Good morning, Chicago.
We never know what to expect when it comes to our Readers’ Choice Food Awards these days — and we love it.
Since we started opening nominations to readers last year, the candidates we get for our Food Awards — which, this year, span from best new restaurants to late-night haunts to plant-based cuisine — are so geographically and categorically diverse, it’s clear that our small team of writers and editors could never cover the same territory as our readers.
This year, nearly 600 of you submitted nominations over a weeklong period in March. From there, we selected five finalists in each category (10 for Best New Restaurant), and nearly 9,000 votes poured in during the final half of the month. Readers showed their support from Chicago neighborhoods such as Washington Heights and Logan Square, to suburban Evanston and St. Charles and beyond.
Read on to learn about our dozen winning restaurants, bars, diners, virtual kitchens and pop-ups. Want more favorites? Check out our Critics’ Choice winners from last month.
— Ariel Cheung, food and travel editor
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The fate of ‘ComEd Four’ in jury’s hands
After nearly seven weeks of evidence and arguments, a federal jury is deliberating the fate of the “ComEd Four,” a group of executives and lobbyists accused of bribing then-House Speaker Michael Madigan to win his influence over the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
The case marks the most significant public corruption trial since former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted 12 years ago. It has struck at the heart of Illinois politics itself, holding up a mirror not only to Michael Madigan’s vaunted political operation but also the entire system of relationships between lobbyists, legislators and government-regulated utilities that rely on the General Assembly for its profits.
Illinois’ Blue Cross will stop covering at-home COVID-19 tests next month
Many Illinois residents will soon have to pay for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, with the state’s largest insurer saying it will no longer cover them once the federal emergencies for COVID-19 end next month.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will generally no longer cover the tests after May 11, which is when pandemic-related national and public health emergencies are set to end.
In memoriam: Harry Belafonte, through his art and activism, left this world a better place
There are so many reasons to grieve the death of Harry Belafonte, writes Michael Phillips.
And yet, grief cannot be separated from gratitude, or from the worlds of good Belafonte did for so many, across a long, rich life. His film career was the least of it.
Who will the Bears select at No. 9?
Matching elite NFL prospects with team needs and putting together a mock draft is an exercise that can look like a mess after a few picks.
The normally heightened level of guesswork in NFL mock drafts is even greater this year, writes Brad Biggs.
NBC’s “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love” is a throwback to the kind of old-school specials that rarely air on television anymore.
Burnett’s showbiz instincts have always been razor sharp and they remain so even at age 90, writes Nina Metz.
