Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i Chicago magazine

Q: Why are there so many Old Style signs in Chicago? Old Style, brewed since 1902 in Wisconsin, has been closely associated with Chicago since 1950, when it became the official beer of the Cubs, sold by Wrigley Field vendors. Then, in the 1970s, Old Style’s salesmen began offering lighted signs to local taverns, whose owners were thrilled to have a glowing advertisement for a well-liked beer. The beverage’s popularity increased here in 1976, after Budweiser brewers went on strike, leaving Old Style one of the only available cheap beers. As the brand tried to expand beyond the Midwest in the 1990s, a series of TV ads starring quintessential Chicago actor Dennis Farina mocked New Yorkers and Angelenos trying to glom on to Old Style: “It’s our great beer, and…

WHEN MERRIAM-WEBSTER selected “gaslighting” as its 2022 word of the year, citing a spike in search traffic, its editors declared that, in the age of misinformation, it was “a word for our time.” While ubiquitous these days, the term actually dates back to 1938, when Gas Light, a psychological thriller set in the Victorian era, premiered onstage in London. “It’s fascinating to see how a certain type of behavior and relationship is really archetypal,” says Lawrence Grimm, the veteran Chicago actor who plays the manipulative Jack Manningham in a new production, running November 28 to January 4 at Northlight Theatre in Skokie. “Gaslighting is probably timeless.” Spoiler alert for an 80-plusyear-old story: The play captures one climactic evening in a long game of cat and mouse between a scheming husband and…

O’Hare TORTAS FRONTERA Terminals 1, 3, and 5; Gates B11, K4, and M18 Rick Bayless’s terrific tortas spot is my go-to for both breakfast and lunch. If it’s morning, I get the egg and rajas torta, with scrambled eggs, roasted poblano rajas, Cotija and Jack cheese, and avocado, while midday I go for the crispy chicken Milanesa, with cabbage, pickled jalapeños, Cotija, avocado-tomatillo salsa, and cilantro crema. And when I just need a snack, the guacamole and an El Súper Clásico margarita can ease the pain of any delay. —A.C. LA TAPENADE MEDITERRANEAN CAFE Terminals 1, 2, and 3; Gates B4, E9, and H14 For a fast and delicious—and healthy — breakfast, I swing by La Tapenade for the vegetable frittata. It’s a fluffy square of eggs loaded…

ASK A SOURDOUGH BAKER, A SAUERKRAUT maker, or anyone else who dabbles in fermentation: Time is the secret ingredient for unlocking profound layers of flavor. Take, for instance, black garlic, produced by holding standard garlic at warm temperatures for days or even weeks. “It slowly caramelizes until it’s black, with a raisiny, molasses-like flavor,” says Cafe Yaya chef and co-owner Zach Engel. He whips puréed black garlic cloves into tahini for a dip that comes together easily but packs a depth that makes raw garlic seem like a boorish loudmouth. “It makes the tahini have an evolving round of tastes,” says Engel. “Nutty, to sweet, to umami, to a little fruity acidity.” CAFE YAYA’S BLACK GARLIC TAHINI Makes About 3 cups Active time 20 minutes Total time 50 minutes 3 fresh…

When LaDonna Hill brought the Leo High School choir to Southern California in March to audition for NBC’s America’s Got Talent, she had no expectation that the group would get a callback. She had done it as an educational experience for the choir, which hailed from the majority-Black, all-boys Catholic school in Auburn Gresham. After all, Hill — the choir’s director for 19 years — never held auditions of her own. All were welcome. “Most of my boys had no musical experience,” Hill says. If you watched AGT this season, that might seem hard to believe. Wearing their Leo High School letterman jackets and tees, the choir members charmed viewers across the country with their soulful interpretations of pop-rock anthems and creative choreography. With the city increasingly following their progress…

It was the winter of 2023, and Maureen Graves was looking for a way to help the thousands of migrants who had been bused to Chicago. “I was freaked out sleeping in my warm bed watching people sleep in tents,” she says. She showed up at police stations with coats and blankets and started getting to know some of the families camped out there. A longtime special education lawyer with no experience practicing immigration law, she hadn’t necessarily intended to tap her legal expertise. But she ended up helping a person on the verge of missing their deadline to file for asylum. A few months later, she helped another. And then another. “It’s just very hard to say no to people who do not have alternatives,” Graves, 68, says. Nearly…

For Paul Brickman, the dream was always the same: to make a film for the youth of the 1980s that was smart and stylish and seductive. The Graduate for the Reagan era. While working as a Hollywood screenwriter in the late ’70s, the Highland Park native (son of syndicated Chicago Daily News and Sun-Times cartoonist Morrie Brickman) clashed with Jonathan Demme and other directors he felt weren’t fully realizing his material. Brickman quickly came to believe that if he ever wanted to see his unspoiled vision rendered on the big screen, he would have to not only write a cracking script but direct the picture himself. Sometimes you gotta say, “What the fuck,” make your move. That seize-themoment mantra has become one of the most quoted lines from Risky Business.…

1 Cook County gets its first new chief judge in 24 years when Charles Beach takes over for Timothy Evans Dec. 1. Voted out by the circuit court’s judges, Evans had been an outspoken supporter of criminal justice reforms. 2 Chicago could have the coldest, snowiest winter in a decade, thanks to a Pacific warming phenomenon called the Blob. It pushes the jet stream north in the Arctic, causing it to dip over the upper Midwest. 3 A new city budget is due by month’s end. Mayor Johnson has a $1.19 billion hole to fill. He’ll be raising someone’s taxes, but whose? He’s proposing hitting businesses with $617 million in various new fees. 4 Dec. 13 marks the 100th birthday of Danville native Dick Van Dyke. A new documentary about him…

Since 1921, the Bears and Packers have faced each other 210 times, more than any two teams in the NFL. Green Bay has won 108 of those. (Curses, Favre and Rodgers.) This month they play twice. Here’s how to cast bad mojo on our northern nemesis. ○ Wear a foam cheese grater on your head. ○ Wear a T-shirt that says “Packers Can Suck My Ditka and Kiss My Butkus.” ○ Wear a T-shirt that says “Popes From Chicago: 1. Popes From Green Bay: 0.” ○ Boycott Culver’s. From Wisconsin with love? To Wisconsin with hate. ○ Eat a hot dog, not a brat. ○ If you must go to Wisconsin, don’t cross the 50-yard line: that is, State Highway 50, which separates Bears and Packers fans. ○ Tell jokes:…

THREE-SHOW PACKAGES BEGIN AT JUST $19* PER SHOW. We’re proud to bring you treasured classics and new favorites this season, all done with that unforgettable Paramount flair. We invite you to join the adventure, fall in love with the music, stories and memorable moments found only through… Broadway at the Paramount. Subscribe today at ParamountAurora.com *$19 for each ticket, when purchased in-person. Additional fees apply for phone and online orders. SPONSORED BY PARAMOUNT THEATRE DOWNTOWN, AURORA subscribe today! 630.896.6666 or PARAMOUNTAURORA.COM…

FOR MOST OF US, THE WORD “bistro” conjures a certain aesthetic and menu. Picture yourself in one, and you’re at a table covered with butcher paper spooning onion soup from a crock. A reproduction of Degas’s L’Absinthe hangs on the wall, and a waiter in a long apron brings you Pouilly-Fumé in a little stemmed glass. You’ll switch to red when the steak frites arrive. Vive la France. While the cookie cutters keep stamping out variations of this restaurant, something fresh is afoot. In Paris there’s a burgeoning cadre of “neo-bistros” — neighborhood spots headed by a chef who prepares the familiar, affordable food you crave but updates it for a modern palate. Many feature wine lists more attuned to the natural revolution than the old orthodoxies. Creepies may be Chicago’s…

1 ATSUMERU What A Japanese-Nordic fusion tasting menu from Devin Denzer (Loon). Why The 10-to-12-course experience winds you through the sleek bilevel space. Where 933 N. Ashland Ave., Noble Square 2 BUTTERCUP What Café by day, amaro bar by night. Why It’s Israel Idonije’s latest entrant to the South Loop scene, featuring cocktails and plates from Oliver’s beverage director and chef. Where 75 E. 16th St., South Loop 3 MIDŌSUJI What An eight-seat omakase from Boka Restaurant Group at the Chicago Athletic Association. Why Expect bites that meld Japanese and French influences. Where 12 S. Michigan Ave., Loop 4 BABE’S SPORTS BAR What Bars showing women’s sports are a national trend; Chicago finally gets one. Why Catch a game over spicy passionfruit margaritas or prosecco on tap. Where 3017 W. Armitage Ave., Logan Square 5 DOROTHY’S BAKERY What A brick-and-mortar…

Rachel Cohen knows the precise moment something clicked in her. It was a Thursday in March, and the 31-year-old attorney was riding the bus home from the West Loop office of Skadden, the big law firm where she worked as a third-year associate. Scrolling on her phone, she saw a news alert: Paul Weiss, one of the country’s most powerful firms, had committed $40 million in pro bono work to causes championed by the Trump administration. In return, the White House dropped an executive order targeting the firm. “I was so infuriated,” Cohen recalls. She suspected her own bosses were preparing to do the same, having evaded questions on the topic. “I realized that I needed to lay all this out for people because they were not paying attention or…

Electric Avenue Look, Ma, no pedals! At least when you don’t want to use them, thanks to the throttle-only mode on the Flyer Flex, a utility e-bike from Chicagobased Radio Flyer. $2,299. radioflyer.com MUG SHOTS Dara Schuman makes her wheel-thrown vessels by folding and trimming stoneware clay, resulting in a sculptural way to sip. From $75 each. The Center of Order and Experimentation, 1727 W. Grand Ave. PAGE MATCH Artist Cody Hudson, a.k.a. Struggle Inc., lets abstract forms shape the narrative of his seven-inch-tall powdercoated steel bookends. $1,200 for a pair. phloemstudiogallery.com BLOOM SERVICE No mere stem holder, CB2’s Parade Reflect travertine vase features a circular brass backdrop that mirrors the flowers in an expansive, painterly way. $249. cb2.com BLEND SETTER KitchenAid stirs vibrancy into its new Butter stand mixer,…

Free Durk. He’s a good dude overall. Dewayne Brandon via LinkedIn I love that this guy’s whole persona is “My dad told me …” @djmorrisonster via Instagram Here’s you mythologizing him. @Bobbbe11 via Instagram TWEEDY STAN That is a great photo [“Jeff Tweedy Just Wants to Let His Light Shine,” October]. Keep making great music, Mr. Tweedy. @jasonswearingen via Instagram TAKING A STAND Thank you, National Immigrant Justice Center, for all you do [“The ICE Men Cometh,” October]. We care about our neighbors here. @cygneteventsanddesign via Instagram Thank you to [Mary Meg] McCarthy and all true patriots who still believe that “defending immigrants’ rights is a fight to preserve America’s rule of law.” Magdalena García via Facebook POLITICAL HISTORY We’re here for whatever Dominic Pacyga writes [“The Birth and Death…

IT WAS HIGH NOON AT CITY HALL ON SEPTEMBER 25. THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING was supposed to have started an hour earlier, but impatient alders were cooling their heels. Mayor Brandon Johnson was still in his fifth-floor office, trying to hash out a new slate of committee chairs with the Black and Latino caucuses. He couldn’t get a deal done. “This is the most inept mayor I’ve ever seen,” one alderperson grumbled at the time. Traditionally, Chicago mayors have been able to dictate the chairs of City Council committees. But the days of domineering mayors, which date back to the rule of Richard J. Daley, seem to have come to an end. Thanks to two consecutive weak, politically inexperienced mayors—Johnson and Lori Lightfoot—the council has been clawing back power it lost…

WHEN SOMETHING HURTS, Steven Cohen is the doctor you want to see: He’s an expert in pain medicine, a specialty that cuts across disciplines. He’s also a prolific researcher who has published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. His latest work draws on his military experience to investigate pain treatments. A retired army colonel who served in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, he traveled to Ukraine last year to study soldiers injured in the war with Russia — specifically, amputees. Cohen, vice chair of pain medicine and a professor of anesthesiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, talked with Chicago about pain that’s particular to amputees, how what he learned in Ukraine could apply to the some 2 million Americans living with limb loss, and the potential for…

MOTION IS LOTION” IS A MAXIM Sarah Spain lives by. But behind the Emmy-winning ESPN journalist’s kilowatt smile is a woman who has endured a painful journey to stay active. Raised in Lake Forest, she was a heptathlete at Cornell — until an Achilles tear and surgery left her with a shortened calf muscle and lifelong imbalance in her kinetic chain. Marathons and yoga are out; walking and hot Pilates at Chicago’s 105F studios are in. Meanwhile, she’s hitting new highs professionally. This summer, the 45-year-old published her first book: Runs in the Family, the true story of a football coach grappling with generational trauma. And last year, she launched the first daily podcast about women’s sports, Good Game With Sarah Spain. She records from her Wicker Park home, which…

EVOKING THE GOLDEN BOY The Siskel Film Center hosts a monthlong Robert Redford retrospective honoring the ultimate movie star. Screenings include The Sting, All the President’s Men, and Quiz Show. Dec. 2–31. siskelfilmcenter.org SING OUT, MS. CLEVES! The half dozen wives of Henry VIII belt their way through beheadings and divorces when the pop-rock musical Six returns on tour. Dec. 2–14. broadwayinchicago.com WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE? Native son John C. Reilly expands the Great American Songbook with his vaudeville-inspired show, Mister Romantic. Dec. 4–6. steppenwolf.org DISCOMFORT ZONE Emmy-winning comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who dissects his interracial queer relationship in his most recent HBO special, Don’t Be Gay, settles in for six nights of standup. Dec. 6–11. thedentheatre.com SLEIGH ME The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show, an evening of songs…

MAPLEWOOD LOUNGE 2717 N. Maplewood Ave., Avondale ■ Perfect order Pork butter, fall pub salad, lazy dumplings ■ Maplewood, a brewery and distillery, has long been known for its canned beers like Son of Juice IPA. But since 2017 it has also run a semihidden taproom hard up against a weed-choked highway overpass in Avondale, and since earlier this year that taproom has spawned one of the city’s more interesting venues for Polish food. When chef Joanna Janczurewicz (BiXi) was tapped to design a menu, she leaned into her heritage. “I said, ‘Guys, just trust me. Chicago has such a deep Polish history,’ ” she recalls. “It was a bit of a leap of faith.” The food, which for now comes in cardboard, includes such fun bites as smalec, a…

IT WAS A GOLDEN ERA OF INDIE LABELS. YOU COULDN’T SWING A dead cat in 1990s Chicago without hitting one that was defined by idiosyncratic interests and personalities, all dogged enough to make them viable. Touch and Go, Delmark, Alligator, Wax Trax!, Thrill Jockey, Drag City, Minty Fresh, Carrot Top, Johann’s Face, Atavistic, Pravda, Feel Good All Over, Kranky, and others were supporting original music. Some had stars in their eyes and future stars on their rosters. Others liked their buddy’s band and thought a few hundred others might as well. They followed their ears and their hearts; if their brains, some luck, and enough fans followed, so much the better. The pioneering spirit was everywhere. Anyone, we thought, could do it. As this was happening, music and artists tarred with…

Like millions around the world, I watched white smoke billow from the Sistine Chapel on May 8 with a mix of bemusement and morbid fascination. (I’d watched the movie Conclave a couple of weeks earlier, so my interest in all things papal was piqued.) Back in the day, the smoke signal was a genius way to quickly communicate that a conclave had chosen a new pope — the original tweet. In the age of X and Instagram, which the new pope could access from his ever-present Apple Watch, the pomp seemed silly. A televised smoke signal? Why not skip the middleman? My eye-rolling stopped when I heard the new pope’s hometown. Chicago? Really? Despite being a Catholic so lapsed I can lap the other lapses without breaking a sweat, I…

■ The stage, for me, has been a psychologist’s couch. I was the happiest in my life when I was doing Aida, because I cried through that show maybe three or four times a night. There’s something cathartic about that. My son wants to be an actor, and I’ve been explaining to him that onstage you have to be vulnerable. You have to be ready to cry. You have to be ready to have spit flying out of your mouth and just be naked to some extent. The audience appreciates it. ■ When I was leaving Aida, my future father-in-law, Johnny Musso—he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame and played for the Bears — pulled me aside and said, “Have you prepared yourself? For the past five or six years,…