Home//Chicago magazine/August 2024/In This Issue
Chicago magazine|August 2024Skatingthrough the agesWhile the rest of the world zooms full speed into the modern with cybertrucks and AI and same-day deliveries, the more amazing discoveries these days may be from the past.Consider Chicago’s thriving roller skating scene.Some of the area’s most storied rinks have closed in recent decades. But a steadfast few still bring in thousands of skaters each week for exercise, for lessons, for competition, for breaks from caregiving, for social connection, for love.AARP Chicago was happy to discover that roller skating is alive and well in the area and that many of the people gliding through the rinks are in their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s.“Too many older people, they say, ‘well, I can’t do that anymore or I shouldn’t,” says Roger Wampach, 80. “I taught my mother-in-law how to…4 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Strong ArmedWHEN PHOTOGRAPHER CLAYTON Hauck shot Cubs rookie sensation Shota Imanaga at Wrigley Field for this issue’s “Best of Chicago” cover (the story starts on page 50), he had to guide the ace into the perfect pitching position—perfect for the camera, that is, not for throwing strikes. “We had to get him to sort of change his delivery a little so we could see the ball better,” explains Hauck, a lifelong Cubs fan. “I was joking with his translator that I didn’t want to ruin his mechanics, because pitchers spend a lot of time mastering their motions.” A few days after the shoot, as luck would have it, Imanaga had his worst outing of the season, giving up 10 runs to the Mets in less than four innings. Says Hauck: “I…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024The Wabash LightsIF YOUR IDEA OF interactive public art is sliding down the Picasso in Daley Center or snapping funhouse-mirror selfies with the Bean, take note of a new project spearheaded by Lake View filmmaker Jack C. Newell. Ten years ago, he set out on a quest: “Could we make a piece of public art that’s actually made by the public?” His answer is finally at hand with the Wabash Lights. The week of August 12, Newell’s team will activate four parallel 50-foot stretches of custom-built colorful LEDs affixed beneath the L tracks along Wabash Avenue between Madison and Monroe — a lucent installation that lets anyone passing by play artist.HOW IT WORKSLook for a QR code on a nearby light post or storefront window. Once you’ve scanned it, the prompts will…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Catherine De OrioREINVENTION COMES naturally to Catherine De Orio. As a young lawyer whose renowned party planning caught Oprah’s attention, she enrolled in night culinary classes at Kendall College, then hopscotched into a foodie career, including a five-year stint as host of WTTW’s Check, Please! Now executive director of the Foundation for Culinary Arts, which helps aspiring teen chefs, she’s also on the verge of launching Casa De Orio, a website devoted to food and design. While still passionate about fitness—she runs on the lakefront and tones up with the Tracy Anderson Method — the 48-year-old West Loop resident leans into doing less: “Ten years ago, I thought I could do everything. Now I’m a big proponent of slowing down and enjoying life.”IT’S IN THE HIPS“I got into Latin dance aerobics during…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Chilled OutJUST ABOUT EVERY ASIAN COUNTRY OFFERS a version of a crushed-ice sundae. Unlike with a snow cone, ice and syrup mark just the beginning of these creations—they may include ice cream, sweetened beans, corn flakes, fresh fruit, condensed milk, springy cubes of gelatin, even corn. They look enormous but disappear quickly as the ice melts, the flavors swirl, and you keep assembling surprising, wonderful spoonfuls. Try these five.JAPANESEKakigori at GaijinDuring the warm months in Japan, shopkeepers hang curtains displaying the character for ‘ice’ to entice passersby to come inside and escape the humidity over a giant mound of kakigori. This okonomiyaki spot offers the flavored ice for dessert, and bless them for showcasing the most classic type, Ujikintoki. Named after a town renowned for its green tea, it combines matcha…3 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Salad DaysTOMATO SALADS MAY BE ALL OVER MENUS DURING THIS FLEETING season, when the fruit is at its juicy peak, but Tigist Reda’s take is a little different. “I wanted to make something that was familiar, but give it a distinct flavor,” says the Demera chef. To garden-variety ingredients like olive oil and basil, she adds berbere, a brilliant red blend of cayenne pepper and spices like cumin and coriander that’s foundational to the cuisine of her native Ethiopia. The resulting salad—bright and fresh with an undertone of complex heat — feels both classic and new. Along with ambasha (a traditional flatbread that’s cubed and toasted into croutons here), berbere can be found at Ethiopian grocery stores like Edgewater’s Kukulu Market.TIGIST REDA’S BERBERE HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALADMakes 6 servingsActive time 5 minutesTotal…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024HELMUT JAHN WOULD HAVE WANTED THISHelmut Jahn died without knowing the fate of his polarizing masterpiece, the James R. Thompson Center. How much longer will it stand? Just five days before the architect’s death in 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker issued the state’s request for proposals for the sale of Jahn’s long-embattled Loop landmark—without any stipulation that it not be torn down.With its soaring 17-story atrium, the curved glass building, which initially housed state offices, nodded to the domed structures of classical civic structures and symbolized a desire for transparency in government. During the grand public unveiling in 1985, officials unfurled a banner declaring it “A Building for Year 2000,” a sign of optimism for Illinois’s future and Chicago’s legacy of boundary-pushing design. But years of deferred maintenance and political ambivalence eventually took their toll, and…10 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024High RollerThe luxury French fashion house Celine has boosted the style élevé in the Gold Coast since setting up shop here in December. Its sprawling store satisfies loyalists with signature minimalist men’s and women’s ready-towear, leather goods, accessories, and perfume. (Yes, you can score an iconic crossbody Triomphe bag.) Equally impressive is the Hedi Slimane–designed Brutalist setting, where natural stone statues loom next to mirrored gold glass, making this shop-museum hybrid a thrill for browsers and big spenders alike. 939 N. Rush St.…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Tropical Cool1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024HOW WE SHINEST. PETE-CLEARWATER FLORIDASt. Pete-Clearwater is home to America’s Best Beaches and boasts limitless outdoor adventures, perfect for every type of traveler. Kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling and boating are only a few of the ways to explore the Gulf Coast waters. If you prefer your adventure on land, state parks with biking and walking trails, campgrounds and nature preserves offer endless ways to experience this beautiful landscape and its wildlife.Locals love the outdoors as much as visitors and are eager to share it. Captain Dylan Hubbard, a fourth-generation owner and operator of the renowned Hubbard’s Marina, located at John’s Pass Village in Madeira Beach, says he’s still taken by the splendor of his home: “It is really just absolutely breathtaking around here.” He seeks to share that local beauty and his…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Burger BonanzaI don’t know how there can be a top 10 Chicago burger list without the Loyalist. @jeannieandresen_ via InstagramRagadan should be higher on this list, except I don’t want the place to get overly mobbed [“The Great Chicago Burger Quest,” May]. Also, I got the sads when I thought about how good the Bad Apple and Kuma’s used to be.Da4 via RedditBig fan of [photographer] Nick Murway. Been following his career and great work for over a decade.@heidih2pr via InstagramMAYORAL ASSESSMENTA must-read for understanding the challenges at the heart of Chicago’s political landscape [“Grading the Mayor,” May]. This is the most accurate reality of Mayor Johnson’s tenure: ambition clashing with inefficacy.@SuperChilligan via XC− is generous. He is a train wreck.@BigJohnTrainor viaOuch! Firm but fair.@CoachV_Friars via XAre any progressives actually mad…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024The Mayor’s Big TestAT 93, POLITICAL STRATEGIST DON ROSE IS OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER THE 1968 Democratic National Convention. In fact, he participated in the anti–Vietnam War demonstrations that famously accompanied it. He also recalls how Mayor Richard J. Daley’s reputation in the national Democratic Party never recovered after his police officers clubbed and gassed protesters. Chicago’s image, too, took a hit that tarnished it for years.So Rose knows there’s much at stake for current mayor Brandon Johnson during this August’s DNC, particularly when it comes to handling the Gaza war protesters who are expected to show up in force. And the potential downsides far outweigh the upsides, Rose says: “I am not a believer that the conventions do that much for any particular city, unless something very bad happens. If it goes…6 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Modern MarvelFOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE its construction 70 years ago, a modernist home that famed architect Harry Weese designed for his sister is for sale. While best known for large projects — including Chicago’s triangular Metropolitan Correctional Center and the circular Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist—Weese also created residences for his parents, aunts, and siblings. “That’s the only thing an architect can do when he starts out,” Weese once told historian Betty J. Blum, “because no one will trust him with anything bigger.”Weese’s sister Suzanne built the house in 1954. The board-and-batten design, listed at $1.5 million, is on half an acre in Wilmette, at 2801 Iroquois Road, in the Indian Hill Estates subdivision. Suzanne was concerned how her tradition-minded neighbors, who commissioned Tudors and Colonial Revivals, might react to…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Best Feet ForwardTWO YEARS AGO, THE Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s daylong showcase Reclamation drew 7,000 fans to Millennium Park, marking the end of its three-year pilot program and capping the city’s Year of Chicago Dance initiative. Now, on August 24, the project will see if lightning can strike twice as it sets off another joy bomb at Pritzker Pavilion with its latest showcase, Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk.The subtitle alludes to an early 20th-century W.E.B. Du Bois text on the African American experience. But CBDLP director Princess Mhoon says the project’s broader goal is to reframe Black dance as American dance—for everyone. “We’re not separate,” the veteran choreographer says. “We can find our common humanity on that stage, whether it’s in the church, on your prayer rug, in your…3 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024A Double DelightREMEMBER THE FAR SIDE cartoon that compared what we say to dogs (a speech bubble with full sentences) with what they hear (a thought bubble with “blah, blah, blah” and, occasionally, their names)? I feel like one of those dogs whenever I go to a tasting-menu restaurant and the server spiels each dish over loud music, listing a dozen arcane ingredients bound up in a story. I nod politely, then ask my companion, “Did she say this was salmon?”At some restaurants the dishes themselves can be as much of a blur as the word salad that precedes them. But at Cariño, a five-table rabbit hutch in the Uptown space that previously housed Brass Heart and 42 Grams, the descriptions may be long, but the flavors unfold with such clarity that…5 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Ask the Dining EditorMy parents are coming to town. Where should I take them for dinner?When I have visitors, I want a place that has great food (obviously!) and feels unique but also very Chicago. In other words, a restaurant like Boeufhaus in Humboldt Park. The French-and-German-influenced steakhouse is cozy and offers some of the city’s best beef. Besides a steak, order the shrimp co*cktail and short rib beignets to share and the ceci bean cavatelli—ever since I learned it’s a server favorite, I’ve been getting it every time.What’s a good place for a breakfast meeting?For a casual weekday morning get-together, I like Loaf Lounge in Avondale for great breakfast sandwiches and pastries and a low-key atmosphere that allows for lingering. For something more formal, an elegant hotel restaurant is a good bet.…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Best of ChicagoBEST NEW REASON TO VISIT WRIGLEY FIELDAll we really require from our city’s pro athletes is that they help their teams win. But it doesn’t hurt when they also love being here — and get what makes us tick. In his first season with the Cubs after eight years playing in his native Japan, 30-year-old phenom Shota Imanaga is nailing it on all fronts. Not only has he enjoyed a sensational start to his rookie season, he has further endeared himself to fans by coming onto the field to “Chelsea Dagger.” He explains, through an interpreter: “I had a chance to go to a Blackhawks game, and when they played the song, I saw how much the fans were getting into it. It was like a whole performance.” He also…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024THE BEST OF CHICAGO’S TRIO OF CLASSICSBEST ITALIAN BEEFJustin Fortuna opened the first Jay’s Beef in Schiller Park back in 1976. That spot has since closed, but the family’s other northwest suburban location is still kicking. Their prep is a two-day process that involves roasting the meat in a mix of seasonings, then cutting it razor thin. They dunk slices in potent gravy before tucking them into rolls from nearby Liborio Bakery. I like it “hot,” with the unique house blend of giardiniera. 4418 N. Narragansett Ave., Harwood HeightsBEST DEEP-DISH PIZZAJerry Czerwinski has taken deep dish to new heights at Uncle Jerry’s Pizza Company, which he opened in 2021. It has a light crust that gets extra crispy around the edges, and he dresses it with a beautifully bright red sauce, rich and tangy cheese, and…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024HOW THE THOMPSON CENTER GOT ITS BIG-SCREEN MOMENTShortly after the completion of what was then called the State of Illinois Building, the 1986 buddy-cop film Running Scared thrust Jahn’s eyepopping edifice into the Hollywood spotlight. (“I’m not a movie guy,” the architect told me in 2019, “[but] I’ve seen parts of it.”)Director Peter Hyams recalls how he came to shoot his climactic scene there:Running Scared grew out of a love affair I have with Chicago. From 1968 to 1970, I was a blissfully untalented anchorman and reporter for CBS-2. One of the things I felt about Chicago was that it was visually spectacular—more so, actually, than New York. Chicago has the elevated train going right through the city. The original script was about two New York City cops who retire. I said, “I’d like to change it…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Value MealsYOU WILL FIND A WIDE RANGE OF PLACES TO EAT IN OUR rankings of the 50 best restaurants in town (page 78). But conspicuously absent are Chicago’s only three-Michelin-starred spots: Alinea and Smyth. Alinea’s Grant Achatz “paved the way for a lot of folks in the industry,” says dining editor Amy Cavanaugh, who compiled the list with dining critic John Kessler, “but I think the torch has been passed. If you really want to see the best of fine dining in this city right now, you’re going to find it at restaurants like Oriole and Kyoten, not at some of the places that have been around for a while.”That’s not the only realization she came to in putting together the rankings: “Maybe it’s because of the pandemic and people opening…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024CITY OF BIG QUESTIONSQ: Is it true that the term “smoke-filled room” originated in Chicago?Four days into the 1920 Republican National Convention in Chicago, voting was deadlocked among six candidates, none of them close to a majority. That night, party chairman Will Hays invited to his Blackstone Hotel suite “senators and party leaders [who] wandered in and out at random, poured themselves drinks, and talked indecisively through the perfecto smoke,” according to Francis Russell’s 1968 book, The Shadow of Blooming Grove.The GOP pooh-bahs settled on Senator Warren G. Harding of Ohio. He had finished no higher than third in the balloting but had no enemies, looked presidential, and came from a state that had voted for every Republican president. The next day, after Harding was nominated at the convention, a United Press reporter…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Barack Slept HereTHE OBAMAS’ HOUSE5046 S. Greenwood Ave.It may be Chicago’s bestguarded house without permanent residents. The good news: Concrete barriers have been partially removed and you can now walk (but not drive) on this public street (though not on the sidewalk), right in front of the Georgian Revival mansion the Obamas bought in 2005. It’s a secret how often the former first family stays here, but it’s often enough that the tree out front has been cicada-proofed.THE OBAMAS’ FIRST-KISS ROCKCorner of 53rd Street and Dorchester AvenueNo one knows what powers this spot holds, but the Obamas’ first-date lip embrace, in 1989, must have been special to earn a plaque, attached to a boulder in front of this strip mall. The Baskin-Robbins where Barack treated Michelle to ice cream has been replaced…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024MY NEIGHBORHOOD EDGEWATER> MAS ALLA DEL SOL“I’m a big fan. It’s a family restaurant making great Mexican food, with an underappreciated tequila/mezcal bar. Great margaritas and agave co*cktails.” 5848 N. Broadway> EDGEWATER MONDAY MARKET“It’s a tiny little thing, the smallest farmers’ market in the city, but I’m excited about getting my ginger juice.” 5917 N. Broadway> SENN HIGH SCHOOL“The front yard has a big gathering place, and on Thursday nights in summer it becomes an outdoor neighborhood party. A string quartet shows up, and people bring their dogs.” 5900 N. Glenwood Ave.> KOHOKU-KU RAMEN“A new place around the corner from us, and it’s adorable. Great ramen, great fried rice, even great fried chicken.” 1136 W. Thorndale Ave.PHOTOGRAPHY: (HOUSE) VHT STUDIOS; (CRESTODINA) DANIEL COLLINSWORTH; (FOOD) KOHOKU-KU RAMEN…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024AGENDAGOTTA HAVE FAITHIn First Floor Theater’s religious-ish rom-com In His Hands, Christian (played by Alex Benito Rodriguez, pictured) and Daniel might be falling in love, as long as God doesn’t get in the way. Through Aug. 24. firstfloortheater.comCURRENCY AFFAIRSCash is king at Rosemont’s World’s Fair of Money, where vintage coin and currency collectors can browse dealers’ wares and ogle rarities like a 1794 U.S. silver dollar. Aug. 6–10. money.orgGAY RITESQueer-friendly music acts fill five stages at Northalsted Market Days, the long-running street fest that brings 100,000 visitors to the city’s official gayborhood. Aug. 10–11. northalsted.comBLAST TO THE PASTIt was only a matter of time before Back to the Future became a musical. The tuner based on the 1985 time-travel caper sets the Cadillac Palace Theatre as its destination. Aug. 13–Sept.…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Rice WorldAMICI-CHICAGO3933 N. Broadway, Lake View▪ Perfect order Italian arancino with pasta salad▪ Amici-Chicago, a counter-service spot that opened in September, is Italian in origin — owner Alfio Sciacca moved here from Sicily at the age of 24 — but as he’ll tell you, it isn’t solely an Italian restaurant. “Amici” means “friends” in Italian, but here it is an acronym for African, Mexican, Indian, Caribbean, and Italian. Sciacca, who has worked in Chicago restaurants, including Topo Gigio, for 36 years, specializes in arancini (fried Italian rice balls), which he stuffs with dishes from these countries and regions.Try the Masalacino, filled with chicken tikka masala; the Birriacino, packed with beef birria; or the Jambacino, a recent addition made with sausage, shrimp, and seasoned rice that’s a fried version of spicy jambalaya.…1 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024The Hot List1 PETITE VIE BRASSERIE What Paul Virant (Gaijin) gets back to his French roots with this newcomer in Western Springs, just around the corner from his now-closed favorite, Vie. Why We’ll go anywhere Virant is cooking, and we’ll give you two reasons why: duck confit with roasted leeks in vinaigrette and gnocchi Parisienne with peas and spring onion. Where 909 Burlington Ave., Western Springs2 BAYAN KO DINER What Bayan Ko’s Cuban-Filipino fusion makes its way down the block to this more casual diner. Why We’ll take a Cubano breakfast burrito for breakfast and cola-glazed chicken skewers at lunch. Dinner is coming soon. Where 1820 W. Montrose Ave., Ravenswood3 MINYOLI What Rich Wang cooks the Taiwanese dishes of his youth at this Andersonville newcomer. Why Try classics of the cuisine like…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024DOBEST EXCUSE TO GO OUT ON A MONDAY NIGHTThe dark confines of the Green Mill are superb for winding down after the week’s first day of work. Sit back and watch one of the city’s most impressive guitarists, Joel Paterson, masterfully flick his Epiphone’s strings to conjure slinky melodies—from Benny Goodman to the Beatles—before switching to the plaintive crying of his pedal steel guitar. His weekly show at this Uptown institution runs from 8 p.m. to midnight, but the final minutes are when you’ll hear lovely lullabies like “Mr. Sandman.” As Paterson remarked during one recent show, “We need you late-night people.” 4802 N. Broadway — ROBERT LOERZELBEST STOREFRONT THEATER INCUBATORChicago has earned its reputation for adventurous stage productions that lure audiences well beyond downtown. But even the most enterprising…15 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024SHOPBEST DESIGNER FOR DRESSING YOU LIKE MICHELLE OBAMASay you are in town for a certain convention and have long admired the stylish fits of a certain former first lady. It’s time to get acquainted with Maria Pinto (that’s her, pictured at left), Michelle O’s go-to designer throughout her husband’s presidential run (who can ever forget that ocean-blue 2008 DNC dress?). Pinto’s designs aren’t reserved for just political power players. Her new boutique in River North is all about catering to busy women. That translates to ready-to-wear pieces, from A-line dresses to sleek suits, all machine washable and travel friendly. And if you happen to pick up a body-grazing jewelneck dress worthy of the Governor’s Ball, well, all the better. 710 N. Wabash Ave. — KELLY AIGLONBEST PLACE TO SAMPLE SNAIL…7 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024THE 50 BEST RESTAURANTS1 MonteverdeWest Loop | $$$Our top pick gets all the little things and all the big things right. Monteverde is buzzy but not braying, easy on the eyes but not designy, constantly busy but never a madhouse. We love the way the servers are comfily dressed and totally knowledgeable, and we love the ways around the always-filled reservation book (i.e., by going for the city’s best lunch or its best first-come, first-served dining bar). We love the way the bill comes as a pleasant surprise, always less than expected. More than anything, we love the distinctive way chef-owner Sarah Grueneberg cooks: Italian via her native Texas. Time and again, we both recognize and thrill to her flavors, like trying comfort food for the first time. Her cacio e pepe, with…15 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Emmy Star BrownALTHOUGH HER ART IS BIG and bold, muralist Emmy A Star Brown keeps a modest footprint. “I love supporting small businesses and independent makers,” says the Logan Square resident. She hunts for treasures at her favorite flea markets, art fairs, and gift shops: “I’m very loyal to specific, unique places.” Kimball Arts Center in Humboldt Park is one of many local buildings emblazoned with her colorful abstract paintings. (Her @emmystar brown Insta has more.) Her work also adorns smaller canvases, like Yeti drinkware and Field Notes journals.DESIGN AT 329329 W. 18th St., South Loop“From vintage clothing to furniture and antique birdcages, you never know what you’ll stumble upon inside this multifloor warehouse.”WISH LIST• Oversize paintbrush (1) “It feels like a treasured artifact with stories to tell. I want to display…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024The Incredible Shrinking MarketIT’S BEEN A ROUGH RIDE of late for homebuyers in the Chicago area. With inventory shortages plaguing the local market, prices rose 4.6 percent last year, while the number of sales fell 20 percent. Real estate agents have felt the pinch, too. In our latest annual rankings, 477 agents reached residential sales of at least $10 million in 2023. That’s a sharp drop from 2021, when 861 did. It is a similar story for agent teams, with just 276 of them hitting at least $20 million, down from 435 two years earlier.So why is housing supply struggling to keep up with increased demand, particularly in the suburbs? “Last I checked, there weren’t UFOs that dropped off more people. We didn’t create a bunch of new 22-to-45-year-olds,” quips agent Matt Laricy,…2 min
Chicago magazine|August 2024Jill Wine-Banks◼ One of the big differences with Watergate is that the media agreed on the facts. They might argue the meaning or the policy implications, but facts were facts. You had William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal doing their debate show, and it was perfectly civil. It was an intellectual discussion where you could go, “Oh, that’s a rational point of view.”◼ Trump is toast in terms of convictions as long as we get to trial. All of the cases are clear-cut. There’s no question in my mind. There are times when I would like to be involved, particularly in the investigations. Imagine how we felt listening to the Nixon tapes the first time, or imagine how we felt when we found out there were tapes. It’s very exciting to…3 min
