The Time Out Chicago blog

Evanston named the 10th best downtown in America

Once a sleepy town primarily for Northwestern students, the North Shore rich and those in assisted living (three separate groups, but not always), Evanston has blossomed over the last decade to become a trendy destination. The birthplace of the temperance movement is now home to microbreweries and distilleries like Sketchbook, FEW and, well, Temperance. New Evanston restaurants pop up constantly—in the last year, Boltwold, Lyfe, Bangers & Lace, Ten Mile House, Lao Sze Chuan and more. You can see limited-run indie films in the movie theater, check out art exhibits at the Block and jog along the beach. It's right off the CTA and Metra. There are also a ton of bunnies. All of this is why I live there. Those are also some reasons why Livability.com ranked Evanston in its 2015 Top 10 Downtowns in America. The website also factored in the wealth of new condo and apartment buildings (two large towers, E2 and Central Station, recently opened) and the influx of the "creative class." Also scoring high were regional cities Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Pittsburgh topped the poll. Now, that's cool and all, and there are many great things about E-town. (As we call locals call it. No? Just me?) However, the piece also cites downtown Evanston's "thriving businesses," which seems overly generous. Since 2006, developers have been trying to make the massive Sherman Plaza shopping center (where the Barnes & Noble is) happen, and it ain't. Some storefronts have remained empty for the entire dec

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How to be a Chicago comedy 'super fan'

Ultimately, the Chicago stand-up scene is only as good as its audiences. Lame crowds equal lame shows. Nothing sucks harder than trying to motivate apathetic creeps to clap for a show they just don't support. Fortunately, the Chicago scene has an awesome fan base, and if you go to enough shows you will start to notice a very interesting phenomenon: "The Super Fan." A comedy super fan is a person who not only loves stand-up comedy, but actively goes to as many shows as possible, supports the the bar/venue, is a perfect audience member and helps spread the good word of local humor. Chicago seems to breed them like no other city. I interviewed three such people to get their take on being a Chicago super fan. James Web, who started as a fan and is now a co-producer of Stand Up Stand-Up, one of the best independent showcases in Chicago: "Sit in the front, switch your phone to silent, laugh heartily and don't talk (whispering is talking) or heckle unless you want a room full of producers, comedians and everyone else in the audience to straight-up murder you. Respect the room, the comedians and your bartender. And be a regular somewhere. If you like a certain show, bring some friends and go support it. Find out if the comics on that show you love do their own shows, and go to those shows, too. An overwhelming percentage of the best comics in the country cut their chops at bar shows in Chicago first, and there's nothing cooler than being able to watch these people figure it all out

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Scofflaw is serving a vegemite sandwich and it's awesome

Here's an ingredient you don't see too often: vegemite, an Australian yeast spread. The company won't tell you exactly what's in it (though its website does say that it's kosher, halal, and has the same amount of sodium as one or two slices of bread), but the dark brown spread is similar to the British version, Marmite, and it's definitely an acquired taste. Now, you can try it at Scofflaw, where it's on the cheese toastie. The sandwich is on the first menu from Scofflaw's new chef, Sue Litz, who took over for Mickey Neely in November. "I've been obsessed with vegemite forever," she says. "It has this weird umami quality that provides a piquant suckerpunch through the richness of all that butter and cheese. The toastie is a pretty typical sandwich in Australia and the UK, where, if anything, the grilled cheese acts as more of a vegemite delivery system." The vegemite adds salty and funky notes to the tomato, avocado, caramelized onions and cheese on the sourdough bread, but it's not overpowering, so it's a good introduction to the weird ingredient. Try it with the Coral Gimlet, a refreshing gin and vermouth–based cocktail on Scofflaw's latest drink menu.

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Word on the Street: 10 crazy things we overheard in Chicago this week

We kept our ears open this week and heard some hilarious things about animals, diabetes and Boyhood. Did you overhear something crazy this week? Email us and you may find it in the next Word on the Street.

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Meghan Trainor brought that bass to House of Blues

Look, I know we as a society are just getting over the great Is It Gold Or Is It Blue Dress Debate. But when you look at the pictures below, taken at Meghan Trainor's sold-out House of Blues show last night, you will note that her skirt is gold in one shot, blue in the others. OMG. We're going to leave it to you to decide if this is zeitgeisty optical magic on Trainor's part, or a routine costume change. It will come as no surprise that the 21-year-old closed the show with "All About that Bass," complete with giant "BASS" graphics and a jazzy dude playing a standup bass, that we were indeed all about. That was not the only No. 1 hit the rising pop star served up. She also covered "Uptown Funk" and "Stay with Me," making her tour a rolling Billboard smorgasbord. Also: CONFETTI!! Check out pics from the gig.

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7 Chicago first date faux pas

Did you swipe right on Tinder this weekend with your newest future love? Did you give your number to the hot guy by the lemons at Mariano’s? Or finally build up the courage to ask out your college crush after taking an Ambien? (This may or may not have happened to me.) Well, get prepared for your date this weekend by reading the following rules and tips for securing a second date in Chicago. Avoid these first-date faux pas and you'll be fine. Get on the calendar: People in Chicago are busy. There is nothing worse than the non-committal, “Let’s hang this weekend.” Dude, I need a date, place, and time. A text like: “Hey! Not to bother you—I know you’re busy, but let me know if you’re free this weekend. I seem to be popular this weekend, but you’re first in line. Ha ha” Really means: “Umm you said you’d call me to do something this weekend and it’s Thursday and I have yet to hear from you. WTF? I do have other friends who are asking me to do all sorts of things and I can’t wait for you to get your shit together and call me. Thanks.” I have other things going on and if you want to get on my calendar, you better do it now. I promise you, marriages start with a locked-in date, place and time. Do not insist he or she comes to your neighborhood: You live in Rogers Park and he’s in Pilsen? Meet in Lakeview. Halfway is appropriate. Find a place that is easily accessible for both of you to get to, ideally involving no more than one CTA transfer. A majority of Chicagoans do not have a

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6 things to see at Ravinia this summer

This morning Ravinia released its complete schedule for the 2015 summer season. There are about ten dozen events slated in Highland Park between June 13 and September 12. That's a plethora of picnic options. As always, the Ravinia Festival is largely fueled by nostalgia. More '90s acts continue to go to pasture in the lawn this year, dudes like Bush, Sugar Ray, Eve 6 and Better than Ezra, Rob Thomas. It's a lineup loaded with familiar faces—Chicago, Jackson Browne, Diana Krall. Classic rock and classical is the mainstay as always. It's a lot to take in. To help, we've boiled down some (relatively) hot, high-profile shows that should go fast when tickets become available to the general public on April 28. 1) Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett It's safe to say that more kids dig Tony Bennett now than at any point in his 50-year career; chalk it up to shrewd collaborations like this one, with pop's reigning auteur, Lady Gaga. The duo's jazz-standards release, Cheek to Cheek, finds both performers in top form—we expect the same at these Ravinia dates. After a show-stopping Oscars performance, Gaga is perhaps starting to realize that being the next Liza might have more legs than being the next Madonna. 2) Steely Dan The unexpected Coachella headliners play more familiar, wine-sodden ground in our town, balancing their smooth cruise jazz-pop with a dry wit. The Dan hasn't cut a record in a dozen years, but we just want to groove to "Peg" and "Bad Sneakers." It's a steep ticket price for a

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Tour de Fat is returning to Palmer Square in July

Last year's Tour de Fat was almost canceled after torrential downpours the night before the event (the same ones that shut down Taste of Chicago) soaked Palmer Square, but hundreds of attendees still turned out to party amid soggy conditions. Today we learned that the annual traveling festival sponsored by Colorado-based New Belgium Brewery will be returning to Palmer Square Park on July 11, bringing its usual assortment of crazy bikes, offbeat entertainment and plenty of cold beer. The best part of this giant celebration of biking culture? All of the proceeds benefit a local, environmentally-friendly non-profit or charity. Time to start planning your costume and crossing your fingers that the rain clouds stay far away this year.

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A case for Chicago's red light cameras

Red light cameras are present at 174 of Chicago's intersections. When a driver runs a red light, the camera snaps a photo of the offending vehicle and its license plate. A traffic ticket is then mailed to the driver. The city touts the cameras as a means for keeping Chicago's streets safer by encouraging drivers to resist the urge to run lights. Others feel that the whole project is little more than a money grab by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's administration. His opponent in the current mayoral run-off, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, recently told Reuters that the cameras are "one more way Chicagoans are pick-pocketed every day." He would only keep those cameras with a track record for reducing crashes. Presently, two bills are pending in the Illinois General Assembly, HB173 and HB487, which would prohibit the use of red light cameras. But the cameras do more than just snap photos of red light scofflaws. They record video continuously, not just when a violation is detected. That video is kept by the Chicago Department of Transportation for about 30 days before it is erased. It is remarkably simple to acquire a copy of video from a particular camera from CDOT under the Freedom of Information Act. Time and resources are saved by the parties involved and by the judicial system as a whole.   Lost in the sometimes angry debate over red light cameras is the considerable benefit victims of traffic crashes, especially bikers, often receive from them. These eyes in the sky can be enormously helpful w

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Play Pac-Man and eat "power pellets" at Level 257 in Schaumburg

Since his introduction in 1980, Pac-Man has always enjoyed chomping on power pellets, blue ghosts, cherries, pretzels and whatever else comes in contact with his endlessly masticating mouth. So, why has it taken this long for someone to open up an eatery dedicated to the little yellow video game character? When we heard that the world's first official Pac-Man inspired restaurant would be opening in Schaumburg, we knew that we had to make a journey to the suburbs to see if it lived up to our expectations. The newly-opened Level 257 seeks to be the rec room you've always wished you could afford, boasting walls lined with arcade games, 16 bowling lanes, a full bar and a menu that boasts a "Filet Mig-Nom" steak. While it doesn't boast the depth of local barcades like Emporium and Headquarters, Level 257's selection of arcade games does include some more obscure titles, like the four-player Pac-Man Battle Royale and the hybrid arcade/pinball game Baby Pac-Man. A $15 card allows you to play any game you like for an hour, but if blinking screens and joysticks aren't your cup of tea, there's a small lounge equipped with board games like Battleship and checkers. Once you've tried of playing games, you can dig into Level 257's menu, which features a selection of pizza, pasta, sandwiches and meats, as well as cocktails named after video game items and characters. We can't remember Pac-Man ever eating a cauliflower steak, but there's one of those on the menu as well. If you're craving

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