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I try not to lose myself in hyperbole, but I’m guessing Tom Whalley’s Jack Off the Beanstalk (a bawdy take on the classic British “panto”) is the only play this holiday season where the cow steals the show. 

Fist the Cow (Tyler Callahan), the bovine possession of the titular Jack Clapp (Joe Lewis)—whom Jack naively sells off for a proverbial “fuckton of gold pieces”—makes their rousing entrance several minutes into the show. Their (Fist’s pronouns suggested they are nonbinary) dialogue consists of moos but their facial expressions—ranging from the confused to the imperious—and provocative dancing make them the real Greek chorus. 

Jack Off the Beanstalk Through 12/18: Wed-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, PrideArts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, 773-857-0222, pridearts.org, $35 ($30 students/seniors), recommended 18+

PrideArts, after kicking off this season with the lovely musical drama Girlfriend (also featuring Lewis), does a real 180-degree turn with the ribald story of Jack’s attempts to save his farm and village from the Vagiant and its villainous henchman, Fleshlight (Neill Kelly), wooing Princess Jill (Anna Seibert) along the way.

The plot is threadbare, but the spirited cast, under the direction of Bryan McCaffrey, is having fun. Jack Off the Beanstalk is sturdy enough to string together 100 minutes of vulgar jokes, bad puns, musical numbers, and rude props—the creators get more use out of a double-headed sex toy than anyone in the audience would have ever thought possible. The audience participation contest is in refreshingly bad taste too. 

With no room for sentimentality and only a few Christmas carols shoehorned in, Scrooges will love the lack of holiday treacle. Still, the show includes a sing-along to the best version of “Jingle Bells” ever, with new R-rated lyrics suggested for the relatives you hate, which alone is worth the price of admission.

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Shakespeare was queering the narrative before that term even existed. So it makes sense that Midsommer Flight’s seventh annual production of Twelfth Night at the Lincoln Park Conservatory goes all-in on genderqueer playfulness this year—especially with queerness under attack from so many quarters. 

Bex Ehrmann’s staging amid the purple-and-lavender Nutcracker-themed decorations in the conservatory’s Show House Room features a cast with several trans and nonbinary performers. It’s also a streamlined and smart take on the story of Viola, a survivor of a shipwreck that she believes took the life of her twin, Sebastian. Upon arriving on the coast of Illyria, she disguises herself as Cesario, a boy servant in the home of lovelorn Duke Orsino, who seeks the hand of Olivia, who is also mourning the death of a brother and wants none of the duke’s expressions of ardor. 

Twelfth Night Through 12/18: Thu-Sun 7:30 PM, Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 Stockton Dr., midsommerflight.com, pay what you can

But she does find herself drawn to Cesario, and in Ehrmann’s telling, Viola (Maddy Shilts) is also more intrigued by her anagrammatic double, Olivia (Ebby Offord), than by the somewhat stuffy and presumptuous Orsino (John Drea). “Tell me what you thinkst of me,” Offord’s Olivia asks Shilts’s Viola, to which the latter replies, “That you do think you are not what you are.” It applies just as well to Viola herself.

Amid the growing awareness of their attraction for each other, the show also features the delightful comic plotting of Reginald Hemphill’s aptly named Sir Toby Belch and Travis Shanahan’s hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek against Rusty Allen’s stuffed shirt Malvolio, manservant to Olivia, and the comic and musical stylings of North Rory Homewood’s observant jester, Feste. A preshow songfest, featuring quirky numbers like Sandi Thom’s “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair”) lets the entire ensemble show off their musical skills.

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Gábor Hizó, Alanna Zaritz, and their daughter Zel Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Alanna Zaritz, 39, was born and raised in Chicago and is one of our city’s treasures. She is a familiar, welcoming, and eye-catching figure at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), where she has worked since 2005 (she’s currently the MCA’s store manager). 

Zaritz’s awe for her hometown is contagious, and very handy, since she has valuable local tips. Her love for fashion is obvious, as she approaches the art of dressing with devotion and expertise. “Fashion is alchemical and chameleonic. Not only does dressing up show regard for people you meet, it causes propulsive explosions of energy,” she says. 

“I’m always challenging my ideas about self-expression via fashion. My sense of self is wavy, and my closet is similarly all over the place. If only I was better at creating through visual art or music, but I’ve got this natural affinity for making color and texture combinations on my body. We love a flowy silhouette!” she adds. Zaritz’s style is influenced by the way she moves through space, and her job at the MCA. “It’s a super-inspiring place to be. From the ever-changing exhibits to my colleagues to the patrons to the building itself, to the freaking glorious force of nature Lake Michigan, which is just in our backyard, we are always being plied with ideas about who we are and who we can be and how we fit meaning into our existence,” she elaborates. 

On the day Zaritz was photographed, she was sporting a laundry list of fashion designers celebrated by those well-versed in the métier. “Sies Marjan faux astrakhan jacket in an unexpectedly delightful lilac, seafoam Craig Green quilted trousers, crystal Simone Rocha sandals, and iridescent Loeffler Randall purse. The idea is ‘Monet’s Water Lilies escapes the Art Institute.’ It’s all secondhand,” she says. 

Zaritz completed her ensemble with an iridescent Loeffler Randall purse. Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Zaritz felt particularly proud of a humble yet powerful accessory: her “I Voted!” sticker. “Voting is the absolute minimum—less than the minimum. Vote and volunteer and do the research and be involved in your community,” she advocates. 

Zaritz found a match made in fashion heaven in designer Gábor Hizó, 35. “We’ve been together about ten years, but we were friends before that. Gábor was the first person who was never derisive regarding my interest in style and that, among his infinite wonderful qualities, was refreshing. I am always curious to see what he’ll put together. He’s got a great and mysterious inner fantasy. Also, he’s supportive of creative expression, whatever shape that may take, and not just for me and Zel [their eight-year-old daughter], but expansively. He’s a great collaborator,” Zaritz says. 

Since they wear the same size, Zaritz often shops Hizó’s closet, and they go on exciting thrifting trips together. “We traveled a lot this year and we thrifted in Palm Springs, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans. We buy and sell at Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads, Elliott Consignment, the Second Child, and the RealReal as well, plus Vestiaire Collective and eBay. We prefer pre-loved garments—paying retail is a scam!” asserts Zaritz. 

Hizó concurs. “I like secondhand resale shops and small boutiques,” he says. That day while strolling and voting with his family in Chinatown, he was going for “warmth, utility, and mobility.” 

“I am wearing a Craig Green quilted worker jacket, AllSaints wool slacks, Salomon trail running shoes, and a hat I picked up at City Lights in San Fran. I try to carry some kind of camera [a Fuji X-Pro1 for today] with me at all times as I am Zel’s number one paparazzo. I think the blue of the jacket is bizarre in the best way possible. It’s the color of the future,” he predicts. 

Zaritz, 39, found a match made in fashion heaven in designer Hizó, 35. Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Hizó is the living example of how menswear can be fun, interesting, and boundless. “Try on everything. Prescribe to no size, trend, style, color, or gender,” he says. Hizó describes his style as “unconventional, but sensible, with lots of black and some pops of color.” He’s currently into big pockets, roomy fits, draping layers, ambiguity, and unusual silhouettes, and also “all the amazing utility-focused vintage clothing from the 80s and 90s by [Marithé et François Girbaud], Yohji [Yamamoto], and Issey Miyake that were as impressively forward-thinking then as they are today.” 

Their daughter Zel was wearing a lovely non-saccharine denim jumpsuit and Cookie Monster socks. “Zel’s outfit is also all secondhand, socks aside. Nununu jumpsuit and Timbs [Timberland boots]. Her crossbody bag was a gift from a cool friend,” says Zaritz. She advises parents to buy pre-owned garments and avoid disposable fashion: “Buy natural fibers that decompose and quality items that can be handed down repeatedly or resold. Mend and do repairs. Learn to sew and teach your kids to sew. Once you can darn your socks or patch a hole, you’ll never look at any garment the same way, much less a clothing store. Also, kids naturally gravitate towards fun and fantasy. Encourage that tendency,” she adds. 

With fashion in her DNA, Zel claims to love dresses, jumpsuits, and cool sweaters. Like her mother, she values movement. “I like to twirl in my dresses,” she says. And like her father, Zel values a bit of minimalism and graphic details: “I like simple clothing with shapes on it.”

This family’s love for art and fashion is only paralleled by their love of Chicago, and these Pilsen dwellers have a lot to share about the city. They are fascinated by Chinatown, and know many of the neighborhood’s nooks and crannies well. 

“We love the vast variety of restaurants, the park and the river, the library and landmarks, the cultural events, the people-watching. I frequently recommend taking the water taxi or river tour and getting some local perspective. Aji Ichiban, Tsaocaa, QXY, Veggie House, Hello Jasmine, and Tous Les Jours are some of our favorites. (Tous Les Jours is South Korean, not French; don’t let the name fool you.) I’ve been going to Joy Yee since I was 11. Chinatown is a perpetual vibe,” says Zaritz. 

“We are regularly enticed by the idea of bubble tea, Hong Kong-style waffles, and snacks from Aji Ichiban. The sweeter things in life! Thankfully it’s a quick jaunt over from Pilsen,” says Hizó. “A fun summer move is grabbing cold beverages from Chinatown, then taking the water taxi that stops in Ping Tom Park toward downtown for an unofficial architectural tour of the city. Chicago was built to be seen from the river, and it always seizes me,” he adds.

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Won Kim does not care that your grandma hates his food. One month into a five-month sabbatical from Bridgeport’s Korean-Polish Kimski, and the chef is feeling fine.

“I think I did a pretty good job trying to respect each culture,” he says. “I was downright fucking paranoid and scared to honor the babcias and the halmeonies out there. But what I’ve come to realize is they don’t give a shit. They just want authenticity. Grandmothers hate me and my food, and I’m OK with it.”

Six and a half years in, Kimski’s evolved far beyond its initial Ko-Po experiment, both in terms of food and its place in the restaurant community. It’s ground zero for Marz’s mutual aid food service, Community Kitchen, and it’s a prolific chef incubator, nurturing talent and launching independent careers for dozens of young chefs.

Kim’s earned some me-time.

And he’s earned this unfamiliar serenity that’s allowed him to take a walkabout in Amsterdam and Brussels without freaking out about whether he’d ordered onions. He’s been painting like mad, free from the worry about whether he left the kitchen with enough buns. And he’s been able to help out the chefs popping up at Kimski until his return without stressing that the restaurant will spiral into chaos.

It’s also allowed him to start thinking about the next phase for Kimski’s menu, which you can get a taste of on December 12, when Kim takes over the kitchen at the Kedzie Inn for Monday Night Foodball, the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up in Irving Park.

What’s that look like? It’s a lot more traditionally Korean, a little more upscale, but above all, “I want to just selfishly make food that I want to eat.”

dduk bbok ski, Kimski

That means your grandma might be weirded out by the way he tosses his chap chae á la minute with a ginger-sesame dressing instead of the standard soy-vinegar-sesame oil trio. She’ll probably serve some side-eye to the Heffer BBQ smoked brisket on his bo ssam platter, wondering where the boiled pork belly is. Her brow will furrow when she tastes his short rib marinade on the kalbi platter, which skews a lot less sweet than most, but still, “That’s the most humble fucking Korean meal. You’ve got your protein, you’ve got your pickled veggies, you got your carbs. That’s my ode to how I grew up eating at restaurants and at people’s homes. In the 80s, that’s what put us on the map. White people were like, ‘OK, we fuck with Korean food now.’”

I’m not sure what grandma can possibly dislike about his kimchi jjigae, stewed with his mom’s home-fermented cabbage, but she will likely be conflicted: “She hates it when I use her food. She makes it specifically so that I eat it. But I think she also loves the idea of it feeding strangers.”

Does change make you nervous? Don’t sweat. There will be some Kimski classics, like the Ko-Po beef sandwich dressed with charred shishitos and smothered in cheddar sauce; and the dduk Bok ski, sweet and spicy rice cakes with muenster cheese and fried egg; and the soy-sesame sour cream-drenched fries with chili oil, nori, and scallions.

Just look at his mad skills, courtesy of Tony Trimm and the Home Feed Show:

https://chicagoreader.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HF_E02_RAMEN_RIFT_WON_CUT-2.mp4

Don’t bring granny this Monday beginning at 5 PM at 4100 N. Kedzie. Just walk on in and order. No preorders necessary.

Meanwhile, there’s one more Foodball left in 2022, when MNF veteran Schneider Provisions teams up with Zeitlin’s Delicatessen on December 19, at the beginning of Hanukkah. Keep your eyes open for a brand-new Foodball schedule in January.

Read More

I try not to lose myself in hyperbole, but I’m guessing Tom Whalley’s Jack Off the Beanstalk (a bawdy take on the classic British “panto”) is the only play this holiday season where the cow steals the show. 

Fist the Cow (Tyler Callahan), the bovine possession of the titular Jack Clapp (Joe Lewis)—whom Jack naively sells off for a proverbial “fuckton of gold pieces”—makes their rousing entrance several minutes into the show. Their (Fist’s pronouns suggested they are nonbinary) dialogue consists of moos but their facial expressions—ranging from the confused to the imperious—and provocative dancing make them the real Greek chorus. 

Jack Off the Beanstalk Through 12/18: Wed-Sat 7:30 PM, Sun 3 PM, PrideArts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, 773-857-0222, pridearts.org, $35 ($30 students/seniors), recommended 18+

PrideArts, after kicking off this season with the lovely musical drama Girlfriend (also featuring Lewis), does a real 180-degree turn with the ribald story of Jack’s attempts to save his farm and village from the Vagiant and its villainous henchman, Fleshlight (Neill Kelly), wooing Princess Jill (Anna Seibert) along the way.

The plot is threadbare, but the spirited cast, under the direction of Bryan McCaffrey, is having fun. Jack Off the Beanstalk is sturdy enough to string together 100 minutes of vulgar jokes, bad puns, musical numbers, and rude props—the creators get more use out of a double-headed sex toy than anyone in the audience would have ever thought possible. The audience participation contest is in refreshingly bad taste too. 

With no room for sentimentality and only a few Christmas carols shoehorned in, Scrooges will love the lack of holiday treacle. Still, the show includes a sing-along to the best version of “Jingle Bells” ever, with new R-rated lyrics suggested for the relatives you hate, which alone is worth the price of admission.

Read More

Shakespeare was queering the narrative before that term even existed. So it makes sense that Midsommer Flight’s seventh annual production of Twelfth Night at the Lincoln Park Conservatory goes all-in on genderqueer playfulness this year—especially with queerness under attack from so many quarters. 

Bex Ehrmann’s staging amid the purple-and-lavender Nutcracker-themed decorations in the conservatory’s Show House Room features a cast with several trans and nonbinary performers. It’s also a streamlined and smart take on the story of Viola, a survivor of a shipwreck that she believes took the life of her twin, Sebastian. Upon arriving on the coast of Illyria, she disguises herself as Cesario, a boy servant in the home of lovelorn Duke Orsino, who seeks the hand of Olivia, who is also mourning the death of a brother and wants none of the duke’s expressions of ardor. 

Twelfth Night Through 12/18: Thu-Sun 7:30 PM, Lincoln Park Conservatory, 2391 Stockton Dr., midsommerflight.com, pay what you can

But she does find herself drawn to Cesario, and in Ehrmann’s telling, Viola (Maddy Shilts) is also more intrigued by her anagrammatic double, Olivia (Ebby Offord), than by the somewhat stuffy and presumptuous Orsino (John Drea). “Tell me what you thinkst of me,” Offord’s Olivia asks Shilts’s Viola, to which the latter replies, “That you do think you are not what you are.” It applies just as well to Viola herself.

Amid the growing awareness of their attraction for each other, the show also features the delightful comic plotting of Reginald Hemphill’s aptly named Sir Toby Belch and Travis Shanahan’s hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek against Rusty Allen’s stuffed shirt Malvolio, manservant to Olivia, and the comic and musical stylings of North Rory Homewood’s observant jester, Feste. A preshow songfest, featuring quirky numbers like Sandi Thom’s “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair”) lets the entire ensemble show off their musical skills.

Read More

Gábor Hizó, Alanna Zaritz, and their daughter Zel Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Alanna Zaritz, 39, was born and raised in Chicago and is one of our city’s treasures. She is a familiar, welcoming, and eye-catching figure at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA), where she has worked since 2005 (she’s currently the MCA’s store manager). 

Zaritz’s awe for her hometown is contagious, and very handy, since she has valuable local tips. Her love for fashion is obvious, as she approaches the art of dressing with devotion and expertise. “Fashion is alchemical and chameleonic. Not only does dressing up show regard for people you meet, it causes propulsive explosions of energy,” she says. 

“I’m always challenging my ideas about self-expression via fashion. My sense of self is wavy, and my closet is similarly all over the place. If only I was better at creating through visual art or music, but I’ve got this natural affinity for making color and texture combinations on my body. We love a flowy silhouette!” she adds. Zaritz’s style is influenced by the way she moves through space, and her job at the MCA. “It’s a super-inspiring place to be. From the ever-changing exhibits to my colleagues to the patrons to the building itself, to the freaking glorious force of nature Lake Michigan, which is just in our backyard, we are always being plied with ideas about who we are and who we can be and how we fit meaning into our existence,” she elaborates. 

On the day Zaritz was photographed, she was sporting a laundry list of fashion designers celebrated by those well-versed in the métier. “Sies Marjan faux astrakhan jacket in an unexpectedly delightful lilac, seafoam Craig Green quilted trousers, crystal Simone Rocha sandals, and iridescent Loeffler Randall purse. The idea is ‘Monet’s Water Lilies escapes the Art Institute.’ It’s all secondhand,” she says. 

Zaritz completed her ensemble with an iridescent Loeffler Randall purse. Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Zaritz felt particularly proud of a humble yet powerful accessory: her “I Voted!” sticker. “Voting is the absolute minimum—less than the minimum. Vote and volunteer and do the research and be involved in your community,” she advocates. 

Zaritz found a match made in fashion heaven in designer Gábor Hizó, 35. “We’ve been together about ten years, but we were friends before that. Gábor was the first person who was never derisive regarding my interest in style and that, among his infinite wonderful qualities, was refreshing. I am always curious to see what he’ll put together. He’s got a great and mysterious inner fantasy. Also, he’s supportive of creative expression, whatever shape that may take, and not just for me and Zel [their eight-year-old daughter], but expansively. He’s a great collaborator,” Zaritz says. 

Since they wear the same size, Zaritz often shops Hizó’s closet, and they go on exciting thrifting trips together. “We traveled a lot this year and we thrifted in Palm Springs, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans. We buy and sell at Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads, Elliott Consignment, the Second Child, and the RealReal as well, plus Vestiaire Collective and eBay. We prefer pre-loved garments—paying retail is a scam!” asserts Zaritz. 

Hizó concurs. “I like secondhand resale shops and small boutiques,” he says. That day while strolling and voting with his family in Chinatown, he was going for “warmth, utility, and mobility.” 

“I am wearing a Craig Green quilted worker jacket, AllSaints wool slacks, Salomon trail running shoes, and a hat I picked up at City Lights in San Fran. I try to carry some kind of camera [a Fuji X-Pro1 for today] with me at all times as I am Zel’s number one paparazzo. I think the blue of the jacket is bizarre in the best way possible. It’s the color of the future,” he predicts. 

Zaritz, 39, found a match made in fashion heaven in designer Hizó, 35. Credit: Isa Giallorenzo

Hizó is the living example of how menswear can be fun, interesting, and boundless. “Try on everything. Prescribe to no size, trend, style, color, or gender,” he says. Hizó describes his style as “unconventional, but sensible, with lots of black and some pops of color.” He’s currently into big pockets, roomy fits, draping layers, ambiguity, and unusual silhouettes, and also “all the amazing utility-focused vintage clothing from the 80s and 90s by [Marithé et François Girbaud], Yohji [Yamamoto], and Issey Miyake that were as impressively forward-thinking then as they are today.” 

Their daughter Zel was wearing a lovely non-saccharine denim jumpsuit and Cookie Monster socks. “Zel’s outfit is also all secondhand, socks aside. Nununu jumpsuit and Timbs [Timberland boots]. Her crossbody bag was a gift from a cool friend,” says Zaritz. She advises parents to buy pre-owned garments and avoid disposable fashion: “Buy natural fibers that decompose and quality items that can be handed down repeatedly or resold. Mend and do repairs. Learn to sew and teach your kids to sew. Once you can darn your socks or patch a hole, you’ll never look at any garment the same way, much less a clothing store. Also, kids naturally gravitate towards fun and fantasy. Encourage that tendency,” she adds. 

With fashion in her DNA, Zel claims to love dresses, jumpsuits, and cool sweaters. Like her mother, she values movement. “I like to twirl in my dresses,” she says. And like her father, Zel values a bit of minimalism and graphic details: “I like simple clothing with shapes on it.”

This family’s love for art and fashion is only paralleled by their love of Chicago, and these Pilsen dwellers have a lot to share about the city. They are fascinated by Chinatown, and know many of the neighborhood’s nooks and crannies well. 

“We love the vast variety of restaurants, the park and the river, the library and landmarks, the cultural events, the people-watching. I frequently recommend taking the water taxi or river tour and getting some local perspective. Aji Ichiban, Tsaocaa, QXY, Veggie House, Hello Jasmine, and Tous Les Jours are some of our favorites. (Tous Les Jours is South Korean, not French; don’t let the name fool you.) I’ve been going to Joy Yee since I was 11. Chinatown is a perpetual vibe,” says Zaritz. 

“We are regularly enticed by the idea of bubble tea, Hong Kong-style waffles, and snacks from Aji Ichiban. The sweeter things in life! Thankfully it’s a quick jaunt over from Pilsen,” says Hizó. “A fun summer move is grabbing cold beverages from Chinatown, then taking the water taxi that stops in Ping Tom Park toward downtown for an unofficial architectural tour of the city. Chicago was built to be seen from the river, and it always seizes me,” he adds.

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Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky riffs on the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty, and interviews politicians, activists, journalists and other political know-it-alls. Presented by the Chicago Reader, the show is available by 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays at chicagoreader.com/joravsky—or wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t miss Oh, What a Week!–the Friday feature in which Ben & producer Dennis (aka, Dr. D.) review the week’s top stories. Also, bonus interviews drop on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. 

Chicago Reader podcasts are recorded on Shure microphones. Learn more at Shure.com.

Chicago Reader senior writer Ben Joravsky discusses the day’s stories with his celebrated humor, insight, and honesty on The Ben Joravsky Show.

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Won Kim does not care that your grandma hates his food. One month into a five-month sabbatical from Bridgeport’s Korean-Polish Kimski, and the chef is feeling fine.

“I think I did a pretty good job trying to respect each culture,” he says. “I was downright fucking paranoid and scared to honor the babcias and the halmeonies out there. But what I’ve come to realize is they don’t give a shit. They just want authenticity. Grandmothers hate me and my food, and I’m OK with it.”

Six and a half years in, Kimski’s evolved far beyond its initial Ko-Po experiment, both in terms of food and its place in the restaurant community. It’s ground zero for Marz’s mutual aid food service, Community Kitchen, and it’s a prolific chef incubator, nurturing talent and launching independent careers for dozens of young chefs.

Kim’s earned some me-time.

And he’s earned this unfamiliar serenity that’s allowed him to take a walkabout in Amsterdam and Brussels without freaking out about whether he’d ordered onions. He’s been painting like mad, free from the worry about whether he left the kitchen with enough buns. And he’s been able to help out the chefs popping up at Kimski until his return without stressing that the restaurant will spiral into chaos.

It’s also allowed him to start thinking about the next phase for Kimski’s menu, which you can get a taste of on December 12, when Kim takes over the kitchen at the Kedzie Inn for Monday Night Foodball, the Reader’s weekly chef pop-up in Irving Park.

What’s that look like? It’s a lot more traditionally Korean, a little more upscale, but above all, “I want to just selfishly make food that I want to eat.”

dduk bbok ski, Kimski

That means your grandma might be weirded out by the way he tosses his chap chae á la minute with a ginger-sesame dressing instead of the standard soy-vinegar-sesame oil trio. She’ll probably serve some side-eye to the Heffer BBQ smoked brisket on his bo ssam platter, wondering where the boiled pork belly is. Her brow will furrow when she tastes his short rib marinade on the kalbi platter, which skews a lot less sweet than most, but still, “That’s the most humble fucking Korean meal. You’ve got your protein, you’ve got your pickled veggies, you got your carbs. That’s my ode to how I grew up eating at restaurants and at people’s homes. In the 80s, that’s what put us on the map. White people were like, ‘OK, we fuck with Korean food now.’”

I’m not sure what grandma can possibly dislike about his kimchi jjigae, stewed with his mom’s home-fermented cabbage, but she will likely be conflicted: “She hates it when I use her food. She makes it specifically so that I eat it. But I think she also loves the idea of it feeding strangers.”

Does change make you nervous? Don’t sweat. There will be some Kimski classics, like the Ko-Po beef sandwich dressed with charred shishitos and smothered in cheddar sauce; and the dduk Bok ski, sweet and spicy rice cakes with muenster cheese and fried egg; and the soy-sesame sour cream-drenched fries with chili oil, nori, and scallions.

Just look at his mad skills, courtesy of Tony Trimm and the Home Feed Show:

https://chicagoreader.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/HF_E02_RAMEN_RIFT_WON_CUT-2.mp4

Don’t bring granny this Monday beginning at 5 PM at 4100 N. Kedzie. Just walk on in and order. No preorders necessary.

Meanwhile, there’s one more Foodball left in 2022, when MNF veteran Schneider Provisions teams up with Zeitlin’s Delicatessen on December 19, at the beginning of Hanukkah. Keep your eyes open for a brand-new Foodball schedule in January.

Read More

The Chicago Cubs have made some significant moves so far this offseason. It has been a good start to getting back to being a good team which is all fans of this team want at this point. They have a long way to go but they are starting to build the foundation.

With that in mind, Cubs fans will always appreciate those who helped them win it all in 2016. That team ended a 108-year World Series drought so you know that they are always going to be a legendary team in town.

One of the key pieces to that team was Jason Heyward. He signed a large contract to come to the Cubs right before it and it has been met with mixed criticism.

Of course, it is hard to rip on any move that proceeded the World Series victory. That is the ultimate goal and Heyward came in as they achieved it.

The Chicago Cubs had some truly amazing moments with Jason Heyward.

His play was up and down for most of his Cubs career. He played Gold Glove defense for them but his bat was very hot and cold. He came up clutch at times but never really lived up to the contract that he signed as far as his play was concerned.

With that in mind, he did something off the field that people will always consider him a legend for. After the Cleveland Indians came back and tied game seven of the World Series, a rain delay stopped the game as the Cubs had lost all momentum.

Heyward called a team meeting in the clubhouse while they waited for the rain to drop where he gave one of the most legendary speeches in the history of Chicago sports. It is hard to think that this didn’t have anything to do with them winning in the end.

It was a very expensive speech based on his contact but they would do it all again if they could. Winning that championship and ending the drought was their only goal, any way they could do it.

As the team started to fall off, he did even more which led to them letting him go following the 2022 season. It was tough to see that knowing everything that he has done for them but that is the business of the game sometimes.

On Thursday, we found out that Heyward has found his newest baseball home. He is signing a Minor League deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers and will get a big league camp invite in the spring.

It is a good deal for him as one of the best teams in the league is going to give him a look. We will see if he has more to give to the league.

He is an incredibly easy guy to root for because of who he is as a person. With a loaded team like that, he might fit in as a clubhouse guy that can get some playing time every now and then in certain situations. If he can play well enough and earn a big-league contract again, that would be really cool to see.

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