Time Out Chicago news

Earlier this year when McDonald's opened a new restaurant in its West Loop headquarters that serves Big Macs, McNuggets, crispy fries and a small, rotating selection of global menu items sourced from the fast-food chain's kitchens around the world. The Randolph Street restaurant is the only McDonald's location in the world that serves the international dishes, making it a destination for fast food aficionados.  At the beginning of September, McDonald's launched its latest lineup of international menu items, which includes a creation that might be familiar to anyone who has dined under the golden arches in Canada. McDonald's interpretation of poutine—which combines the restaurants famous fries with cheese curds and gravy—is the highlight of the latest group of global dishes, which includes a burger from the Netherlands and a McFlurry that's popular in Latin American countries.  We stopped by the West Loop McDonald's restaurant to try the poutine as well as some of the other new menu items. They'll only be featured on the menu for a few months, so visit soon if you want to taste them for yourself. Poutine (Canada) Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas For many people, McDonald's French fries are the pinnacle of fast-food innovation—a salty, crisp treat that taste great whether you decide to dip it in ketchup or eat it plain. Adding a handful of cheese curds and pouring some brown gravy on top of the fries might seem like overkill, but this Canadian delicacy actually enhances them w

The most high profile event of the Middle Coast Film Festival, which kicks off at the Davis Theatre this Friday, September 21, will be an opening night anniversary screening of The Birdcage co-hosted by local drag queens Lucy Stoole and Kat Sass. While that should start the fest on an irreverently fun note (and if you haven’t yet seen the film, it’s worth checking out for Elaine May’s witty script and Gene Hackman’s layered performance), some of the other highlights are lesser-known new works by local independent filmmakers. In addition to a well-curated locally made shorts block, which presents another chance for Chicagoans to catch amazing short films like Maggie Scrantom’s Atoms of Ashes and Clare Cooney’s Runner, Middle Coast will also screen impressive micro-budget features like Mercy's Girl and In a Moment. Mercy's Girl, an auspicious debut feature from veteran actress, but first-time writer and director, Emily Lape, centers on a young woman living on the North Side of Chicago whose alcoholism and closeted sexuality can both be traced to a fraught relationship with her religious, blue-collar parents. Mercy (Lape in a wonderfully understated performance) finds her world turned upside down when she engages in her first serious relationship with another woman: free-spirited college student Jesse (Alison Hixon). This ultra-realistic drama may toil in the same “flesh vs. spirit” thematic vineyard as Chicago filmmaker Stephen Cone (Princess Cyd) but Lape also has her own uni

Chicagoans who want to visit a corn maze when fall arrives usually have to plan a trip to the suburbs, but that won't be this case this year. Block Club Chicago first reported that a two-acre pop-up experience called Jack's Pumpkin Nights will take over a vacant lot near Goose Island (1467 N Elston Ave) in October, bringing seasonal fun inside city limits. The centerpiece of the pop-up experience will be “Chicago's largest corn maze,” where visitors can wind through the paths and search for a hidden beer and cider bar amid the stalks. Visitors will also be able to carve a pumpkin, play classic carnival games, sit around a bonfire and enjoy nightly entertainment in an environment that filled with opportunities for autumnal selfies. According to the pop-up's website, it will also feature three full-service bars, so you won't have to go far to find a beer or a cider. Jack's Pumpkin Nights comes from the same team that created Frosty's Christmas Bar, a holiday pop-up bar (set to return in November) that decked out a space with twinkling lights and Christmas decor. The fall-themed project will be more family-friendly, welcoming parent and their kids to attend before 7:30pm each evening, when the alcohol begins flowing. Tickets for Jack's Pumpkin Night are already on sale via the pop-up's website, with prices starting at $20. The experience will run from October 5 through November 3 and will be open Thursday through Sunday each week (with special daytime hours for Columbus Day o

After hosting 30 concerts in Chicago last November as part of its 30 Days in Chicago festival, Red Bull will bring even more music to this city this November with the launch of a new festival that focuses on local musicians. This morning, organizers announced the lineup for Red Bull Music Festival Chicago, which will take place between November 3 and November 30 at venues throughout the city.  Red Bull partnered with local artists to help curate the festival's lineup, which showcases house, jazz, hip-hop, R&B, noise and gospel musicians from Chicago and beyond. In addition to performances, the festival will also feature a series of conversations that will be broadcasted live on Red Bull Radio, including discussions about women in the Midwest rave scene, an interview with Chicago house music legends Robert Williams and Ron Trent, and a panel about the connection between local food and music.  The festival kicks off at the Wintrust Arena on November 3, where Kanye West's label G.O.O.D. Music will host a showcase, featuring performances from Nas, Pusha T, Valee and more (maybe West himself will make an appearance, if he's moved to Chicago by then). Other highlights of the lineup include an evening with rapper Vic Mensa (November 8), a noise concert featuring local musicians like Fire-Toolz and TALsounds playing alongside Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) (November 9), a showcase of the city's Latin musicians (November 11) and an evening that explores the connection between gospel

Just last week, Kanye West was tweeting about his plans in Chicago—including opening an office for his Yeezy fashion brand and reopening the Avalon Regal Theater in South Chicago. After decamping to Los Angeles for several years. West has been spending more time in his hometown recently, working on a new album with Chance the Rapper and taking his family to tour his childhood home in South Shore.  West appeared onstage last night at Chance the Rapper's monthly Open Mike event at the Harold Washington Library Center, telling the crowd, “I'm moving back to Chicago, and I'm never leaving again.” The hip-hop star also revealed that the collaborative album he's working on with Chance is currently titled Good Ass Job—a reference to the opening track from Chance's Acid Rap album, “Good Ass Intro.” West didn't offer up a timeline for his move or reveal whether his family will be accompanying him if he moves to Chicago. While it's tempting to take West at his word, it might be best to take his latest claim with a grain of salt—remember when he claimed that he would be teaching a course at the Art Institute of Chicago, and a representative from the school told the Chicago Tribune that “there are no plans for him to do so”?  Watch a video of West's grand announcement below and try to imagine what it'd be like to be Kanye's neighbor. @chancetherapper just brought out @kanyewest at @OpenMikeChicago and he announced he’s moving back to Chicago FOR GOOD 😭🔥🗣 pic.twitter.co

We like to think of Riot Fest as a rock-tinged forecast for fall fashion. Unlike other Chicago summer music festivals, where jerseys and crop tops are the norm, Riot Fest showcases an edgy lineup of more casual looks. This weekend, we saw plenty of fishnet tops, leather vests, patched denim, frayed nylons and punk-rock tees (not to mention some gravity-defying hairstyles) at the three-day festival in Douglas Park.  RECOMMENDED: See more photos from Riot Fest music festival Looking for an outfit that you can pair with a mohawk or a cool way to show off your extensive collection of patches and enamel pins? You're sure to find some inspiration in our photos of the best rocker-approved fashion looks we spotted at Riot Fest 2018.   Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photograph: Jaclyn Rivas Photogr

After weeks of speculation, rumors and lineup uncertainty, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary at this year's edition of Riot Fest, which brought droves of fans to Douglas Park. The fact that the festival only finalized its headlining acts a week prior and put single-day tickets on sale a few days before gates opened didn't seem to deter anyone from showing up and packing the fields—in terms of attendance alone, Riot Fest still seems to be thriving. RECOMMENDED: See more photos from Riot Fest music festival As usual, nostalgia reigned supreme at Riot Fest, where it was hard to find a band that didn't have a few beloved albums from a previous decade under it's belt. Headlining sets from Weezer and Beck stuck to the most familiar tracks from their respective catalogs, though both acts segued into some unexpected covers (of course, Rivers Cuomo sang Toto's “Africa”). Elder rockers Elvis Costello, Blondie and Jerry Lee Lewis showed that they can still (mostly) hang with the kids, and esteemed-yet-lesser-known bands such as the Jesus Lizard, Fear and Digable Planets delighted devoted fans—and probably gained a few new ones. While plenty of the usual suspects (Andrew WK, GWAR, Bad Religion, Alkaline Trip) showed up for Riot Fest, it was nice to see some new faces taking the stage. Acts like young garage rockers Calpurnia (fronted by Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard) and local indie pop outfit Beach Bunny proved that the unfamiliar can be a refreshing change of pace at Ri

The Chicago outpost of nightclub and restaurant hybrid Tao, which boasts locations in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York, will open its doors on Monday, September 17. Housed in a River North building that originally hosted the Chicago Historical Society—and was more recently used by nightclubs such as Excalibur and Castle—the space has been entirely overhauled and filled with Asian-inspired artwork and decor. Ahead of the concept's official opening, we got an exclusive sneak peek inside Tao's nightclub, a 7,000-square-foot space that resides on the building's second floor. Guests enter the club through a set of 100-year-old Chinese doors located in an alley adjacent to the building, before ascending to the second floor where they'll encounter the venue's “host wall,” lined with a series of lucky cat figurines that wave their arms. The 1,000-person capacity nightclub can operate as two separate rooms or be combined into one gigantic room via a removable wall. On one end of the space, you'll find private booths, a bar and a lounge area (complete with its own bar) that leads to the venue's restrooms. The other end of the space hosts Tao's dance floor and DJ booth, situated beneath a ten-foot Japanese bell outfitted with a disco ball as well as a towering 20-foot-tall mural created by British street artist Hush. Accents such as custom wall sconces and laced chandeliers accent some of the buildings original architecture, including arches (which have been adorned with LED light

Earlier this year when developers unveiled renderings of the Union Station redevelopment that depicted a seven-story building stacked on top of the historic station, the public's reaction wasn't positive. Rather than move forward with a design that was unpopular with the community, Riverside Investment & Development went back to the drawing board and presented the latest iteration of its plans for the West Loop building during a public meeting on Tuesday evening. Crain's shared the updated designs this morning and unveiled the major change in the project: The 404-unit apartment complex that would have sat atop the existing Union Station structure has been nixed by the developer. In its place, the proposal now calls for the construction of a single “penthouse” floor on top of the station that would increase the number of hotel rooms in the building. The presentation also revealed updated plans for an office building that is being planned south of that station. The latest renderings depict a 1.5 million-square-foot building with a 1.5-acre park public park that will be accessible via Jackson Boulevard and Clinton Street. According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, BMO Harris is in negotiations to anchor the new tower, consolidating its Chicago offices. The new plan will still need to win the approval of 42nd ward Alderman Brendan Reilly before it goes before City Council, but the developer's willingness to listen and adapt to public feedback and criticism is likely a ste

The city's parking lots are a bit safer this morning, as the Chicago Tribune reports that the Illinois Commerce Commission has voted unanimously to revoke the state license of Lincoln Towing. Did we mention that it's effective immediately? The ICC began investigating the Uptown-based towing company in 2016, looking into complaints that Lincoln Towing had been carting off legally parked vehicles to the city's impound lots. When the ICC presented evidence of 831 alleged violations of Illinois' towing law between July 2015 and March 2016 to an administrative law judge in July of this year, Lincoln Towing argued that the violations were merely a result of inconsistencies in its record-keeping. The judge ultimately recommended that Lincoln Towing retain its license. While the ICC's ruling puts Lincoln Towing out of commission for the time being, the company has the ability to appeal the decision—a course of action that it's likely to take if it wants to resume business. Lincoln Towing's history of unlawful practices—including towing legally parked cars and charging exorbitant fees—prompted 47th ward Alderman Ameya Pawar to pass a "Towing Bill of Rights" through city council, a document that outlined the rights of car owners in relation to towing companies. The shady reputation of Lincoln Towing isn't a recent development—the company inspired Chicago folk singer Steve Goodman (who is also responsible for "Go, Cubs, Go") to write a song called "Lincoln Park Pirates" in 1972. W