Charcuterie boards gather people together. Their wide variety of delectable meats, tasty cheese, and fun spreads provide a little something for everyone. Luckily, there’s no shortage of restaurants, delis, or specialty shops in Chicago curating their own rendition of this trending snack. For your next afternoon or night out, grab a group of friends and check out the best charcuterie boards in Chicago. 

2200 N California Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

Lardon is a coffee shop, restaurant, and bar new to the Logan Square neighborhood. Influenced by the style of old-world butcher shops, their house-made meat and cheese boards are the centerpiece of their unique menu and atmosphere. Choose from a rotating trio of charcuterie boards to explore all that Lardon has to offer. 

1372 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60642

The father-son duo behind Tempesta Market bring plenty of experience to the charcuterie game. The owners of Nduja Artisans Salumeria, a specialty spicy sausage brand, Agostino and Tony Fiasche now showcase their charcuterie skills at Tempesta Market in West Town. The deli and restaurant creates in-house charcuterie boards, where you can choose from their wide-ranging meat and cheese offerings to craft the perfect board.

2211 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647

The staff at Beautiful Rind, a well-loved Logan Square restaurant, are wine and cheese experts. After you spend an afternoon trying their various cheeses, cured meats, and jellies, join a class on cheesemaking or types of blue cheese. While you’re there, find the perfect wine pairing to complement your charcuterie board. 

347 N Clark St., Chicago, Illinois, 60640

If you’re a fan of Southern food, Big Jones is a Chicago staple. This Andersonville-based restaurant is inspired by Southern heritage cooking with a focus on sustainably grown produce. Their charcuterie board (dubbed a boucherie board) features house meats, pickles, and homemade breads and crackers.

837 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607

This popular Fulton Market restaurant offers up a rotating selection of meats, cheeses, pickles, and mustards on their charcuterie board, so you can try something new each time you go. Their sister shop and restaurant, Publican Quality Meats, provides charcuterie boards to purchase and take home.

2033 W. North Ave. Chicago, IL 60647

Watch live music or a comedy show while you snack on a charcuterie board at this all-in-one butcher shop, deli, restaurant, and bar. Chop Shop occupies a 100-year-old former auto body shop, lending it a fun, retro atmosphere in the heart of Wicker Park. Their butcher shop component ensures that you’ll receive the perfect mix of chef’s choice meat and cheese for your charcuterie board.

2119 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60622

This eclectic restaurant, wine shop, and cheese counter in Ukrainian Village is guaranteed to be your new place to meet up with friends after work. Their charcuterie board features three cheeses, crostini, fruit preserves, raw honey, pickles, and mustard. You can add cured meats to your board as you wish. 

2212 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, IL 60614 

Munching on a charcuterie board is the perfect accompaniment to browsing bookshelves and playing board games with friends at Kibbitznest. The homey coffee shop and bar in Lincoln Park offers a salumi and cheese board with italian meat and your choice of a brie, blue, or hard cheese. Choose from a wide selection of wine, beer, and cocktails to pair with your charcuterie board.

Featured Image Credit: Lardon

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DALLAS — Mavericks power forward/center Kristaps Porzingis has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols after missing the past seven games and is expected to play in Saturday night’s home game against the Orlando Magic.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also cleared the protocols.

Dallas won six of the seven games missed by Porzingis, who is averaging 20.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. The Mavs went 3-1 during Kidd’s absence, when defensive coordinator Sean Sweeney served as the acting head coach.

A source said Porzingis felt well in recent days and had been able to do individual workouts.

Porzingis’ clearance makes center Marquese Chriss ineligible to play for the Mavericks while he remains on a 10-day hardship deal that expires Thursday.

Sources said the Mavericks are considering their options to sign Chriss for the remainder of the season, which would require a move to create an open roster spot.

Chriss has played in 12 games over three 10-day deals with the Mavericks, averaging 6.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game while shooting 63% from the floor.

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New Fire defender Rafael Czichos is getting to live his dream of playing in Major League Soccer. But as happy as Czichos is to join the Fire, he did have to sacrifice something to make the move.

“I think the league is becoming better and better,” Czichos told the Sun-Times. “I love the country, I love the whole U.S. sport. It was always a goal for me to live in the States and now I can connect it with my job. I think it’s a really good opportunity for me. I’m really happy about it.”

Czichos, 31, was acquired from German Bundesliga club FC K?ln on Jan. 2 and figures to take over the left center-back spot that was occupied last year by former Fire captain Francisco Calvo. Signed through the 2024 season, the Fire hope the left-footed Czichos will provide professionalism and leadership, and have the same steadying impact in Chicago that he had on his previous club.

Czichos, whose contract had been set to expire this summer, spent the last four years with K?ln and helped them get back to the German top flight. K?ln is currently in contention for a spot in European competition next season; so to switch to the Fire, Czichos had to leave a team that means something to him and is doing well in one of the world’s best leagues.

Czichos also said his family felt comfortable in Cologne, but they picked a “new experience” that would allow Czichos to get his wish to play in the U.S.

Staying through the rest of the K?ln season and joining the Fire this summer, however, wasn’t an option. The Fire wanted Czichos in time for training camp, and he knows it’s easier to transition to the league in the winter instead of midseason.

“It was really hard [to leave K?ln] because the last half-year was really fun,” Czichos said. “We were successful and the chemistry in the team was perfect [and] to work with the coaching staff was amazing. It was really difficult for me.”

It wasn’t easy for K?ln, either, to let Czichos pursue another opportunity.

Though Czichos was one of the club’s leaders, team management didn’t want to stand between him and playing in MLS. After the transfer was announced, both K?ln coach Steffen Baumgart and sporting director J?rg Jakobs praised Czichos.

Baumgart called Czichos a key player –which is borne out by his 16 starts and 17 appearances before departing — and described him as an “important point of contact for me on and off the pitch.”

“That’s why he was also one of the key figures in a sporting sense,” Baumgart said. “He is a straight-down-the-line, open guy with top character. You never like to see those types go. Rafa’s decision, to go down this path, is one that I accept with huge respect. It is a brave step, and I [wish] him only the best for his future in Chicago.”

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If it seems like forever since there were any major-league moves, you’re correct. Six weeks to be exact. Unfortunately, this long, cold winter for MLB, the players’ union and fans doesn’t look like it will take a turn for the better anytime soon.

Because of the pause in what was becoming a fast-moving free-agent market, the Cubs, like many teams, weren’t able to make all the necessary moves to reshape their roster. But to the surprise of many, they made a flurry of moves before the lockout, putting them in a much better position for when the lockout eventually ends.

They were able to attack a glaring need from last season, signing veteran catcher Yan Gomes to a two-year, $15 million deal to help keep Willson Contreras fresh behind the plate.

Then they took a swing at upside, signing outfielder Clint Frazier and bringing back outfielder Michael Hermosillo on one-year deals. Frazier and Hermosillo are toolsy players still in their primes who have yet to reach their full potential, but they’re worth a gamble for a team in rebuild mode.

But the Cubs’ biggest move came just before the deadline. They signed right-hander Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71 million deal to shore up the rotation.

“I think they’re definitely not [in] a full rebuild,” Stroman said in December. “I think they definitely want to win now. I mean, obviously, this is a city that has an incredible fan base, and baseball is a competitive sport. You never know what you’re going to get going into any year.”

There weren’t many areas of strength for the Cubs in 2021, and the rotation was definitely a weakness. But with the addition of Stroman to go along with right-hander Kyle Hendricks coming off an up-and-down season and southpaw Wade Miley, who was claimed off waivers early in the offseason, the Cubs might have forged a strength again.

With the lockout in effect, there isn’t much the Cubs can do in terms of additions to the major-league roster, but there’s plenty of work that can be done when it ends.

After the market comes back to life, the Cubs likely will begin by exploring the shortstop scene. They have the versatile Nico Hoerner penciled in at the position, but with Carlos Correa and Trevor Story available, there’s room for an upgrade.

Correa is the big fish of the offseason, and several teams still are looking to spend once the lockout is over, so he’s expected to have no shortage of suitors.

The Cubs also should be looking to add some veterans to the bullpen. The relief corps that featured Andrew Chafin, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel was one of the best in baseball before the trade deadline.

After all three were dealt at the deadline, the Cubs were left with a talented but inexperienced pen. The team is excited about Codi Heuer and Manny Rodriguez, but providing reinforcements is the goal for the front office.

“I love power pitching,” team president Jed Hoyer said last month. “I love our pitching. . . . I think there’s no doubt, as we’ve talked about that. We want to diversify our arm angles and pitch mixes and stuff like that. And certainly in the bullpen, that’ll be something we’ll focus on.”

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Bears chairman George McCaskey is, in his own words, “just a fan, not a football evaluator.”

Fans are qualified to do many things — heave copious sausages onto a sizzling grill, don blue-and-orange face paint, shout drunken profanity from the stands — but leading a team without a general manager or coach into its football future? That might not be one of them.

In this week’s ”Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we asked how confident you are in McCaskey and the Bears to get this critical offseason right.

“Is this a trick question?” @JeffreyCanalia asked.

“I’m not even confident George McCaskey can find Halas Hall without using his GPS,” @RonaldVoigt4 quipped.

But seriously, folks.

We also asked about last year’s Super Bowl teams, the Buccaneers and Chiefs: Will they be this year’s Super Bowl teams, too? And — with the playoffs starting Saturday — we asked for your wild-card upset picks. There’s got to be at least one of those getting ready to happen, right?

On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: How confident are you in George McCaskey and the Bears to hire the right people this offseason?

Upshot: It’s tempting to look at this and think, hey, at least the Bears have nowhere to go but up from Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy. It’s not true, though; they could do even worse. And — if these results are any indication — there’s a pretty good chance they’ll blow this thing. To some beleaguered fans, the bad news is practically inevitable. As @JBIRD1268 put it, “It’s like shopping for a used car that doesn’t run.”

Poll No. 2: Will the Buccaneers and/or Chiefs make it back to the Super Bowl?

Upshot: A majority sees at last one of these teams — neither of which has a first-round bye — getting back to the big game. The defending-champion Bucs host the Eagles on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs host retirement-bound Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers on Sunday night. Any chance Monday morning rolls around and both the Bucs and the Chiefs are walking around with dazed looks in their eyes and wondering how the heck they already managed to get eliminated?

Poll No. 3: Pick a wild-card upset (yes, you have to pick one):

Upshot: The Steelers and Eagles are the biggest underdogs on the board. As for the other four games, well, how ’bout them Cowboys? Are they about to face-plant? Will Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford fail in his attempt to finally win a playoff game? Will Bills fans smash every table in Western New York if Bill Belichick’s Patriots win? Wait, why are respondents so confident in the Bengals?

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Do you know the number of balls in a standard game of

Bingo in the United States? It’s 75.

Do you know the age limit for a member of the Canadian Senate? It’s 75.

Do you know the anniversary the NBA is celebrating? It’s 75.

Do you know there are 75 days remaining until Opening Day? And somebody better unlock the door and get things going.

Good luck with this quiz.

1. As coach of the Bears, Mike Nagy went 34-31 (.523 winning percentage). Is that percentage higher or lower than each of the following Chicago managers (answer for each)?

a. Tony La Russa c. Bob Lemon

b. Chuck Tanner d. Don Zimmer

2. The warm, wonderful and witty Bob Saget played Danny on the hit sitcom ”Full House.” The character’s last name was the same as which former Chicago manager?

a. Tony La Russa c. Bob Lemon

b. Chuck Tanner d. Don Zimmer

3. Which of these guys on the Hall of Fame ballot did not play for the White Sox or the Cubs?

a. Joe Nathan c. Bobby Abreu

b. A.J. Pierzynski d. Jimmy Rollins

4. One of the things I love about the White Sox and the Cubs is that they were each born and raised in one fabulous city. The same only can be said for one of the following teams. Name that team.

a. Baltimore Orioles

b. Milwaukee Brewers

c. Detroit Tigers

d. San Francisco Giants

5. While baseball had Jackie Robinson, cinema had Sidney Poitier. Poitier was the first Black man to win the Oscar for best actor for his work in 1963’s ”Lilies of the Field.” In 1963, two Chicago batters were the city leaders with 25 home runs each. The runners-up each had 22. Which two batters had 25 and which two had 22?

a. Pete Ward c. Ron Santo

b. Dave Nicholson d. Billy Williams

6. The record-holder for the most times hit by a pitch in a season by a member of the Cubs is held by Anthony Rizzo. The White Sox’ season record is shared by Minnie Minoso and Carlos Quentin. Who was hit by more pitches in a season?

a. Anthony Rizzo b. Minnie/Carlos

7. The movie ”A League of Their Own” celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Who was the director of this classic baseball film?

a. Garry Marshall c. Rob Reiner

b. Penny Marshall d. Laverne DeFazio

8. Harry Caray first sang ”Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for the White Sox and then for the Cubs. The tradition of singing the song started for which of the following reasons?

a. He was a trained operatic singer.

b. He sang in a group known as ”The Off-Tones” in offseasons.

c. It was the only song he knew the words to.

d. It was a theme to a beer commercial he starred in.

9. Betty White would have been 100 on Jan. 17, which means that Babe Ruth hit 552 home runs during her life. That is more than any player hit while wearing a Chicago uniform. But is it more or less than each of the following sluggers?

a. Mike Schmidt c. Mickey Mantle

b. David Ortiz d. Reggie Jackson

ANSWERS

1. Higher than La Russa (.515); higher than Tanner (.492); lower than Lemon (.525); higher than Zimmer (.507).

2. Bob Saget won our hearts as Danny Tanner. Chuck Tanner, who managed the Sox in 1970-75, won 401 games and lost 414.

3. Bobby Abreu played for both New York teams and both Los Angeles teams, as well as the Phillies and Astros, but he never played for the Sox or Cubs.

4. The Orioles were the St. Louis Browns. The Brewers were the Seattle Pilots. The Giants were originally from New York. The Tigers always have played in Detroit.

5. Santo and Williams led the Cubs with 25 homers, and Ward and Nicholson led the Sox with 22.

6. In 1956, Minoso was hit by 23 pitches, the same as Quentin in 2011. In 2017, Rizzo was hit by 24 pitches. In 2019, Rizzo was hit by 29 pitches. And in 2015, Rizzo was hit by 30 pitches.

7. Penny Marshall, who was Garry’s sister, Rob Reiner’s ex-wife and played Laverne, was the director.

8. ”That is the only song I know the words to,” Caray was quoted as saying.

9. More than Schmidt (548), Ortiz (541) and ”The Mick” (536) but fewer than Reggie (563).

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Eloy Jimenez sprained his right foot rounding a base just four days before the start of the White Sox’ wild-card series against the Athletics in 2020, limiting him to two at-bats when his teammates needed him the most. The Sox lost the series.

Ouch.

Then, at the end of spring training the following March, the defensively limited left fielder made a fruitless attempt to catch a home run eight days before Opening Day, suffering a left pectoral muscle tear that put him on the shelf for almost four full months.

That one really hurt.

Jimenez was despondent for a while. What athlete wouldn’t be? Months of offseason training and preparation to build on a Silver Slugger award-winning season in 2020, which had followed a rookie campaign that saw him hit 31 home runs, felt wasted. An outpouring of support from teammates for the personable, fun-loving Jimenez carried him through the initial days after the injury and through the lonely days during his rigorous rehab.

“If it wasn’t for them — well, if it wasn’t for God first, and then for them after — I wasn’t able to do what I did and come back,” Jimenez said. “So I’m really grateful for all my teammates. That made me feel like I was special for them, like they are for me.”

The Sox hung Jimenez’s jersey in the dugout, and Jose Abreu back-pocketed Jimenez’s red batting gloves, Eloy style. The message was, “We’ll hold down the fort and have first place waiting for you when you get back.”

Which is what transpired. Initially feared to be lost possibly for the season, Jimenez, 24, returned July 26 and seemed none the worse for wear. He slashed .304/.325/.608 with five homers in his first 20 games.

“It did seem, initially, like he didn’t miss a beat,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “And he unfortunately fell out of that timing soon thereafter and couldn’t quite get it back.”

“At the beginning, I didn’t even know what I was doing because everything was good,” Jimenez said this week. “But then I lost it a little bit, and I didn’t really know what I was doing.

“I feel like I was there but at the same time I wasn’t.”

So which hitter will the Sox get in 2022?

In his last 42 games, Jimenez batted .232/.294/.341, about 100 points below his capability on the batting-average split, according to hitting coach Frank Menechino.

In 55 games, the same number he played in the COVID-abbreviated 60-game season in 2020, Jimenez finished with a .740 OPS, 141 points below what he produced in 2020. Outfielder Adam Engel finished with a higher WAR (wins above replacement) per Baseball Reference, partly because of superior defensive skill, despite playing only 39 games.

This offseason, Jimenez is trying to figure it out.

“Right now, in the offseason, I’m studying myself and seeing what happened, what was the issue,” Jimenez said before the lockout, which threatens to limit spring-training at-bats he could use.

Hahn gave Jimenez a mulligan discussing his 2021 performance at the general managers meetings, saying Luis Robert’s exceptional play after his injury was the exception, not the norm.

“You rehab by yourself away from big-league pitching from a catastrophic injury, it makes all the sense in the world it’s going to take you a little time to get your legs back under you, to get your swing back, get your timing back, get your strength back,” Hahn said. “And we saw all that down the stretch. The good news is, long term, there really should be no problem getting him back to where he was with a more normal schedule.”

In any event, the Sox need Jimenez to return to that .840 OPS form and be the middle-of-the-order threat that was absent down the stretch and to a degree in the division series against the Astros, when he was 5-for-17 (.291) with all of his hits singles.

Jimenez isn’t excusing himself because of the late start and missed time.

“I need to do better,” he said. “That was my mentality the whole time.

There are mechanical glitches, probably minor, and timing issues to tune up. He can’t overswing, Menechino said.

“I know there’s going to be ups and downs at times, but this time I don’t know what happened,” Jimenez said. “I just have to figure it out right now and keep working hard and let’s see next season.”

His goal for 2022?

“Go back to being Eloy,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t know who I was. I’m working really hard to get back to where I used to be.”

Which was a Silver Slugger-winning left fielder in 2020. Staying healthy is paramount.

“To get injured a second time, it was hard, especially when the team needs you,” he said. “And for me, it was frustrating because it was one week away from the start of the season. I had an injury in October [2020], and then I got an injury at the end of spring training. So it’s been really hard. But we’ve got to [get] past all that.”

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LAS VEGAS — What is it like to reach Week 12, then Week 13, then Week 14 –and keep advancing — in a $1,000-entry NFL contest that pays $6 million?

“Sweating it out each week,” said 24-year-old Patrick Wall, “was horrifying.”

And Wall works in a Vegas sportsbook, so he’s familiar with point spreads, line movements and sharp money, big money.

The Circa Sports Survivor winner-take-all battle, though, is a unique beast. Pick one team a week to simply win, no spreads, and that squad can’t be used again. Easy, eh?

Wall and two friends split the entry fee. Circa had 4,080 entrants, so owner Derek Stevens was on the hook for nearly a $2 million overlay, the shortfall between total entry fees and his grandiose guarantee.

Plus, he earmarked another $1 million to those who waited to use, and would win with, Kansas City or Tampa Bay until the final weekend, Week 20. The Delta Chucks, how Wall mistakenly labeled the trio, were among the final 23 players.

The night before their pivotal game, Wall couldn’t sleep. At first light, he rang his father, Robert, in Massachusetts, saying, “I feel sick. It’s so much money.”

“He was a little nervous,” Robert said.

A few hours later, when that game finally kicked off, the anxiety, insomnia and stress all took their toll.

Patrick Wall slipped into a deep sleep.

OFF TO VEGAS

The $6 million quest he and his pals undertook is almost as compelling as how Wall landed in Las Vegas.

A native of Holbrook, Massachusetts, he had obtained an accounting degree and an MBA at Assumption University, in Worcester. College classmate Deonte Harris is a kick-returning ace for the Saints.

Wall was following in his accountant dad’s vocational footsteps, but the 9-to-5 doldrums engulfed him.

He listened to “The Kelly and Murray Show” podcast, featuring Westgate SuperBook executive director John Murray and handicapper Kelly Stewart. He saw producer Sam Panayotovich’s Twitter note seeking editing help.

To be distinctive, Wall sent both Murray and Stewart $5 via Venmo to “buy a coffee and please read my r?sum?.”

It worked. He got the internship-type gig in December 2020. He did public accounting by day, edited at night and on weekends. He met Stewart’s friends Chris Thurston, a longtime bettor, and Adam Trigger, a WagerTalk ‘capper.

For the first week of last year’s NCAA Tournament, Stewart, as thanks for his hustling, bought Wall a round-trip airline ticket to Vegas. Murray arranged four-day Westgate accommodations.

Dave Sharapan, who worked many years at several Vegas books, helped Wall obtain a junior-trader post here at WynnBET.

Patrick returned to Massachusetts, and he and Robert took turns driving his white Mustang back to Vegas. Now Patrick is in the process of switching over to the Westgate SuperBook, where he’ll start out writing tickets.

“One thing led to another, and we’re driving out to Vegas,” Robert Wall said. “Accounting isn’t his thing . . . I was pulling for them in that contest. It was exciting.”

TRICKY

Wall, Thurston and Trigger discussed games, lines, odds and potential plays in a group chat, in which all benefited. Uniting for Survivor was a natural consequence.

Minimal risk, huge potential reward. Majority would rule, but they’d always aim for a consensus pick each week. They would use the Chiefs and Bucs as they saw fit, unconcerned about that bonus.

Those 20 weeks were tricky. The three Thanksgiving games, for instance, represented their own week, as did the two Christmas Eve games and their Thursday predecessor.

The Chucks saved the Packers for Christmas Eve, a home game against Detroit. For Week 1, they won with the Bucs. They kept winning. For Week 8, they won with the Chiefs. They kept winning.

On Thanksgiving, they used two-point-favorite Chicago at Detroit. That’s when it became serious, Wall said. Added Trigger, “Life-consuming.”

In theory, selecting the favored side in a game is advantageous. The Bears won, 16-14. The Chucks kept winning.

Then came Week 15.

JAX AXE

The Delta Chucks highlighted lowly Jacksonville, at home to lowly Houston. They reasoned the Jags as six-point home favorites represented value. Most important, Wall, at Wynn, had been watching professional bettors make big wagers on Jacksonville.

Philadelphia also rated with the Chucks, but Washington was experiencing virus issues and that game’s date would be moved.

If it were shifted to Wednesday, it would be moot since the Survivor contest deadline, for games to be played, was 2 a.m. Wednesday. If someone picked the Eagles and they played that Wednesday, sayonara.

Of the 23 remaining entries, only the Delta Chucks selected Jacksonville, which lost 30-16. That Tuesday, 10-point home-favorite Philly beat Washington 27-17.

The Chucks console themselves knowing they likely would have taken the Chargers, who lost 41-29 as 13-point favorites at Houston in Week 16.

Three Survivor victors would win $1,533,333, two claimed $1.2M.

Wall awoke from his slumber in the fourth quarter of the Jacksonville debacle, and Trigger and Thurston haven’t ceased teasing him.

“This huge game, and I nod off,” Wall said. “I hope we move along as well next year. There certainly is some luck involved, when those big double-digit favorites go down and you’re not on them.

“And maybe it will be a little less stressful next time.”

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