The Time Out Chicago blog

Whole Foods Streeterville opens with a ramen bar and Begyle beer

It seems like you can hardly open a restaurant in Chicago without ramen or a craft beer brewed just for the restaurant—and now grocery stores are getting into the game. Whole Foods, which is opening seven stores in former Dominick's locations this year, will have both ramen and a signature beer at its Streeterville location, which opens tomorrow at 9am at 255 E Grand Avenue. Here's a peek inside.

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A piece of parenting advice for Jay Cutler

Kristin Cavallari, the wife of apathetic Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, posted a screenshot of a text conversation between her and her husband to Instagram yesterday that shows Jay at wit's end with his children who refuse to eat and behave. 

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The most lucrative red light cameras in Chicago

There are 174 red light cameras in the city, and Chicagoans hate all of them. These photo-enforced intersections are a hot topic in this year's mayoral debates. According to a new dataset from the city's data portal, there were more than 267,000 red light camera violations during the second half of 2014. The data shows that the 10 intersections with most red light camera violations during the last half of 2014 are…

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Takeaways from the first Chicago mayoral debate

This morning, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Alderman Robert Fioretti, Willie Wilson and William “Dock” Walls sat down with the Chicago Tribune editorial board for the first of five debates between the mayoral candidates. The conversation was, for the most part, civil, as the incumbent and his challengers outlined their platforms ahead of the election on February 24. We watched the first debate and tried to determine where each candidate stands on the city's most pressing issues.

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Chicago among 3 cities in U.S. where public transit to the airport is faster than driving

Chicagoans are used to being able to ride the CTA to and from the airport without much trouble. In fact, the Blue and Orange Lines are more reliable routes to O'Hare and Midway than the expressways—a trait that Chicago shares with only two other cities in the country. 

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Fun things to do during a CTA delay

CTA "El" riders experienced their first major delay of the new year Monday morning when an interlocking problem in the Loop caused a backup that lasted for hours. While delays always suck, especially major ones, there are still ways for passengers to make the experience more pleasant and even fun for themselves in the confines of their train. Here are some fun things for you to do during a CTA delay. 

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6 places to get monkey bread right now

Monkey bread can be found on brunch and dessert menus or even as savory appetizers all over town. Here are a few of great choices. 

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Solve this riddle to get an early look at Half Acre's new brewery

Half Acre has announced the latest round of its scavenger hunt and it isn't easy. The North Side brewery is offering an early tour of its new Bowmanville brewery for the first person to solve this riddle.

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Victory Gardens swaps Marcus Gardley premiere for April

Victory Gardens Theater will swap out a previously announced Marcus Gardley world premiere for this spring, A Wonder in My Soul, for a newer Gardley play written in response to recent racial unease. An Issue of Blood ventures back to 17th-century America and a woman known as Negro Mary in order to address current events.

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Penny, the F*ckable Dolphin: based on a truthy story

You probably wouldn't guess that the Annoyance Theatre's wonderfully silly current show Penny, the F*ckable Dolphin: A Love Story, which I saw Wednesday night, was based on a true story. And, well, it's not quite. Officially, Penny is "inspired by the novel Wet Goddess by Malcom Brenner." Of course, you also have to know that Brenner maintains his novel is autobiographical, and based on his own consensual sexual relationship with a dolphin as a young man in Florida.

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