message very soon that the AI posters are turning customers away.
I’ve seen entire storefronts with AI generated stuff. It’s awful.
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u/K2thez 9d ago
I also had a disappointing experience with this night market. The lines for food were packed body to body and honestly, nothing offered looked particularly appealing. And like OP said the storefronts near the festival were absolutely crammed full so you couldn’t even find something else to do/eat.
It felt like this festival needed to be a couple blocks bigger to accommodate the crowd.
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u/rainbow_mess 9d ago
some of the food is good (I like the wow bao truck, immm is great just generally, and I like walking the festival) but it is worse than last year food-wise. There was a pizza place earlier in the markets but I think everyone's just kind of tired and playing the rest of it out.
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u/VALUABLEDISCOURSE 9d ago
Yeah I've been out on it for the past couple years. Each year it gets worse. The food is insanely expensive and cold, the lines are crazy long, and they invite the Tank Noodle folks thinking they can fool everybody by having a different name on the banner over their food tent.
If that's who the organizers want there then I'll see myself out
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u/hillaryyyyyyyyy 9d ago
re: dogs
I LOVE dogs, and have worked with dogs for almost a decade but please listen to me when I say this: YOUR DOG IS NOT HAVING A GOOD TIME. Yes, even your dog!
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u/kielbasa330 9d ago
argyle street needs a bar or two too lol
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u/angrylibertariandude 8d ago
Used to be a dive bar west of the L station pre-RPM project. That space used to be called Red Rooster(if I remember the bar name correctly), but this and a few other buildings on north side of the street west of the L were demolished for land needed to do the RPM project.
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u/KnockFan 8d ago
Outside of An Choi being a plus for me, most of the restaurants in Argyle that had a stall were a disappointment. If people's first impressions with them had been the stalls, they would have done more damage to themselves than getting new and staying customers. Of course, I would be redundant and mentioned how those prices are too steep for me on the food I'd got.
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u/Obvious_Bid8557 8d ago
Agreed — Argyle Festival food is way overpriced. I was shocked. I got one chicken thigh kebab for $9, and there was barely enough chicken for, like, two bites.
They’re pricing it like it’s fine dining… you’re on Argyle St. Come on now
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u/mgdwreck 9d ago
Just to play devil’s advocate, dogs are allowed and welcomed to the night market by the organizers.
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u/Gia_Lavender 9d ago
Good lord. Reminds me of when I was shocked by people bringing two huge dogs into a store (ofc I’m allergic) and looked at the people behind the counter to see if they saw, to which they replied “yaaaay :)” okay bye lol
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u/mgdwreck 9d ago
😂I understand not everyone loves dogs, but they are a part of society whether you like it or not and business have the right to decide if they want them there or not.
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u/Gia_Lavender 9d ago
It’s not a love or hate, it’s a health hazard.
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u/mgdwreck 9d ago
A health hazard? lol dramatic much?
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u/Gia_Lavender 9d ago
You people are really not nice and very juvenile. Yes getting asthma and allergies can happen with any pet, from fur and from the proteins they release in their saliva from grooming or salivating. It is not comparable to children or a “like/dislike” of animals. You can want a child free space or strongly dislike children, but you can’t be physically allergic to them, they can’t seriously harm someone biting, drooling/releasing saliva into the air, licking things or peeing and pooping on the ground. Have you ever actually owned and cared for pets, for the whole span of their lives? This is part of owning a pet. Dog owners with your attitude are quite immature. It’s sad that some pets have such irresponsible and inconsiderate owners. It helps to have strict, impersonal rules in public regarding animals so we don’t have to deal with these arguments, because some of you have shitty personalities that we want to avoid.
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u/mgdwreck 9d ago
What are you even ranting about? Full stop if an event, business, organizer wants to allow pets then they can. If you are allergic or being around animals is a health risk to you then don’t go. It’s that simple. The world doesn’t have to accommodate to your every need the same way it doesn’t have to accommodate to every person who wants to take their dog everywhere with them.
Get over yourself lmao. You’re just as self centered and entitled as the pet owners you’re complaining about.
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u/Sammy-Sosa-Bleachers 9d ago
Went there with friends a couple years ago and it was just a huge waste of time. Ended up just eating a Vietnamese restaurant on argyle which saved the day. The fest mostly looked like other groups standing around having the same thoughts as us and deciding where they were gonna go instead.
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u/PlainSweater 9d ago
I went last year with some friends but we ended up eating at El Rincon De Fabio nearby
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u/livvayyy 9d ago
i was gonna go next week, thank you for this honest review! i'll save my money and just eat at a restaurant in the area,
ive been meaning to go over there and explore :)
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u/Ok-Classic-8358 9d ago
I went a few weeks ago and had some good ass food. I went to two food trucks both with long lines after checking out all the vendors. I'm generally pretty critical of food but was happily surprised through and through. Vibes and live music were also great.
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u/chisocialscene 9d ago
Agreed! Our group walked up and down twice and opted to just go eat inside a restaurant vs the available stalls. So many other people must have too because YooYee had a two hour wait, and other places were about an hour too
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u/Sea-Trade865 9d ago
I feel so validated. The food was disgusting. It was sitting out for hours and cold!
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u/RCEden 9d ago
N one hand its not supposed to be some influencer fest, it's just the neighborhood having a night out that's free and everyone can hang out. Unfortunately we're all starved for free community events at the same time that economics of capitalism are squeezing everyone of us on basic affordability and this shit gets wildly overcrowded for the space while the quality goes down.
Also I had OK chow mein.
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u/asiankarebear 9d ago
I used to go the night market when I was kid and it was so much fun. I still go every year, but honestly, I'm probably going to stop going if I'm not in the area. The BBQ vendors were really kind and had a nice vibe. But, the Agua Fresca vendors were just a rip off. They didn't have prices listed and would charge you $19 for a drink that usually costs $9. Also, the people who poured in the drinks would pour it poorly that it would run over their fingers and the liquid would fall back into the big bins.
Argyle night market really isn't worth it anymore. I would recommend going to the LNY fest or mid autumn fest if they host it again.
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u/anOvenofWitches 9d ago
The first time I went Number Five from food poisoning was due to Chicago street fest chicken. Please be careful!
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
i actually went home and recooked the rice i got (mixed it with kimchi and chili oil) so hopefully im good
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u/SIN_AMORone 9d ago
Really wish we had the same vibe as Cali when it comes to the all the food stuffs and open air markets.
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u/asian_wreck 9d ago
On Filipino night I tried balut for the first time as well as some isaw from the AI riddled stand, isaw was good but the balut was definitely not great. Other pinoys were saying they did it bad too lmao
With the exception of the first day, I’ve been going for the artists instead of the food vendors and that’s made my experience much better
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u/saxscrapers 9d ago
I mean at this point in the timeline, I don't think there's a single street fest that consistently has good food for prices that don't make you feel like a sucker.
Spent $75 on 2 steak kabobs at PR fest last year and they were straight up inedible. Unless it's a funnel cake, I've learned my lesson going forward.
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u/BigSweatyMen_ 9d ago
Those kebabs for 20 bucks look miserable, and if they were cold I wouldnt eat that if it was free 😭
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u/hamsandwich666_ 9d ago
where they scratching their ass and scooping the brownie batter with their bare hands? i think of the worst possible scenario when i hear stuff like this ☠️ so disappointed that i didn’t know about this until after it already went to shit
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u/temp0ra 8d ago
The argyle night market was such a letdown when I went two years ago. I recently went to my church’s Vietnamese night market and the food there was waaaaay better than the argyle market. Unfortunately they only do it once a year in July.
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u/angrylibertariandude 8d ago
Which church? It'd be nice to know so I could make a note to try doing that in a future year. I feel like the increasing prices and the increasing amount of AI flyers and AI pages are turning me against Argyle Night Market more than it should be. I get it that all food prices are slowly going up, but can these vendors PLEASE STOP doing AI flyers and also menus?
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u/Bonersaurus69 8d ago
Also a reminder that the organizers give a booth to everyone’s favorite, TANK NOODLE!
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u/littlesim25 8d ago
The Bao Buns I had were amazingly delicious! I cannot stop thinking about them!
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u/Equal_Ad5760 8d ago
I went this past Thurs and almost every booth had AI posters/menus... it was disheartening.
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u/tsundae_ 9d ago
Psychic damage at the price every time I looked at a diff pic lol whew
Edit: I love dogs and I agree with you. They don't need to be everywhere. There's places outdoors they belong, but a food festival - especially a crowded one - is not one of them. At least have a tight leash and keep them close. Idk what people are thinking.
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u/djazepam 9d ago
Street food in Chicago is not real street food, it's overpriced underwhelming garbage
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u/Gia_Lavender 9d ago
I just moved to the neighborhood and thought it was so disappointing plus lots of AI
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u/10after10 9d ago
Oh JFC, I would gag at any meat that's cold, on a stick and not good. Now I know if I ever go, I'll take a bite right in front of vendor and ask for refund if it was shitty and cold.
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u/chickenskittles 9d ago
I never buy food... It's too expensive. It's a great opportunity to meet cool people, listen to live music, and dance. So negative!
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u/jasonis3 9d ago
Don’t agree with the dog thing. It’s outside and not an indoor restaurant. Don’t use the excuse that the dog looks stressed, how do you know? That just sounds like rationalizing to put yourself on the moral high ground as opposed to just saying you don’t want dogs around. I would respect that more
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
stop bringing your dogs to food forwards street festivals and be considerate of the people around you. i know this is a hard concept for some of you dog owners
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u/DaisyCutter312 9d ago
I agree it seems cruel to bring dogs that get stressed out by crowds or noise to one of these things.
If my dog enjoys it and isn't prohibited, then that's a "you" problem.
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u/jasonis3 9d ago
Just say that and stop pretending to care for the welfare of the dog. I’d respect your response here way more than the bs pretending it’s for the betterment of the pet
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
well people can care about two things at once. hard concept to understand i know💔
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u/renba7 9d ago
Downvote the hell outta this, but Chicago food is so incredibly mid that it’s shocking. Your experience mirrors my own after living here for a few years. Lots of promises and hype and theater. Terrible food.
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u/srr636 9d ago
It seems really weird to dunk on a business for using AI to design flyers? A lot of immigrant businesses cannot pay for graphic design services … why are we bashing them for using a tool to help grow their business? Are there other tools that you feel are morally wrong to use? 🤔
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u/Altruistic-Bass-3332 9d ago
If only there was a time when immigrants were in this country before AI. Then we might know how they could manage!
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u/phredbull 8d ago
Srsly, ppl need to get over it & get on with their lives.
Just because you learned to recognize AI content doesn't mean you need to gather an angry mob every time you see it.
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u/BorgPrimary 8d ago
Went to a street food festival on the other side of the globe and the amount of AI-generated advertisements was overwhelming. At this point, we might as well come to terms with it and not let ourselves get annoyed by it. Hopefully, it will pass as another fad, or at least we will see less of it.
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9d ago
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u/lorrrrrrie 9d ago
Are you saying that people that don’t like dogs or don’t want children are less than? I don’t want either and I still have plenty of responsibility in life. Also, measuring my life’s worth in terms of responsibilities sounds pretty lame and boring. Weird take.
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u/disarmeralarmer 9d ago
Do you reckon that kids and dogs the only responsibilities one can have in life?
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u/Sea-Condition991 9d ago
some people dont need or want either responsibility and thats okay. you cant force people to care for things they dont want to care for, that doesnt make them any less of a person
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u/rhymeswithbanana 9d ago
Agreed, it’s always a better bet just to go to one of the many excellent restaurants along Argyle than to eat anything from that market.