Eat. Watch. Do. Thursday, May 14, 2026 | | |
| | | | | It’s Thursday, Chicago. Which restaurants took home crowning glory in our annual Readers’ Choice contest? From your favorite burger and bakery, to your treasured neighborhood joints, we’ve unveiled the winners you voted for, here. Plus, a new album listening club is, “tapping into something a lot of Chicagoans didn’t know they were craving: a reason to slow down and be present with other people,” Britt Julious writes for the Tribune. Read about how these listening sessions are building community, here. Enjoy the weekend. We’ll see you back here next week. — Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor | | | | After reviewing hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes, we’re excited to reveal this year’s Readers’ Choice Food Awards winners. | | | | | The Heavy Rotation is addressing a real, widespread need for analog connection and community in an overscheduled, screen-saturated world. | | | | | Now in its third generation of ownership, Jim’s Original has been feeding diners on or near Maxwell Street at all hours of the day for decades. | | | | | In York Walker’s play, the bluesman with the Faustian bargain upends the lives of a religious family in 1930s rural Georgia. | | | | | A century-old diner-style restaurant which stands untouched by time at 4601 Broadway in Gary has become a globally-known location in less than a week, thanks to a serendipitous pit stop in the latest episode of “The Bear.” | | | | | Playwright Aleshea Harris makes a bold cinematic debut with the screen adaptation of her Obie Award-winning play. | | | | | The summer season of music festivals and arena shows has begun. Here are 100 concerts around the area between now and the start of autumn. | | | |
