Being the food lover that I am, I was stoked about going to the Taste of Chicago. Chicago is known for its culinary delights. So the Taste of Chicago provides a way to sample the cities delicacies in one location. This is an annual ten-day event that wraps on July 4. People from all over the country come to Chicago just for this event.


There was something to satisfy every taste, Cajun, ribs, southern cuisine, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Chicago's famous deep dish pizza and even fresh produce. My favorite was the deep-dish pizza, but I tried everything from chicken and waffles to upside down caramel cupcakes. One of my most adventurous moments was tasting a banana chocolate egg roll. There were also beer and wine tastings. You could purchase 12 food tickets for $8, with most meals ranging from 8-11 tickets. Or most vendors allowed you the option to "taste" for 4 tickets.


There were also non-food vendors there discussing health or fruit vendors, like Chiquita Banana, providing demonstrations and recipes. What really draws a crowd …

Nelson George checks out Chicago.

Black Atlas recently interviewed Olympic Speed Skater Gold medalist, Shani Davis. He candidly spoke to us about his travels all around the world and competing for the Gold.

A native of the south side of Chicago, Illinois and raised his mother, he has succeeded beyond the expectations of many in his field. In fact, Shani was the first black speed skater to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team in 2002. In addition to this accomplishment during the 2009 Winter Olympics in Italy, Davis became the first black athlete (from any nation) to win a gold medal in an individual Winter Games sport. He is the fifth black Winter Olympics medalist.

During his career, his has accomplished quite a bit and even finds the time to give back. He helped to start Inner City Excellence (I.C.E), a skating-based youth development program serving hundreds of children each year. Even after 20 years as a speed skater, Shani continues to strive for excellence in his career and inspires many up and coming athletes along the way.