Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Chicago magazine

WHEN PEOPLE THINK OF CHICAGO’S CULINARY SCENE, THEY tend to think of the low and high epitomized by The Bear: Italian beef by day, Michelin-starred tasting menus by night. “That is still a big part of Chicago,” says our dining critic, John Kessler. But he adds that the middle ground between casual and fine dining is “starting to get way more interesting.” The restaurants occupying that middle are beginning to drive the scene here, a shift reflected in Kessler’s rankings of Chicago’s top new spots (page 48). “Five years ago, it still would’ve been the influence of Grant Achatz and Charlie Trotter and the people who trained in their restaurants,” he says. “But we’re getting past that whole ‘center of modernist cuisine’ and ultrapremium high-end dining as defining us.” So what…

Q: What is the highest point in Chicago? As everybody knows, the highest point on which a person can stand in Chicago is Willis Tower’s Skydeck, which, at 1,353 feet up, offers a view of Michigan, on the other side of the lake. But where is the highest natural point in the city? According to “A History of Beverly Hills, Chicago,” a 1926 University of Chicago thesis by Cora DeGrass Heinemann, that Far South Side neighborhood, which now goes by Beverly, “is the highest land in Cook County.” That’s because the Blue Island Ridge, a glacial moraine, winds through it. In the Dan Ryan Woods, a forest preserve that adjoins Beverly to the north, a historical marker for Lookout Point says the spot was “used as a signal station on…

NOTHING CAN PREpare you for managing the White Sox, a team that last season—stop me if you’ve heard this—set the modern era Major League Baseball record for losses, with 121. But Will Venable, the team’s new manager, may be as ready as anyone to help this franchise reverse course. The former outfielder (he played nine seasons in the majors, mostly with the Padres) and Princeton grad (where basketball was his primary sport) is no stranger to Chicago: He was a Cubs coach from 2018 through 2020. For the past two seasons, he was second in command for the Texas Rangers, including for their 2023 World Series title. He grew up in an athletic family. His dad, Max, played in the majors and internationally before becoming a minor-league coach. For good…

> THE FORGE: LEMONT QUARRIES “My wife and I love to go to this huge outdoor adventure park along the I&M Canal with our three kids. The climbing area is especially great, because it’s got something for every skill and bravery level. The outdoor concerts are a bonus.” 227 Heritage Quarries Dr. > THREE STORIES BOOKS “Our local children’s book-store is a gem. My kids always find something from the impressive selection. And they love the art activities after school and on weekends, themed to holidays or a character.” 310 Canal St. > SAGAWAU CANYON NATURE PRESERVE “It has terrain that’s unique for the Midwest, with some nice hills. We hike and visit the great nature center. It’s on our bucket list to try cross-country skiing there.” 12545 111th St. >…

I LOVE TAKING ON PROJECTS that seem impossible, that stretch me and all of the artists involved,” declares Charles Newell. Sitting next to playwright Mickle Maher, the director brims with enthusiasm while mulling an audacious creative frontier: Court Theatre’s spring production, Berlin, which runs April 19 to May 11. A timely world premiere, it’s set during the chaotic years when Hitler rose to power and Germany slowly goose-stepped into Nazi fascism. But it’s not the subject matter that’s causing the artistic stretch. It’s the act of adaptation—which says a lot, because both men are known for reinterpreting classic texts over their lengthy careers. Newell, 66, stepped down last summer as Court’s artistic director; among the achievements of his 30-year tenure is the company’s 2022 Regional Theatre Tony Award. Meanwhile, 62-year-old Maher’s plays…

JONATHAN CAPITANINI remembers when, as children, he and his sister, Giovanna, would tear through Italian Village, their family’s collection of restaurants under one roof in the Loop. “We grew up there, running around all the different kitchens, the tables, the line.” Now part of the fourth generation to operate Italian Village, the siblings are putting their own stamp on the place by modernizing the business. They recently opened two concepts in the basement: Sotto and Bar Sotto. Italian Village has never been static. In 1927, their great-grandfather, who’d arrived from Italy three years earlier, opened what is now the Village, the upstairs restaurant in this building at 71 West Monroe Street. In the 1950s, the family bought the basement space and opened La Cantina Enoteca, a dark piano bar with a…

1 MILK BAR What Christina Tosi’s NYC sensation sweet shop finally arrives. Why Try classics like corn cookies, but don’t sleep on the Hot Dog Bomb, with all the Chicago dog ingredients inside a pastry. Where 208 N. Green St., West Loop 2 MAHARI What Afro-Caribbean flavors are the name of the game at this vibrant newcomer. Why Rahim Muhammad serves up plates like stuffed plantains and Haitian hot wings. Where 1504 E. 55th St., Hyde Park 3 NORIKO HANDROLL BAR What A hand roll spot beneath Perilla Fare Why You love this team’s Korean food. Now try a crab motoyaki hand roll with pickled shallots. Where 401 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fulton River District 4 CARNITAS URUAPAN What The carnitas purveyor debuts a third location, this one with booze. Why Porky goodness with a mezcal cocktail alongside is…

In 2008, I got a call telling me that Jesse Sharkey was involved in starting a progressive caucus of the Chicago Teachers Union. I had met Jesse when I was on the advisory board for past CTU President Debbie Lynch. We both worked at North Side high schools — Jesse was a social studies teacher at Senn, I taught chemistry at Lane Tech. What I liked about Jesse was that he was smart but not arrogant. I appreciated his ability to put a sharp point on an argument and to press an issue to a logical conclusion. He knew a lot about stuff I didn’t know anything about. People always called me a socialist, and I would ask Jesse, “Am I a socialist?” And Jesse would say, “You might be…

▪ GOLF APPAREL HASN’T EVOLVED much (no shade to the typical polo). So Erica Malbon and her husband, Stephen, took the matter into their own 9-iron-wielding hands. They launched Malbon Golf out of L.A. in 2017 to reimagine the game’s accoutrements and just opened a location in the West Loop. “We want to inspire young people to play golf,” says Erica. Expect hoodies and pull-on shorts that are performance driven but streetwear inspired. Collaborations, like ones with Jimmy Choo and Willie Nelson, sell out in days. If you’re lucky enough to score a limited-edition piece, such as a crystal-embellished zip pouch ($895), the store even provides an opportunity to show it off: “We’re putting our own outings together,” says Erica. 833 W. Randolph St.…

▪ There’s always a risk in doing the world’s tallest building because it’s never been done before. You don’t really know what the problems will be. There are surprises that will come. So you really have to understand what the forces are on these buildings and what can happen that’s different than for a normal-sized building. ▪ With the Burj Khalifa, the client owned 300 acres around it. They were looking for a statement building that could become the center of gravity for their development. You see that throughout the history of tall buildings. When the Sears Tower was put up, the tallest around it in that southwest corner of the Loop was, I think, 18 stories. But the Sears Tower drew other buildings to that area. ▪ After I…

JASON LUTES SPENT 22 YEARS DRAWing scenes from Weimar Germany for his comic book series that culminated in his 2018 graphic novel, Berlin. For our piece on Court Theatre’s adaptation (page 27), we had him create one more to serve as a backdrop for the show’s creators. That’s how director Charles Newell and playwright Mickle Maher came to be standing at a desk in front of the Brandenburg Gate, as depicted by the Vermont-based artist (whose self-portrait is above) in his trademark black and white. “I literally have not drawn Berlin since 2018,” says Lutes, “so it was fun to revisit it.” —WEB BEHRENS ADDING SOME POP To inject a bit of whimsy into our fashion feature with the Bears’ Jaylon Johnson (page 74), Chicago design director David Syrek and…

ON A FEBRUARY SATURDAY IN LITTLE VILLAGE, SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE GATHered in the numbing cold to protest the Trump administration’s targeting of Chicago and its immigrant communities. Incidents of federal agents in unmarked cars pulling up to take undocumented residents away and a Justice Department lawsuit trying to force the city and state to cooperate in such raids were generating growing terror in Latino neighborhoods. The ralliers hoisted signs that read “No Mass Deportations,” “Fuera ICE,” and “Trump: Somos Trabajadores, No Delincuentes” (Trump: We Are Workers, Not Criminals). Chicago bills itself as a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants, with rules that prohibit local officials from assisting in federal deportation efforts. Mayor Harold Washington first designated Chicago as one in 1985, and the policy has been amended and strengthened since, most…

▪ NOAH SCHULTZ The 6-foot-9 hard-throwing lefty pitcher, who was born in Naperville and played at Oswego East High School, is already drawing comparisons to Randy Johnson—though, to our knowledge, he’s yet to kill a bird with one of his fast-balls. Schultz, the No. 16–rated prospect in baseball, played most of last season for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, where he was named Southern League Pitcher of the Year. If the Sox need pitching help at some point this season—and let’s face it, they will—expect the 21-year-old Schultz to get called up. ▪ HAGEN SMITH You can never have too much good pitching—particularly good lefty pitching. And the Sox are stocking up. Drafted fifth overall in 2024, Smith, 21, pitched for the University of Arkansas for the past three seasons, including…

1 Black baseball in Chicago dates back to the mid-19th century. “The most notable of the early teams, the Chicago Blue Stockings, played and often beat white opponents during the 1870s, though they were denied admission to the state’s Senior Amateur Championship tournament,” baseball historian Don Zminda writes in Justice Batted Last: Ernie Banks, Minnie Miñoso, and the Unheralded Players Who Integrated Chicago’s Major League Teams. The Chicago Unions, formed in the late 1880s, “dominated the amateur baseball scene in Chicago,” he quotes historian Leslie Heaphy as saying, and in 1895 they took two of three games from one of the city’s best white semipro teams. 2 A couple of Chicagoans played a key part in keeping Blacks out of the majors. Cap Anson, the superstar player-manager of the Chicago…

WITH ITS FOCUS ON MEXICAN spirits, Cantina Rosa, a new cocktail bar in Hyde Park, might feel like a departure for Erick Williams. His noted career as a chef and restaurateur has focused on Southern fare with Virtue, Daisy’s Po-Boy, and other establishments in the neighborhood. But to him this is a natural progression. “Mexico was the first place that stamped my passport as a young culinarian,” he says. “I was taken there by a cook and I got a chance to see his village. It turned out to be one of my most incredible hospitality experiences.” Since then, he has worked with many folks of Mexican descent. Cantina Rosa is a chance to “allow the people who have supported me to tell their story.” Head bartender Maria Rodriguez (Virtue) deftly…

HEY WERE DANCING WILDLY THAT NIGHT AT LATHAM House, the decrepit dorm at the southern end of Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. The structure, an old three-story dwelling where George McGovern had lived as a history major in the 1940s and where 42 young men now resided, was to be demolished, as I was told by the social chairman, because the building was long past its expiration date. Such was his story anyway when hiring us, and it sounded reasonable. But reason disappeared once the Del-Crustaceans started up. If you’ve ever played at a demolition party, you’ll know what I’m talking about: People get giddy and the wildest in the crowd take over. Which is good. Good for rock ’n’ roll. As we blasted into “Louie Louie” and “Gloria” — three chords…

Ron Huberman (2009–10) “We didn’t overlap much, but I got along well with Ron. He wasn’t Black, but I thought he was when I first saw him. I assumed his mother was Black and his father was Jewish. I asked him, ‘So how come you’re so Black?’ He said, ‘No, we’re just Israelis.’ ” Jean-Claude Brizard (2011–12) “I told JC, ‘Look, in Chicago, you need to make alliances with real people, not just the elite. Because the elite in Chicago don’t send their children to public schools.’ … But he seemed to be enamored of the position. The white folks called him the ‘premiere CEO’ because he was always going to the openings of shows or showing up at this, that, and the other thing.” Barbara Byrd-Bennett (2012–15) “We got…

1 April 1 is election day in the suburbs. In Evanston, Daniel Biss is running for a second term as mayor, the job he took after losing to JB Pritzker for governor. And Dolton will replace scandal magnet Tiffany Henyard, booted in the primary. 2 The National Public Housing Museum opens April 4 in Little Italy. Among exhibits: a look at the displacement of people who once lived where the museum now stands. Very meta. 3 Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who started at Second City, are back in town April 6 for standup at the Rosemont Theatre. “If this tour goes right, we can finally end this friendship,” they’re saying. 4 It’s bad enough the Cubs had to open at “home” in Tokyo against the defending champ Dodgers. Now the…

HE DOESN’T MEAN TO BRAG, but Yazan Koudsi knew Bali was cool before you did. Working as a flight attendant for Emirates a decade ago, the Syrian native began posting videos of the island’s nature and nightlife to Instagram. “Some of them went viral,” says Koudsi, 35. “Then I really became travel obsessed.” Koudsi, who lives in Lake View, has since turned in his wings and works full-time creating videos of his adventures around town and in Puerto Rico, where he just bought a condo, and elsewhere in the world. When not creating content (he now has 2.2 million followers), he stays fits with a combo of yoga, hiking, and dancing with his friends: “Whenever I need a boost, I call them. It solves everything.” HYDRATION ENRICHMENT “Drinking plain water is…

POLITICS OF PLENTY Bestselling journalist-authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson discuss their new book, Abundance, which tackles America’s systemic scarcity mindset. Apr. 1. chicagohumanities.org NATIVE TONGUES Writers Theatre mounts one of Irish dramatist Brian Friel’s lesser-known works, Translations, concerning the conflict of English versus Gaelic. Apr. 3–May 4. writerstheatre.org RETURN OF THE RIGHTEOUS BABE Alt-rock hero Ani DiFranco drops into town for a pair of concerts on her Unprecedented Sh!t tour. Apr. 10–11. thaliahallchicago.com COSPLAY CAPITAL Geekdom converges at McCormick Place for C2E2, whose big-name guests include everyone’s favorite hobbits, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Apr. 11–13. c2e2.com BUILDING BLOCKS In her exhibition Cornerstone, local multimedia artist Yasmin Spiro uses giant sculptures to reflect on architecture. Apr. 19–Nov. 9. hydeparkart.org POLICE BLUES A new play by Pulitzer finalist Zora Howard,…

FOR ITS PROSAIC NAME, THE STEAK AND potato sandwich at JT’s Genuine Sandwich Shop packs a whole lot into one roll: caraway-rubbed skirt steak, crisp fries, silky sweet onions, truffle mayo, Manchego cheese, and an assertive chimichurri sauce to counter all the richness. While chef-owner Chris Cunningham makes the components in-house, the version here leans on store-bought fries and aïoli to pare down prep. Good multitaskers can power through the hands-on steps in the time it takes to caramelize the onions, but for a more relaxed approach, the onions and chimichurri can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week. JT’S STEAK AND POTATO SANDWICH Makes 2 sandwiches Active time 55 minutes Total time 3 hours 1 tsp. caraway seeds1 tsp. cumin seeds12 oz. outside skirt steak, trimmed1 tsp.…

“Fashion is something new for me — something I did when I started getting some more money in my pocket. My fourth year, I got deeper into it, having ideas of different things I wanted to wear. Like when I had on a fur coat and hat — I had seen Denzel Washington in American Gangster.” “We had a talented defense last year, but we didn’t play to our standard. Some of it is the partnership with player and coach, but at the end of the day, if you make plays, you make plays—the coach doesn’t stop you from making plays. We have to take more pride in what we do.We have to get that blue-collar, hard-work mentality. I’m not saying we don’t have it, but we can take it…