Empty Bottle “In 1992 the Empty Bottle started out as a cat-ridden hole-in-the-wall bar in Ukrainian Village (just south of Wicker Park) where you could get any one of nine beers for a buck-fifty or less, play pool for fifty cents, and find everything from Monster Magnet to Bill Monroe on the jukebox,” as Bruce Finkelman, founder of the thirty-plus-year-old live music venue puts it. With a history that’s nothing short of fascinating, Empty Bottle is a music-lover’s dream: home to memories of great bands, breakout musicians, unexpected friendships, unavoided hangovers, sweaty dancing—that is to say it’s exactly what a long-lived live music hub that stands the test of time should be. (Vasia Rigou) 1035 N. Western, emptybottle.com
Museum of Contemporary Art “A museum of contemporary art is different from the general art museum where the values of the past are enshrined. Instead it is a place where new ideas are shown and tested,” reads “From Dream to Reality,” a 1966 essay setting down principles by the founders of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Since its beginnings in 1967, the MCA has strived to do just that. Bound to contemporary art and culture through thought-provoking exhibitions, timely programming and fun events, the MCA is a cornerstone of the Chicago art world sparking connections and curiosity and inspiration for generations. (Vasia Rigou) 220 E. Chicago, mcachicago.org
The Taste of Chicago Water Oh, no! It’s not lead, is it? (Ray Pride)
The Rainbo Club It’s a box. The box 1990s Chicago came in, an eighty-six-year-old container that has not changed notably since its fall 1985 purchase by investors, including owner Dee Taira. It’s a squat box that was built around 1936, a veritable panopticon in which to watch and be watched, with no hiding place except the crotchety photo booth. It’s a timeless Chicago dive, dragging the history of every regular patron past and future with it. With the acceleration of gentrification in the Greater Liquor Park zone—Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village—a generation or three of older customers have been priced out of the ambit of daily pilgrimages, but it doesn’t stem ritual sojourns for cheap drinks and major meet-ups. (Ray Pride) 1150 N. Damen
Seven Treasures Cantonese Restaurant This Chinese restaurant is old school. Not old-school Chinese American, old-school Hong Kong Cantonese. The classic wonton noodle soups are what make Seven Treasures worth the trip. It could have come straight from the steaming pots in the Kowloon Night Market. Everything is made in-house. You can even see the cooks wrap the wontons in the open kitchen at the front. The sweet and salty roast meats are prepared in-house, too. The menu is huge and filled with decidedly non-fancy Cantonese fare and the aging, slightly shabby decor is part of the magic. Nevertheless, Seven Treasures is bright and cheerful and the prices beat most of the neighboring restaurants, too. The piping-hot wonton noodle soup with barbecue pork is Cantonese soul food good for any time of day. Or nearly any time. The restaurant opens at 11am and closes at 2:30am. (Ted C. Fishman) 2312 S. Wentworth, seventreasurescantonese.com
Koval Distillery When they opened in 2008, no legal grain-to-bottle spirits had been made in Chicago for over a hundred years. There wasn’t even a set of laws or regulations, let alone a permit process to begin the business in Chicago. Koval Distillery owners Dr. Robert Birnecker and his wife Dr. Sonat Birnecker Hart first worked on the ward and city level, then the state level, writing, calling and traveling to Springfield to produce State Bill 2797 which allows distilleries to make and sell their product. They also endured the trial and error of all “firsts” and shared much information with those who followed. Today there is a thriving small industry of craft distilleries throughout the Chicago area. Whether you like the particular whiskey or spirit from any particular distillery is a matter of personal taste, but the businesses would not be running as smooth as whiskey had it not been for Koval. (David Witter) 4241 N. Ravenswood, koval-distillery.com
1994 Cover Illustration: Archer Prewitt
Father Pfleger The staple. He whose testament shall be tested. He the messenger of the message. Spreading the word of God and the evil practice of man throughout the city from his Auburn Gresham pulpit. As recent unfounded accusations threatened to silence him, the “white sheep” of the Black South Side flock refuses to let any man put him asunder. In other words, He is. And he’s gonna be. (Scoop Jackson)
DePaul University Let Northwestern get the North Shore academia love, let U of C continue to be the place “where fun goes to die” even as it repurposes its social status, let Loyola continue to use its brilliant marketing schemes to remind the city of its educational prominence, let Chicago State resiliently refuse to fold, because with the expansion of its downtown campus, its use of the Wintrust Arena as its athletic home and the increasingly steady growth in diversity of faculty, applied subjects, students and student activities, DePaul could prove to be the best of Chicago’s best by 2030. (Scoop Jackson)
The Berghoff A dining icon in the Loop, the family-owned, family-operated restaurant has been a part of the city for more than 125 years—that’s right, 125 years. Beers were sold for a nickel and they came with a side sandwich, free! Brought to life by Herman Berghoff, who emigrated from Germany to America in 1870, the restaurant became known for deliciously authentic German fare during Prohibition. From brewing “near beer,” to today, Berghoff’s tap features classic German lagers, to IPAs and rotating specialties to go with their hearty Reuben sandwiches and genuinely giant pretzels. (Vasia Rigou) 17 W. Adams, theberghoff.com
2016 Best of Chicago item
Jimmy’s The Woodlawn Tap is the bar that never dies. Generation-after-generation-after-generation of University of Chicago alums, wannabes and Woodlawn-Hyde Park-South Shore residents continue (for reasons unknown) to frequent the elevated dive bar as if the beers and whiskey being poured are free. Which, honestly, they damn near are. (Scoop Jackson) 1172 E. 55th
Chicago Beaches Oak Street Beach, North Avenue Beach, 31st Street Beach and about twenty other float-drink-tan-repeat destinations along the shoreline define Chicago as an often-unheralded bastion of beach life. And over the last couple of decades, an expanse of shoreline restaurants and bars has brought new energy to the city’s summer vibe. Think live music, cabana rentals and spectacular sunrises. Or kayaking, beach volleyball and other summer sports. (Vasia Rigou)
Art Institute of Chicago Sure, the Art Institute has great collections of Impressionist paintings and iconic American masterpieces. You’re compelled to bring your visitors to see them. But dozens of less-celebrated rooms have the glories you should see when you can dawdle and make friends with the quieter masterpieces. One such less-visited corner houses “The Deering Family Galleries of Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms, and Armor.” It’s not all religious icons. (Though the religious icons are wonderful.) The finely hammered armor, etched with heroic drama, is displayed with high drama, and is a testament to conspicuous consumption and destruction. Take a look, too, at the tempera panel of “The Adventures of Ulysses” by the aptly named Apollonio di Giovanni (1415-1465). It features the “Odyssey”’s famous bits—Cyclops, the Sirens, etcetera—as if acted out in the courts the Florentine artist may have hovered around. Weird, wonderful, masterful. Risk the quieter zones and you may find “Sunday Afternoon…” is no longer your favorite. (Hasn’t the nervous monkey in it always looked as if it bites?) (Ted C. Fishman) 111 S. Michigan, artic.edu
