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 […]
Tag: Best of Chicago 2021
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best new inquiry-minded design studio
“Material artifacts are the most concrete things that surround us in our homes,” writes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in his book The Meaning of Things. Most of us, particularly since the pandemic started, spend the majority of our time in our homes—giving the objects and environments therein an oversized role in shaping our moods, our days, and […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best new artist-run project space
In August 2021, the new art gallery Ruschwoman announced its arrival with the group exhibition “Speculative Magenta Hauntology.” The lead image in the exhibition was by the late artist Chiara Fumai. In the photo, titled Annie Jones Reads Valerie Solanas, Fumai was dressed as the famed bearded woman Annie Jones; behind her, large, bold letters […]
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Best cross streets for marriage and divorce
The most memorable doughnut of my life was from the Do-Rite that used to be right around the corner from Petterino’s. It was the morning of my divorce. My soon-to-be ex-husband and I were meeting for coffee before walking across Randolph to the Daley Center, where we would kick our three-year marriage to the curb. […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best supporter of local fashion talent
“The CFI played a pivotal role in my transition from aspiring designer to working designer,” says Anna Brown, a Chicago Fashion Incubator alum. “Some of my most meaningful professional relationships were formed through the CFI, and my time there provided me with fundamental industry knowledge that I still rely on.” Brown is one of the […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best place to buy luxurious menswear created by local Black designers
“To each their own, and Agriculture to all” could be the motto of Christopher Brackenridge, 43, and Milton Latrell, 42, the owners of Agriculture menswear boutique, which offers custom-made suits, personalized styling services, and a wide range of ready-to-wear garments at every price point. “We cater to different people and body types,” says Latrell. “When […]
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Best boutique that started on the back of a truck
The cat sign on the shop window says everything. “I have two cats [Sweet Pea and Naomi] that I bring to the shop when I’m in,” says Adrianne Hawthorne, 36, the owner of Ponnopozz Studio and Store in Ravenswood (4839 N. Damen). “The shop has a sign in the window indicating if a kitty is […]
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Best reason to dare riding the CTA in the middle of a pandemic
When my boyfriend and I moved to Edgewater in June 2020, I had quiet weird feelings about becoming yet another white, north side Chicagoan, but the move brought me to the Red Line—and the Red Line brought me back to the world. Ten months later, I put on my mask, walked to the Thorndale stop, […]
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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? […]
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Best tour of non-sentient architecture in Chicago
When Will Quam was asked if all bricks want to be arches, he insisted that bricks have neither feelings nor desires, that as wonderful as they are, they simply aren’t sentient. Quam, Chicago’s resident “brick whisperer,” gives walking tours of Chicago where he shares his infectious passion for—yes—bricks. The tours last 90 minutes, cover 1.5 […]
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Best reason to catch a ride to the northwest suburbs with a hot-dog fanatic
I’m a gourmand when it comes to hot dogs and their crustier cousin, the corn dog. When I went to a Chicago Dogs baseball game on $1 hot dog night last summer, I took the special promotion as a challenge and consumed an irresponsible number of wieners. But I also recognize a special tubular meat […]
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Best mayor impersonation on social media
In the spring of 2020, as memes of Mayor Lori Lightfoot advising ballplayers to ditch basketball courts and stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic made rounds on the Internet, videos of her counterpart “Lory Litefoot” would soon swirl on the interwebs and bring Chicagoans a persona they could actually laugh at without remorse. Portrayed by […]
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Best commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire’s sesquicentennial
2021 marked 150 years since the Great Chicago Fire. While acknowledged by major institutions, the anniversary was muted, perhaps because it’s difficult to commemorate a massive tragedy in the midst of another overwhelming one. For me, the best marker of the anniversary is journalist, historian, and photographer (and past Reader contributor) Robert Loerzel’s @ChicagoTimeline Twitter […]
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Best free daily roundup in your inbox
In the tradition of 18th-century newspapers like Samuel Johnson’s The Rambler, or more contemporary efforts like I.F. Stone’s Weekly, Charlie Meyerson’s Chicago Public Square, a daily newsletter containing short capsules of the day’s top stories, is a one-man show. In full disclosure, I’ve known Meyerson personally since the late 1980s. Meyerson started putting out the […]