Full disclosure, I'm a big fan of the Boka Boys, Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, but I also have a very critical eye. Although, try as I might, I couldn't find anything to complain about at Alla Vita, their newest restaurant at 564 W. Randolph, in the hot West Loop. This new eatery from the Boka R…
Everyone knows where and what they were doing when this nightmare called 9/11 happened. My husband Chuck was getting ready for work and I was on the computer, watching TV when those horrible images appeared. I had the TV on mute so all I saw were flames coming out of one of the Towers. I tur…
The historic Field of Dreams game was not just for baseball fans. This epic event was a delightful and much needed throwback to a kinder, gentler time and I, for one, could relate completely and didn't realize how much I needed to see it.
Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, downtown Chicago has had a transformative year, with new crown jewels shaping the city’s iconic skyline and a number of businesses, like our very own Chicago Star, making their debut.
What a difference a year makes for our Chicago beaches that were empty last year, even on the most gorgeous of summer days. Now back in full swing, crowds pack in and enjoy everything from the sand and sun to the water and waves. It’s a beautiful sight to see.
This party has been a long time in coming and, many times, none of us were even sure it was happening. It was canceled first due to Covid and then other problems arose. But finally, FINALLY, the International Playboy Bunny Reunion is now in Chicago!
Our most exciting July 4th celebrations occurred in one of our favorite vacation spots in the world, St. Tropez on the French Riviera. Believe it or not, the French celebrate our holiday as exuberantly as we do at home! And, since we all know that the best place to be is always where your fr…
One of the great luxuries of the summer season is getting engrossed in a good book—one that you really delve into—and getting to that particular time of day when your schedule allows for just you and the written page to become one.
I recently bombed at a comedy show. I called my mom afterwards and told her how embarrassed I felt. She asked who the crowd was and when I told her that it was mainly men in their early 20s, she said, “maybe jokes from a middle-aged woman didn’t resonate with them.”
Dear Chicago Star family,
My dad loves basketball, and unfortunately for him, his three daughters are not and were not ballers by any means. I always wondered if he wanted a boy. Not sure his son would have been a baller either, but maybe my imaginary brother would be more interested in the actual sport.
Dear Chicago Star family:
I love living in Chicago but I get very nostalgic during the holidays for my hometown of Dupo, Illinois. It’s the summer celebrations, like Memorial Day, that really make me wistful for days gone by in this small railroad town of 3,000 people set near the banks of the Mississippi River in S…
Dear Baseball, can we talk?
My mom and dad divorced when I was 2. I don’t remember this, but do remember that, for my formative years, I felt like I was split in two. I shouldn’t complain, I know how lucky I was to have two parents who loved me, but sometimes I wish I'd had them both together in the same space.My dad, …
We here at Chicago Star want to thank you. Thank you for welcoming us into your homes and communities. We hope our positive, uplifting news makes you proud to be a Chicagoan and will help you rediscover the city that you call home.
Struggling to stay awake in the pews? Maybe church hopping is for you. This month, I gently, and quite delicately, delve into the topic of religion and I will go so far as to suggest attending a variety of churches (socially distanced of course) to hear different sermons, rather than going t…
I’ve had the unique ability to observe and learn about life from Prince Philip for the past 13 years.
April 9, 1926, Hugh Marston Hefner was born. Today, he would've been 95 years old. I still miss him and always will. Playboy has played the biggest role in my life, bringing me from St. Louis to Chicago, honoring me with a centerfold and 9 covers, taking me around the world on promotions, in…
Now the real work begins for Harry and Meghan. The drama surrounding their interview as the impact of “The Oprah effect” begins to fade. The answers to questions about the royal family that have never been spoken, at least not in public are now out there for all to evaluate.
His dating profile name was Yum Tasty Animals. That should be the end of the story, but sadly, it’s not.
I once had a man tell me it was his Christmas wish for me to stop calling him. No, it was not my ex-boyfriend, it was my prospective client. Which is worse? My love life or my career?
Ask any Chicagoan if spring in Chicago actually exists, and you’ll get a range of responses.
After unexpectedly crying at the end of the rom-com "Always Be My Maybe" in July of 2019, I realized I might be a smidge lonely and definitely a smidge dramatic. Who knew a rom-com with Keanu Reeves would have so much influence on me?
As a Jewish senior (67, but I don’t look it and have a very young spirit), I’m looking for my “person”. The pandemic has truly exacerbated my sadness and loneliness; I lost my sister in April to cancer and my parents are deceased as well. I do not want to go through anything traumatic again …
I am a storyteller and stand-up comic living in the Gold Coast. I have performed all throughout the city (Second City, Zanie’s Rosemont, The Laugh Factory) as well as a couple of comedy festivals—all pre-COVID.
It occurred to me recently that many of my friends or work associates don’t know me by my actual first name. They simply call me “Coach.”
We lost a good one last month. A moment of silence, please, for a true Chicago icon: Lawry’s The Prime Rib.
This month I went on a mission to check out Soldier Field and my beloved Chicago Bears football team. More specifically, what was it like to be around the stadium on a game day when no fans were allowed to attend?
In mid-March, as Chicago’s restaurants and other meeting venues began to close, our organization, Skyline Village Chicago, was discussing new ways to connect with and reach out to our members.
Hello there! I'm "Candid" Candace Jordan, a new contributor to Chicago Star.
As this issue comes out in early November, we will be right smack in the middle of election mania—sure to be a volatile, if not hostile, period of time (I hope I am wrong).
Many of us stayed away at first, preferring the comfort zone of our normal cashier line, while occasionally glancing enviously at “the early pioneers” who dared traverse the still virgin territory of self checkout.
With the virus still among us, proper elevator etiquette has taken on new rules.
When there’s a birthday, there’s cake. And candles, topped with tiny triangles of fiery plumes. There’s also the song, followed by the customary display of the celebrant making a wish and blowing out the candles.
He gave me the side eye as we passed on the sidewalk. It’s a new age look that new mask wearers have adopted.
I didn’t want to leave Florida. I could have stayed in the Sunshine State for a few more months. My wife, however, had different ideas, so I’m back.
By Jon Cohn It is a bizarre and unsettling time. Our lives in the New Eastside and Streeterville neighborhoods have been turned, if not upside down, at least swished around like fruit in a smoothie blender on high speed. Through it all, though, we have learned some different terms and ideas …
By Jon Cohn, April 1, 2020 I am a coach, so competition is always running through my mind even during these difficult times. I started to think of the items that are the most necessary while I am hunkered down at home. I started playing a game. I thought of all the essentials. I started wi…
by Jon Cohn It’s all about the brackets in March. Bracketology, to be precise. No, it’s not about shopping hints from the fix-it folks at your local hardware store. And these brackets will definitely not be sold on the Home Shop- ping Network. The brackets that come to the forefront thi…
by Jon Cohn If you are a hard-core golfer stuck in the throes of long Chicago winters, there is no need to worry. It’s not necessary to plan trips to warm exotic locations to play your favorite game. You can put the plane ticket away, cancel hotel reservations and killer greens fees and tell…
Roe v. Wade remains one of the nation’s most controversial Supreme Court decisions. “Roe,” a play by Lisa Loomer showing at Goodman Theatre until Feb. 23, looks into the lives of those who were a part of the famous decision. Plaintiff Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe), and her legal representative …
After a white Christmas, there may be a Blue Monday. Blue Monday is the name given to what some consider the most depressing day of the year—usually the third Monday in January. The idea originated with a Welsh academic as a marketing plan for a travel company, according to the British ne…
The challenge is on, and it won’t be easy. The problem? This month features Restaurant Week. One of Chicago’s most celebrated winter events is about to kick off and it will provide the greatest of challenges to those still fighting to keep those resolutions of eating a little less and …
by Jacqueline Covey For 17 years, January Doorperson of the Month Justine Kotlarz has worked at 247 E. Chestnut St. greeting residents, tending to their needs and handing out cookies—to those with two and four feet. About two months ago, Kotlarz lost her brother Nick Bolhak. “My brother got …
by Jon Cohn If this month’s topic was a gymnastic event, the judges would give it a degree of difficulty rating in the high 9s. Figuring out the best way to talk politics with friends or family members during the holidays may be a near herculean task. It’s like a female gymnast fighting des…
By Jon Cohn I recently checked out the Maggie Daley Park kids playground. Oh, to be young again! The playground of my day was a couple of chain swings, maybe a teeter-totter (remember those things?) and a really COOL jungle gym. Fast forward some 50 years and welcome to today’s state-of-th…
(Published Aug. 31, 2019) By Jon Cohn In an unofficial tabulation of informal voting done by this column—with apologies to runner-ups May, November and December—the month of September has won Best in Show as the overall most enjoyable month of the year. If you are reading this column in the …
(Published Aug. 1, 2019) By Jon Cohn One of the Midwest’s great summer events descends upon the city as the Chicago Air and Water Show rears it’s noisy, but exciting, head on Aug. 17 and 18. Huge crowds are expected and the Chicago beachfront will be packed, which could present some interes…
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular images.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.