The people, places, and things voted Chicago’s best—and runners-up: “adult use” dispensary, “adult use” (rec) budtender, medical cannabis dispensary, medical budtender or patient care rep, clinic to get certified for a medical card, infused chocolate, infused gummies, infused beverage (drink, drop, syrup, tea), consumable, other (mint, tablet, snack food, etc.), product for increased libido, strain or consumable product for pain relief (include producer), strain or product for relief of anxiety (include producer), strain or product for sleep (include producer), topical, vape concentrate (strain & brand/producer), non-vape concentrate (strain & brand/producer), cannabis accessory selection in a dispensary, cannabis accessory boutique (non-dispensary), cannabis supper club, home chef, or caterer, local CBD source (local non-dispensary shop or brand), pet CBD product, cannabis advocacy or restorative justice organization, grow support resource, home grow supply shop, and more
Tag: Vol. 52 No. 13
Issue of April 6, 2023
On the cover: ‘BEST of Chicago: See voting results’
Over 300 categories presented and 400,000 votes casted
Photograph by Nick Murway.
Find a print copy of the Reader.
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Posted inBest of Chicago
Best film programming that celebrated Black women filmmakers
For those lamenting the dearth of films made by and centered on Black women, this several-week series was a welcome and much-needed salve. Programmed for the Doc Films spring 2022 calendar by Erisa Apantaku and J. Michael Eugenio with support from South Side Projections and Arts + Public Life, the series offered an embarrassment of […]
Posted inMusic & Nightlife
Best cultural programming at a museum
The International Museum of Surgical Science (1524 N. DuSable Lake Shore Drive) bills itself as “North America’s Only Museum Devoted to Surgery,” but that’s only part of the picture. It’s housed in a Gilded Age lakefront mansion based on a chateau once occupied by Marie Antoinette and built in 1917 for socialite Eleanor Robinson Countiss, […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best arts education programming
PlayMakers Laboratory (PML) stands out among other theater and arts education programs for its unique approach to teaching creative writing—and so much more—to Chicagoland area students (grades three to six). What sets PML (founded in 1997) apart is that the adult actors and musicians in the program adapt the students’ written stories into sketches and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Best book about women in punk by a local author
History is supposedly written by the victors. Most devotees of early American punk and hardcore could probably rattle off the travails of Henry Rollins’s time in Black Flag or Ian MacKaye’s memories of the 80s D.C. hardcore scene, as the two have told their stories ad nauseam. But how many know the story of the […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
2022 City Life poll winners
The people, places, and things voted Chicago’s best—and runners-up: activist, advocacy organization, alderperson, elected official in Chicago, elected official in Cook County, state elected official, federal officer holder from Illinois, charity, HVAC maintenance or repair, home construction or remodeler, lawyer, co-working space, hotel, overall radio station, radio DJ, podcast, blog, email newsletter, local TV broadcast news, doctor (general or primary care), dentist, chiropractor, ob-gyn, public mental health care clinic, Chicago Instagram account to follow, Chicagoan to follow on Twitter, tour, south side neighborhood, west side neighborhood, north side neighborhood, suburb, block club, and more
Posted inMusic & Nightlife
Best local mix series that became an Internet radio station
Early in the pandemic, Zoë Miller and brothers Cameron and Matthew Chapleau launched Beloved to release music on vinyl. The demand for the format was pushing manufacturers past their limits, though, resulting in prolonged pressing delays. Beloved’s first of two releases so far—a reissue of the 2011 EP Demonstration by Urbana indie-rock band Easter—wouldn’t come […]
Posted inBuy Local
Best shop booted from the Thompson Center when Google took over
No matter what dreary business might have drawn you to the Thompson Center before Google purchased it last year, every visit offered its own rewards. For me, they included the jaw-dropping architectural splendor of the lobby (best appreciated with a hot coffee and a Munchkin from the food court), the rotating exhibits of the Illinois […]
Posted inMusic & Nightlife
Best place to escape an EDM club overrun by a Michigan State fraternity
After watching Matt Reeves’s The Batman, I felt compelled to re-create the movie’s nightclub scene for myself: I wanted to find someplace slinky, saturated in red light and bass. My friends and I headed down to River North, and after paying a cover charge of $50 per person, we landed in a subterranean nightclub that […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
2022 Food & Drink poll winners
The people, places, and things voted Chicago’s best—and runners-up: socially distanced dining, outdoor dining, beer garden, food relief effort, local grocer, gourmet market, cheesemonger, butcher shop, meal kits, online cooking instruction, local food product, preserves, farmers market, local farmer, urban farm, home garden supply, Caribbean restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Chinese takeout or delivery, Greek restaurant, Indian restaurant, Italian beef sandwich, Italian restaurant, Korean restaurant, Mexican restaurant, Middle Eastern restaurant, Polish restaurant, Thai restaurant, Vietnamese restaurant, soul food restaurant, seafood restaurant, vegetarian restaurant, vegan restaurant, steak house, fried chicken shack, pizza, pizza by the slice, pizza delivery, gluten-free pizza, sandwich, banh mi, burger, quesabirria or birria de res tacos, taqueria, barbecue, hot dog, falafel, pierogi, soup, ramen, sushi, food truck, new pop-up, pandemic pivot from a restaurant, overall restaurant, place worth a wait, bang for your buck, restaurant group, chef, up-and-coming chef, cannabis chef, new food trend, bread, sourdough, bagels, doughnuts, bakery, desserts, paleteria, ice cream, coffee roaster, barista, local spirit, local distillery, cocktail, carryout or delivery cocktails, liquor store, local beer, local brewery, beer shop, wine bar, wine list, wine shop, and more
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best film series that interrogates the meaning of ‘high art’
“Cinema was born with the intention to fulfill the needs of spectacle for the working classes—the mainstream.” So exclaims the thesis posted to the metaphorical door that’s the Music Box Theatre website. “Yet, as time pressed on, and the cinematic form grew, so did the separation of cinema from its origins, from the people and […]
Posted inMusic & Nightlife
Best concert conversion experience
If you care about music, you’ve surely encountered the particular frustration of finding a band you know you should like. You listen to their albums, and you can tell they’re good, but the sparks don’t fly. That was my relationship to Chicago five-piece Dos Santos—until I finally saw them live at last year’s Midsommarfest. Dos […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best low-key place to impress a dog
If you’re looking to impress a dog with a playdate, Bosly’s Backyard is all a dog could want. Kiddie pool full of tennis balls? Check. Obstacle course of jumps and tunnels? Check. Bridges to traverse and a wide-open, soft floor to run around on with pals? Check! But this is not some random doggy daycare […]
Posted inCannabis
Best potanist to follow on social media
When Cae Jones was fired from his job at his neighborhood dispensary a few years ago, he could’ve pivoted toward a more traditional industry. Instead, he built an Internet presence under the moniker Jungle Cae (also Cae, the Potanist) to educate others on cannabis culture and laws, while dispelling harmful myths around marijuana stemming from […]
Posted inBest of Chicago
2022 Music & Nightlife poll winners
The people, places, and things voted Chicago’s best—and runners-up: music festival, streaming concert series, emerging band, emerging local label, local label, local album of the year, recording studio, music podcast, gig poster designer, blues band, individual blues musician, venue for blues music, R&B artist, classical ensemble, non-orchestra classical ensemble, classical music event, venue for classical music, hip-hop group, individual hip-hop artist, hip-hop DJ, hip-hop party, hip-hop producer, venue for hip-hop, house music DJ, venue for dance music, jazz ensemble, individual jazz musician, venue for jazz, singer-songwriter, country band, international or world music act, pop artist, metal band, punk band, rock band, venue for rock music, venue for magic shows, suburban music venue, music venue, music venue bartender, LGBTQ party, new bar, established bar, lesbian bar, gay bar, neighborhood bar, dive bar, 4 AM bar, hotel bar, and more