Wendy Altschuler

Looking for a stellar hotel for your next weekend getaway from Chicago? A luxury resort only an hour from the Windy City just earned a coveted top spot on Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best Awards” survey for 2025. Among the best resorts in the continental U.S., Deer Path Inn—an English-style retreat that opened in Lake Forest, Illinois back in 1929—was ranked No. 13 in the country, earning a score of 96.94 by T+L readers. (In comparison, the number one venue Primland Resort in Meadows of Dan, Virginia scored a near-perfect 99.40.) RECOMMENDED: The best hotels in Chicago have all the amenities you want and more This year, nearly 180,000 readers weighed in on the survey where more than 657,000 votes were cast. Responders rated rooms and facilities, location, service, food, and overall value for over 8,700 properties and then the average was calculated. A golden thread for these responses was that travelers seemed to prioritize access to nature and secluded luxury. In terms of Deer Path Inn, which is celebrating 95 years of hospitality, readers praised the "quaint" hotel for "its elegant afternoon teas, wood-paneled lounges, and its close proximity to Lake Michigan’s gorgeous shoreline," per the outlet. From the light-and-bright English Room where those teas are served, to the snug basement bar with an inventive cocktail program, to the outdoor garden complete with wildlife sculpture and water fountain, this resort is an extravagant stay that checks all of the boxes. Photograph:

With branches all over the city, from Albany Park to Wrightwood—Ashburn, the Chicago Public Library is a helpful resource and community space for Chicago’s 2.6 million residents. And that very much includes book-loving adults, who will benefit from the institution's newly launched summer reading programs, which boasts worthy incentives beyond, you know, the actual reading and learning part. RECOMMENDED: Everything you should know about the changes coming to the Chicago Public Library system Grownups who are looking for a summertime challenge can compete for free prizes, like a Chicago Public Library baseball hat, as well as bragging rights for this summer’s reading program, part of the library’s “Growing Minds, Going Green” initiative, through which you can more deeply discover the natural world via curated reading recommendations and immersive community-based activities. Yep, that’s right, a reading contest for adults—kiddos take notes.Pop in one of the 88 CPL branches, whichever is closer and more convenient to you, and grab a log to chart your progress. Adults who finish at least six of the ten highlighted activities—like reading books in the natural sciences and eco-lit genres or participating inone of the library’s special summer programs like flower arranging or gardening—will earn a coveted limited-edition Chicago Public Library cap and be entered into a raffle.The warm-weather initiative is part of the Summer at CPL campaign, a celebration of reading, learning and cre

Chicagoans love a summer music festival: From Lollapalooza to Chicago Blues Festival to Pitchfork Music Festival to Chicago Jazz Festival, there’s no shortage of good tunes that entertain concertgoers. And now there’s a new music celebration coming to Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood this summer. For the first time ever, Edgewater Music Fest—not to be confused with the Colorado-based festival of the same name—will bring more than 35 live musical acts and 100 vendors to North Broadway, between Thorndale and Ardmore Avenues in Edgewater, on September 5–7 for a three-day festival unlike any other, especially for this part of the city. RECOMMENDED: Chicago’s ARC Music Festival has just announced its 2025 lineup: Here’s who’s playing Headliners include former Against Me! performer Laura Jane Grace, performing on Friday; Chicago’s own, rapper Ric Wilson, lighting up the stage on Saturday; and groovy rockers Foxy Shazam, playing on Sunday. The rest of the weekend's live bill includes Sludgeworth, Bev Rage & The Drinks, Devon Kay & The Solutions, Pinksqueeze, The Brokedowns, OK Cool and Uniflora, among others. “Edgewater has been craving a dynamic street festival for quite some time. Not just the same copy-and-paste fest we see in other places,” said Garrett Karp, Executive Director of the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce to Secret Chicago. “We’re excited to launch a new music-centric experience that feels edgy and exciting, features local food and drinks, and will bring tens of thousan

The Windy City has long been a foodie haven, especially when it comes to meat: There's Italian beef sandwiches, loaded hot dogs and, of course, Chicago-style barbecue. Heavily influenced by the city's vibrant immigrant communities, the city's local 'cue utilizes an aquarium smoker and sweet-meets-tangy sauces and spotlights specific dishes like rib tips and hot links. And now, according to a new ranking from yard experts LawnStarter, Chicago earned a sixth place spot out of nearly 500 U.S. cities on the list of 2025’s Best BBQ Cities in America. Chicagoland earned an overall score of 42.20. (For reference, the number one spot earned an overall score of 52.02, with the number five destination garnering a 46.54.)  To determine the above rankings, LawnStarter looked at consumer satisfaction, access to BBQ restaurants, competition awards, and elite BBQ memberships (yes, that’s a thing). For each of the biggest cities in the U.S., data was analyzed, and scores were calculated out of 100 points for each city, giving each locale an overall score from the “Best” at number one to the “Worst” at number 476. Fifteen Illinois cities made it to the list, but only two earned a spot in the top 100: along with Chicago at No. 6, Joliet came in at No. 94. Elsewhere, Schaumburg earned a spot at 117, Waukegan at 132, and Peoria at 186. Other cities didn’t fare as well: Springfield at 335, Evanston at 381, and Rockford at 442. Outside of Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri received the number one ran

The casual chain, Small Cheval—an offshoot of Au Cheval, operated by Hogsalt—serves up burgers, fried chicken and beer at multiple successful locations in Chicago neighborhoods like Wrigleyville, Fulton Market, Riverside, Hyde Park, and Old Town. And now you can add Logan Square to the list: The burger joint has taken over the former space of sandwich-and-shake classic The Freeze. RECOMMENDED: The best restaurants in Logan Square for authentic tacos, greasy burgers and more Big upgrades to the original business (which closed at 2815 W. Armitage Ave. back in 2023) include bathrooms, an expanded kitchen, a patio with benches and tables, a new walk-up window, and the ability to be open year-round. However, the Cheval team will keep relics of the ice-cream parlor intact, including that vintage The Freeze sign and the old soft-serve machines.  The previous owner, former firefighter-slash butcher Tony Zarcone, a bought The Freeze (previously known as Tastee-Freez) in the late 1980s, and kept it going for 30 years. “I was meant to keep serving ice cream to my community. My last name even ends in the word,” Zarcone said to Block Club Chicago in 2023. “We’re lucky to have had this for the time we had.” Unique to this location, Small Cheval will use those soft-serve machines to churn up classic The Freeze favorites that were well-loved by patrons of the old ice cream shop. Expect the same great burgers, fried chicken, beers and cocktails (espresso martinis, pink vodka lemonades) that y