#Chicago blog

Photo of the week for Apr 11, 2014

Posted by Laura Baginski on Apr 11, 2014 at 9:43am

A nice way to close the week: a stunning shot of our skyline at sunset by @chicagopics_ig. 

Want to be featured as Time Out Chicago's photo of the week? Tag your Instagram photos with #chigram and you may just become Internet famous. The photo of the week will be posted on the Time Out Chicago blog every Friday.

Read full post

The 10 things we don't want to see at the George Lucas Museum

Posted by Brent DiCrescenzo on Apr 10, 2014 at 4:22pm

Our city might be the future home of the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum. As in George Lucas. As in the billionaire that ruined your memories of childhood. In addition to Star Wars props and ephemera, such as the scale model of the Millennium Falcon, this "world class museum of the digital arts" would also house the blockbuster filmmaker's collection of wholesome Normal Rockwell paintings—because of course he has that.

Read full post

Divvy announces Divvy Week, puts more bikes on the streets

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 10, 2014 at 2:04pm

Divvy stations have been looking a little empty as of late, but they'll be fully stocked by the end of the week. Today, Chicago's bike-share program announced that it is getting ready for spring by releasing 700 bikes that were in storage during the winter back into its system. Divvy has been operating for nine months, but riders have already logged an estimated two million miles on the bright blue bikes.

Read full post

Profiles Theatre to mount Sharr White's 'Annapurna'

Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 9, 2014 at 1:25pm

Profiles Theatre has announced a new entry to close out its 2013–14 season. Sharr White'sAnnapurna will replace the previously announced Hunter Gatherers by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Profiles's Chicago premiere of White's two-hander about an estranged married couple will run June 6–July 20 at the company's Alley Stage. It comes close on the heels of the play's New York premiere, which begins performances next week starring Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.

CHIRP Radio hosts its Record Fair this Saturday

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 9, 2014 at 11:31am

If you're a vinyl fan, you'll want to head to Chicago Journeymen Plumbers Union Hall this Saturday for the 12th annual CHIRP Radio Record Fair & Other Delights. The event gives crate diggers an opportunity to browse through thousands of records provided by 60 regional vendors. Chicago-based labels like Hausu Mountain, Hozac and FPE Records will slinging their wares, while records stores such as Saki and Record Breakers also get in on the action.

Read full post

The most popular Chicago rappers by neighborhood

Posted by Brent DiCrescenzo on Apr 9, 2014 at 10:45am

A few weeks back, you might have seen a map of the United States displaying "the most distinctive" music acts by state. Sufjan Stevens was the representative of Illinois. So that got us thinking. Chance the Rapper, Kanye West and Chief Keef grab a bunch of headlines these days. Using Google Trends data, we looked at which neighborhoods and suburbs rank highest in search volume for our biggest local hip-hop stars. According to the heat maps, Homewood reps hard for Lupe and Yeezus. And despite all the hype, Chance the Rapper is largely a phenomenon in the posh near suburbs.

Read full post

18 punny Chicago signs

Posted by Laura Baginski on Apr 8, 2014 at 3:12pm

Here at Time Out, we love a good pun. Hell, we love a bad pun. And so do a lot of Chicago businesses. In fact, these hair salons, restaurants and pet shops love punnery so much they threw wordplay into their business's names—some to clever effect. And some not.

Theater Wit snags 'Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play'

Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 8, 2014 at 12:04pm

Theater Wit has reason to praise Jebus: The Lakeview company has locked down the rights to stage the Chicago premiere of Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play in the 2014–15 season. Washburn's high-profile hit, which imagines The Simpsons episode "Cape Feare" becoming a mythological touchstone in the decades following a global power-grid failure, made its debut at D.C.'s Woolly Mammoth Theater Company in 2012.

Chicago has many miles to go before it's the bike-friendliest city

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 8, 2014 at 9:46am

Over the weekend, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the Chicago Department of Transportation is halfway to its goal of installing 100 miles of protected bike lanes by 2015. Twenty more miles of protected bike lanes will be installed throughout this spring and summer. The remaining 30 miles are in the design phase and are on schedule to be installed by early 2015.

Read full post

Goodman Theatre gets Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 7, 2014 at 3:56pm

The Goodman Theatre has filled one TBD slot in the 2014–15 season it announced a month ago. The theater will produce the Chicago premiere of Christopher Durang's Chekhov-inspired comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, to be directed by Steve Scott in the Albert Theatre in the spring, with exact dates to be determined.

Read full post

The Comedy Exposition of 2014 coming in July

Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 7, 2014 at 2:45pm

A new DIY comedy festival, this one explicitly inspired by the absence of Just for Laughs Chicago, is coming to three different neighborhoods July 11–13. The organizers of the Comedy Exposition of 2014 (one of whom, Matt Byrne, contributes comedy coverage toTime Out Chicago) launched a Kickstarter for the fest on March 27 and reached their initial goal of $3,000 within 24 hours; they've since upped the goal in hopes of adding more nationally touring stand-ups.

Read full post

Prepare your DVR: Game of Thrones (and a lot more) begins this Sunday

Posted by Jessica Johnson on Apr 4, 2014 at 3:19pm

After inspiring oodles of screams and tears with last year's late-season bloodbath, Game of Thrones has quite an act to follow when its fourth season premieres this Sunday at 8pm. But with an ensemble this large, there are always more throats to be slit.

Read full post

CTA proposes new regulations in the wake of O'Hare crash

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 4, 2014 at 3:12pm

Following last week’s incident at O’Hare, the CTA is proposing new rules designed to prevent train operators from dozing off at the controls. Today, CTA President Forrest Claypool released a statement outlining the CTA’s new regulations. Operators will be limited to a maximum 12 hours of train operations in a 14-hour time period (there is currently no limit), and the minimum rest time between shifts will be increased from eight hours to 10 hours.

Read full post

Photo of the week for Apr 4, 2014

Posted by Laura Baginski on Apr 4, 2014 at 12:30pm

We've seen some crazy things living in this city, but a person surfing Lake Michigan on a frigid Chicago day ranks pretty high up there. So, big thanks to Steph Nikora (@stephnikora) for showing us that this "spring" weather could always feel much worse: We could be riding a surfboard soaking wet.

Read full post

Dimo's introduces a Game of Thrones–themed pizza

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 4, 2014 at 12:09pm

Last year, Dimo’s Pizza concocted a pizza that featured a Jeppson’s Malört mole sauce and was actually delicious. Now the mad scientists in the Dimo’s lab have figured out a way to incorporate Mountain Dew and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into their latest recipe. The Game of Thrones–themed Flamin’ Hot Daenerys slice is made with a caramelized onion base, topped with housemade pulled pork, Mountain Dew gastrique, Flamin' Hot Cheetos gratin, sunflower seeds and cheddar cheese.

Read full post

Eat this now: Vegan taco at Takito Kitchen

Posted by Amy Cavanaugh on Apr 3, 2014 at 12:00pm

While out researching the story about the best margaritas in the city, we ate a ton of tacos to soak up all the booze. And of those many tacos, the standout was a surprise—it's the vegan taco at Takito Kitchen. The taco has only been on the menu for a few months, and it's only available at dinner, but it's become my favorite Takito bite. Roasted veggies (sweet potatoes on my visit), hearts of palm, avocados and arugula are placed on a corn tortilla and topped with a fiery morita salsa.

Read full post

Chipotle's Cultivate Festival skips Chicago

Posted by Zach Long on Apr 3, 2014 at 11:59am

Chipotle’s inaugural Cultivate Festival was held in Lincoln Park in 2011 and has returned to the location for the past two years. The one-day food and music festival expanded to San Francisco and Denver over the past two years as well, but the burrito celebration won’t be returning to Chicago in 2014. While Chipotle's festival may be leaving Chicago, they'll be giving back to the city in other ways. On Earth Day, Chicago Area Chipotle restaurants will be donating 50% of their proceeds to the local branch of the nonprofit organization the Kitchen Community…

Read full post

American Theater Company announces 30th season lineup

Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 2, 2014 at 1:55pm

American Theater Company today announced the slate for its 30th anniversary season, to include among other things a new work by Stephen Karam, a playwright closely aligned with the company, as well as a new production of the cult musical Little Shop of Horrors. The season will open in September with a pair of solo pieces about health care in America, staged in repertory.

Read full post

The 10 best albums of 2014 so far

Posted by Brent DiCrescenzo on Apr 2, 2014 at 1:45pm

Beck, Schoolboy Q, Mac DeMarco lead the pack of the best records at the first quarter mark. So far this year, pop singers have gone gothic. Hip-hop has swung back to the West Coast. Alternative stars of the 1990s have come out of slumber with lovely new releases. The great thing about this list, beyond the music, is that you can catch just about everyone playing in Chicago soon.

Read full post