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The 31 things we're looking forward to this summer
Posted by Laura Baginski on Apr 17, 2014 at 10:42am
Chicagoans, we have suffered the worst winter in history. And, save for a handful of above-60-degree days, spring has been fairly rude as well. The only remedy: making this the best summer ever. Start filling out your summer to-do list using our picks as a guide.
Lee Stark, Usman Ally in American Theater Company's "Disgraced" Photograph: Michael Brosilow
American Theater Company establishes formal partnership with Araca Group
Posted by Kris Vire on Apr 17, 2014 at 9:48am
Seymour and Audrey are getting traded in for someone with green. Two weeks after announcing a 2014–15 season that would conclude with a production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors (albeit rights remained "pending" at the time of the announcement), American Theater Company has pulled the title as part of a newly disclosed formal partnership with commercial producers the Araca Group.
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Taste Test: Domino's Specialty Chicken
Posted by Amy Cavanaugh on Apr 16, 2014 at 2:56pm
Specialty Chicken consists of 12 little chicken nuggets topped with cheese and a variety of ingredients. It’s supposedly pizza with a chicken crust, but that seems like a stretch—we've had Domino's pizza and it's nowhere near this bad. There are four varieties—Crispy Bacon & Tomato, Classic Hot Buffalo, Spicy Jalapeño-Pineapple, and Sweet BBQ Bacon—and because they all sounded equally awful, we ordered one of each to try.
No. 12: The semen trees are blooming!
The 27 ways you know it's finally spring in Chicago
Posted by Laura Baginski on Apr 16, 2014 at 2:33pm
1. Starry-eyed Bears fans are fantasizing about their first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
2. People are drinking margaritas on the patio at Big Star—in winter coats.
This is the photo of the week for April 11, 2014. Photograph: @chicagopics_ig
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.
Carrie Fisher's cocaine nail as seen in Return of the Jedi
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.
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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.
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The Alley Stage, Profiles Theater Photograph: Courtesy of Profiles Theater
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.
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CHIRP Record Fair Photograph: Patrick Bobilin
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.
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Chance the Rapper is the king of the Chicago 'burbs, according to Google. Photograph: Max Herman (Chance) and Josh Mellin (Kanye)
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.
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Wax On Wax Off Photograph: Martha Williams
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.
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Theater Wit exterior Photograph: Kris Vire
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.
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Will Chicago ever be the U.S.'s bike-friendliest city?
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.
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Larry Yando as Ebenezer Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre's 2009 production of A Christmas Carol Photograph: Liz Lauren
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.
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Sean Patton Photograph: Seth Olenick
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.
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Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones
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.
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A Chicago Transit Authority train car rests on an escalator at the O'Hare Airport station after it derailed early Monday, March 24, 2014, in Chicago. More than 30 people were injured after the train "climbed over the last stop, jumped up on the sidewalk a Photograph: AP Photo/NBC Chicago
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.
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This shot is Time Out Chicago's photo of the week, April 4th, 2014. Photograph: @stephnikora
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.
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Dimo's Flamin' Hot Daenerys Slice at Revolution Brewing's C2E2 Galaxy Hero Relaunch Party Photograph: Zach Long
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.
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Takito Kitchen's new vegan taco is worth a trip. Photograph: Courtesy Takito Kitchen
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.
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