Myesha McCaskill Sure, Myesha McCaskill is an amazing roller skater (her nickname isn’t SmoothGoddess for nothing) and an expert instructor, whether teaching freestyle or JB, the Chicago variety named for the James Brown music that accompanies its dips, slides, and fancy footwork. But those labels sell short both her and the classes she offers through … Read more
Joiners Curious how Rick Bayless spends his Christmas in Oaxaca? Or how Frontier chef Brian Jupiter cooks whole animals, from pigs to llamas? Then start each Monday the way I do — with the latest episode of Joiners. Hosts Danny Shapiro, co-owner of Scofflaw, the Heavy Feather, and other Logan Square bars, and Tim Tierney, cofounder of … Read more
Umbrella Vintage Come for the music, stay for the … shopping? As it turns out, the Salt Shed isn’t just for concerts. In the spring, three resellers teamed up to launch Umbrella Vintage on the grounds of the performance venue that opened last year in the former Morton Salt factory. Offering vintage clothing (1930s to … Read more
Bobcat Goldthwait Here’s one of the first things comedian and filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait learned when he moved to the western suburbs in 2020 after living in Los Angeles for 35 years: “I’m thin in the Midwest.” Or so he jokes at the beginning of his very funny new comedy album, Soldier for Christ, which he … Read more
Go Brewing This Naperville brewery has already shown it knows how to make a great-tasting nonalcoholic beer — it took gold and silver medals at the Best of Craft Beer Awards. (If you need more proof, just try the mango-peach deliciousness of the Sunshine State Tropical IPA.) Now it’s out to establish another truth: You can have … Read more
Perceptions Theatre While taking a theater business course as an undergrad at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Myesha-Tiara had an epiphany: “I realized there was a deficit for the students of color in the classroom in getting needed training.” The Baton Rouge native, who moved to Chicago six years ago, founded Perceptions in 2020 with … Read more
Cook County Hospital Museum It was known as Chicago’s palace of medicine, as well as its Ellis Island, for the way it accepted immigrants and others with no alternate means for care. The building that once housed Cook County Hospital was reopened as a Hyatt hotel in 2020, but inside the stunning Beaux-Arts structure, which … Read more
Tri Nohbi “I might heal in due time,” sniffles Tri Nohbi on the breakup dirge “Bad Apples.” That’s very much an open question. Though he sounds slightly inhuman on many of his tracks — supercooled Auto-Tune blankets his vocals like hoarfrost — the 30-year-old South Shore rapper is all flesh and blood and incorrigible heartbreak on his second LP, … Read more
Monteverde’s Year of the Vegetable This year, Monteverde chef-owner Sarah Grueneberg has been all about the veggies. Using her 2022 cookbook, Listen to Your Vegetables, as a launch pad, she creates a handful of new menu items each month that spotlight a different seasonal vegetable. In May, for example, diners could enjoy asparagus three ways: … Read more
Katlin Michael Bourgeois Having done stints at San Francisco’s Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and DanceWorks Chicago, Katlin Michael Bourgeois comes with an enviable pedigree. Add to that the founding of a dance company in 2018 and a gig as resident choreographer for Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, and Bourgeois was the perfect … Read more
