Look for the unassuming, narrow doorway wedged in between an Armenian restaurant and the former staff entrance to the now-shuttered Gap behemoth on Michigan Avenue, climb the nearly vertical and carpeted stairway to the second floor, and you’ve entered the best LGBTQ+ watering hole this side (or any side) of the Mag Mile. Known for […]
Author Archives: Tony Peregrin
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best reason to look down
According to legend, fairy doors are portals to the world of fairies—but I’d argue they’re also gateways to the imagination. I came across one located in an alley near Clark and Foster this summer and I was immediately charmed by this diminutive doorway. At first, my journalist’s instinct kicked in: who made this and why? […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Social and sober
The “sober curious”—individuals who abstain from drinking to explore the positive effects of sobriety—have a new enclave in Andersonville. Eli Tea Bar, an alcohol-free social space, offers options for those rethinking their relationship with alcohol, including more than 100 loose leaf teas and special in-house blends, bubble tea, and kombucha on tap. Bar owner Elias […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Postcards from a stranger
You may have seen one of Jenny Lam’s blank, prestamped, self-addressed postcards affixed to a light pole or on a bookstore shelf somewhere in the city. The postcards always feature the same prompt: “Tell me one thing you dream of doing before you die. Use this card as your canvas.” Lam, a Chicago-based artist and […]
Posted inCity Life
Out for good
Immersive volunteer events, organized by Gay For Good Chicago, redefine socially conscious fun while supporting inclusivity.
Posted inBest of Chicago
Finding peace with virtual therapy
Seeking out others to lean on is an indispensable part of tending to our mental wellness.
Posted inCity Life
Double, double toil and trouble
Cursed by COVID this Halloween season? The Malliway Brothers conjure up alternatives to get you in the spirit.
Posted inArts & Culture
Drawn together
The Hun’s homoerotic art—which inspired generations of gay men with its sex-positive themes—finds a new home at Chicago’s Leather Archives & Museum.
Posted inArts & Culture
Fur the record
Furries aren’t all fetishists—they’re members of a supportive community who (sometimes) don costumes to feel more comfortable in their own skins.
Posted inArts & Culture
How a 13-year-old girl brought LGBTQ pride to Buffalo Grove
Middle schooler Molly Pinta and her mother, Carolyn, have organized the northwest suburb’s first pride parade and festival.
Posted inArts & Culture
Art people: Pate Conaway, knit wit
At the Evanston retirement community where he taught art, Pate (pronounced “Patty”) Conaway used herbal tea and show tunes to lure his students into his basement classroom. “The ladies,” as he came to call them, sipped their tea and listened patiently as he presented workshops on bookbinding, papermaking, collage making, and drawing. But the ladies […]