It is common for immigrants to Chicago to bring with them something from home; a custom, a food, etc. In the mid-1880s, Carl Jeppson emigrated from Ystad, Sweden, to Chicago’s Swedish area at that time near the intersection of Clybourn Avenue and Division Street. What he brought from home was Malört, a liquor with a bitter aftertaste that has become a joke that Chicagoans play on unsuspecting visitors. (“Try it, it’s the Chicago thing to do!)

In the audio clip below, Tremaine Atkinson, CEO of CH Distillery, the current maker of Malört, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that Malört blossomed during Prohibition because of its medicinal qualities: It killed intestinal worms, a problem in the days before refrigeration and other food safety advances. Also helping Jeppson skirt scrutiny of the enforcers was their conclusion that nobody would drink his bitter concoction recreationally.

Atkinson describes the “Chicago Handshake,” a shot of Malört andand talks about unsuspecting visitors are told, “This is a very Chicago thing to do, and then getting the fun of watching people’s reactions to this very unusual, bitter liquid.”

Atkinson says Malört is more popular than ever thanks in part to social media where people have posted Malört-isms, such as “Malört, when you want to unfriend somebody in person,” and, “Malört, for when you know you’re not getting your security deposit back.” There are many that are not suitable to be posted here.

Malört is still made the way Carl Jeppson did, soaking wormwood (which CH Distillery imports from Sweden) in alcohol. Atkinson says wormwood is more like a stalk of wheat than it is a “wood” or tree. Atkinson says Malört is often used in cocktails, much as bitters are. He especially likes it in Pina Coladas. (Cue a Malört version of Rupert Holmes “Pina Colada Song” where you insert your own Malört-influenced lyrics.)

When asked if he knows anyone who actually likes Malört, Atkinson said he does. “Its funny to talk seriously about the flavor of Malört, but it’s got a little sweetness up front, and then its herbal and citrusy, very much like a grapefruit, and maybe five seconds in is when you start to get the bitter, and if you don’t have anything else that bitter hangs out for a good 15 minutes, and I kind of enjoy that journey.”

CH Distillery makes more than Malört. It uses rye and wheat grown in nearby Kane County to make CH Vodka, the only vodka that is handmade from Illinois grain. Atkinson’s decision to buy Malört from a family that had owned the Jeppson brand for nearly 100 years and had moved production to Florida was brilliant. Malört is stocked in virtually every bar in Chicago and is a great door opener to get CH’s other products into bars and liquor stores.

It started with a TV camera catching Iowa State football players Tommy Hamman and Caleb Bacon standing next to each other on the sidelines, the names on their jerseys reading: “Hamman Bacon.” A fan posted it and tagged the Iowa Pork Producers Association asking, “Can we get an NIL deal for these guys?” In the audio clip below, Kevin Hall, the pork association’s communications director, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander his answer was, “Heck, yeah!” and from that was born the 2023 NIL Deal of the Year.

Hall says a glance through the rest of the roster found Miles Purchase and Tyler Moore, so they now had “Purchase, Moore, Hamman, Bacon.” And a deeper dive found players Alec Cook and Zach Lovett. “So what do you do after you purchase more ham and bacon?” asks Hall. “You cook it and love it!” The video went viral — although that’s not a word pork producers who are constantly fighting to keep their herds bio-secure are fond of — and had more than two million views in 12 hours. Altogether, the campaign reached more than 20 million people just on social media, with traditional media coast-to-coast picking up the story. Tee-shirts were printed. It was a huge response that marketing execs can only dream of.

That was last year. Will the IPPA be able to pull off a repeat? Hall says all the players are back, except for Tommy Hamman, who gave up football to focus on his engineering degree but will still be part of the campaign.

In addition to paying each players for his name, image, and likeness, the IPPA donated a total of $10,000 worth of pork to food pantries selected by the six players. The combination of philanthropy, fun, and creativity won the NIL Deal of the Year award from Sports Business Journal. Hall said the campaign was even bigger than the IPPA had hoped for, and was not only a win for the players — whose NIL money is being doubled this year — but for their local food pantries, Iowa State University and pig farmers.

By the way, I resisted clever wordplay around “pigskin,” a common nickname for the football. The history of that is a bit disgusting, but early “foot” balls, likely used for soccer matches long before the first college football game in the U.S. in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, were made of inflated pig bladders, which were more round than elliptical like today’s football. That is why footballs got the nickname “pigskins.” Pig bladders fell out of favor (no doubt to the delight of the people who were tasked with blowing them up for each game) later in the 1800s when inflatable rubber balls came along, followed by the leather from cowhides used today.

When Michelle McBride saw the drink choices available for her children as they began getting involved in sports, she was dismayed at the amount of artificial ingredients and sugar. She tried giving her kids “natural” sports drinks, but they wouldn’t drink them, plus Michelle discovered they weren’t any more effective at rehydration than water. So, she went to work on making her own and discovered the answer in Mother Nature’s near perfect hydrator: milk. In the audio clip below, Michelle tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that she discovered milk has a unique combination of electrolytes not found anywhere else. And milk, by itself, is more hydrating than the big brand sports drinks. So, she and her team of scientists figured out how to extract the electrolytes and nutrients from milk. They use ultrafiltration to come up with a clear liquid that’s the basis for GoodSport. In the years since, GoodSport has gotten scientific validation that it hydrates better than Gatorade and Body Armor, and just as important for a small company that has a minuscule marketing budget compared to the big brands, pro athletes and teams have been seeking out GoodSport. The most recent is Jonathan Owens, a safety for the Chicago Bears. He was having muscle cramping issues because of a sickle cell trait, which he’s disclosed, and was looking for something that would help him hydrate better. He heard about GoodSport, tried it, trained with it, saw a difference in his performance, and reached out to Michelle. Owens is now an ambassador for GoodSport, or as Michelle says, “He’s truly a member of the team.”

GoodSport is also the Official Hydrator of the WNBA Chicago Sky, and other pro teams, athletes, and trainers.

It isn’t just better hydration that Michelle is passionate about. As a sports mom, she has seen too much bad behavior, especially by parents and coaches. So, partnering with other organizations, GoodSport is getting the word out that youth sports is not all about the win. Sports develops life-long lessons that are so important, and youth sports should be a safe place for children to learn, fail, and get back up and try again.

Residents of Chicago’s Austin neighborhood knew they were living in a food desert because they had only three grocery stores. Then one closed, leaving just two sources of fresh food compared with 23 liquor stores. Now, a brick and mortar store, operated by high school students, has been built at 423 N. Laramie on the site of a former liquor store. Austin Harvest will be open Tuesday-Thursday year round. And as important as bringing fresh and affordable produce to the neighborhood is, what the market does for Austin teenagers is more important. In the audio clip below, Rodney Williams, who grew up in Austin and is now the By The Hand Club’s Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that the club, an after school reading program, targets students who are most in need, those who are failing. He says the turnaround is impressive, not only in the students’ grades, but in the responsibility they assume in running nearly every aspect of the produce market; ordering, stocking, pricing, janitorial duties — they do it all. Williams praises the dedication and focus of the students, and says as a mentor he knows he won’t be getting a call in the middle of night that his kids have been shot, or that he’d see them hanging around street corners late at night.

There are many great reasons to go to the Illinois State Fair: The carnival, the grandstand concerts, the food, the 4-H and FFA exhibits, and … the Piglet Parade. In the audio clip below, Illinois Pork Producers Association Pork Ambassador Jobeth Matli tells WGN’s Steve Alexander all about the 10-day old baby pigs and their very pregnant mommas who were brought in just a few days before the fair to give birth. The piglets are not actually parading, but thousands of fair visitors are parading through the Birthing Center to see the little critters, hold them, and take photos with them. There’s also a “Guess the Piglet’s Weight” contest.

If you can’t make it to Springfield, here is a LIVE PIGLET CAM where you can watch what they’re up to, 24/7. (Spoiler alert: They don’t do much other than eat and sleep, much like human babies, but cuteness abounds.)

If you do go to the fair, the Pork Producers are again hosting their Pork Patio, a tradition for over 30 years. Fairgoers can get their favorite pork products from August 8-18th. The menu will feature the classics, including chop on-a-stick, pork twister, pork burgers, pork chops, and BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. 

“Sarah Mac,” as her friends call her, is a Board Certified Physical Therapist who practiced at the University of Chicago until recently deciding to go back to school for another degree. In her spare time, she bakes, and is known for her version of the French macroon. (Her Instagram handle is a nod to that: @SMAC_aroons.) She had planned on entering the Chicago’s Best Baker competition in 2023, but was so far along in her pregnancy that her obstetrician “laughed in my face and told me no way are you doing this.” In July of 2024, with a toddler in tow, she entered the competition in Uptown. Organizers are fans of “The Great British Bakeoff” and wanted something similar to honor the great amateur bakers of Chicago, while also raising money for the homeless shelter at Cornerstone Community Outreach. Of 106 entries, Sarah snagged two second-place ribbons in the Heirloom and Gluten-Free categories. When it came to the naming of the overall winner of the contest, the panel of professional Chicago bakers chose Sarah’s bakes. In the audio clip below, she describes the experience to WGN’s Steve Alexander. When asked if she has considered going pro now that she’s been judged Chicago’s best amateur baker, Sarah said she likes the idea of baking as a job, but doesn’t like the hours. She’s a night owl, and if bakers could start at three in the afternoon instead of three in the morning, she’d consider it.

Dick’s Last Resort long reigned as one of the rowdiest bar/restaurants along the Chicago River, proudly calling itself “the place your mama warned you about.” It encouraged women customers to leave their underwear behind, which were strung up across the bar. Dick’s closed, Legal Seafoods claimed the space. “All the underwear is gone, and there was a significant cleanup that had to happen before we could even start demolition,” says Legal Seafoods president and COO Matt King.

In the audio clip below, King tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that a grand staircase now connects the space that was Dick’s with the level above once occupied by a Subway. The upper level is an oyster and sushi bar, the lower level is a 10,000 square foot restaurant seating more than 300, including 60 outside along the river. This is the first Legal Seafoods restaurant not on the East Coast. King says the Berkowitz family started Legal in 1950 as a market in the Boston area where people could get stamps that were a legal tender, similar to what became food stamps. The Berkowitz family sold its restaurants in 2020 to the company that owns Smith and Wollensky, which occupies the space adjacent to the new Legal Seafoods. In fact, during the pandemic, the seafood company tested a virtual kitchen in the Smith & Wollensky kitchen for pickup and delivery. It went so well that the chain was sure that the Midwest was ready for its clam chowder, lobster rolls and a full menu of fresh seafood. When asked how fresh, King cited the restaurant’s motto: “From boat to plate in 48.”

The USDA is out with its forecast for food prices in 2025, and if it becomes a reality (it is a forecast and we know what happens to forecasts sometimes) it will be a relief: a .7% increase in average food prices at the grocery store. Compare that with the run-up in “food-at-home” prices — grocery bills — in the first three years of the pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published an analysis of what caused the increase. In the audio clip below, Thomas Klitgaard, an economic research advisor in International Studies in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Research and Statistics Group, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander what drove the prices higher: commodities (but he says we shouldn’t blame it on farmers), and wage increases for supermarket workers (but we shouldn’t blame the mostly underpaid workers). And about “Greedflation,” the accusation tossed around by politicians? Klitgaard says yes, grocery retailer profits were up about 20 percent, but their expenses were also up by about 18%.

More than 100 vendors, including some of Chicago’s iconic restaurants, will be serving food at the 2024 Lollapalooza in Grant Park. From pizza to Italian Beef to BBQ to tacos to waffles, plus desserts and drinks of all kinds (see lists below), concert goers will be in no danger of going hungry or thirsty. Back in ChowTown for a 13th year is Chicago’s very own Wow Bao. In the audio clip below, president and CEO of Wow Bao, Geoff Alexander tells WGN’s Steve Alexander that setting up a restaurant at Lolla for four days is difficult — more challenging than any of the 30+ restaurants he’s opened — but it’s great fun for him and his team as they steam up and serve more than 30,000 bao over the four days, plus more than 10,000 pot stickers. Wow Bao is celebrating its 21st year in business. It started as part of the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group in a 350-square foot space in the entrance to Water Tower Place on the Mag Mile. Below is a listing of all food vendors at the 2024 Lollapalooza. There’s pretty much anything you could want–but you’ll have to have a ticket to get into Grant Park.

CHOWTOWN Bacci Pizzeria, BaseHit BBQ, Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, Benjyehuda, Billy Goat Tavern, BJ’s Market & Bakery, Boxcar Betty’s, Broken English Taco Pub, Cafe Tola, Carnitas Don Alfredo, Castaways Beach Club, Cheese’s Grilled Cheese, Chicago’s Doghouse, Chicago’s Pizza, Chubby Wieners, Cleo’s, Connie’s Pizza, Dark Matter Coffee, Doom Street Eats, El Campeon, El Taconazo Express, Epic Burger, Esperanza, Fatso’s Last Stand, Frannie’s, Harold’s Chicken, Haus Of Sausage, Joey G’s Mac N Cheese, Josephine’s Cooking, Kamehachi, Koko’s Bavarian, Lito’s Tacos & Empanadas, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, Novi’s Italian Beef, Pasta Fasta, Prime Tacos, Robinson’s No.1 Ribs, Shake Shack, Shawarma Point, Taco Pros, Tacotlán, Tandoor Char House, Tecalitlan Mexican Kitchen, The Budding Southern Chicken, The StopAlong, The Tamale Guy, Uncle Bud’s, Wow Bao.

DESSERT ISLAND Candy Cloud World, Chills Italian Ice, Cloud Cookie, Dat Donut, Dippin’ Dots, Donut Dudes, Eiffel Waffle, Gaby’s Funnel Cakes, Ice Cream Social, Ida’s Artisan Ice Cream & Treats, Lorenzo’s Frozen Pudding, Normita’s Conchas & Café, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Rolling Chicago, Silver Spoon Desserts, The Original Rainbow Cone, Vero Gelato, Windsor Ice Cream Shoppe, Winston Snow Cones, XO Marshmallow, Xurro.

PLANT BASE   Alice & Friends, Banato, Blue Agave, Elephant & Vine, Fons Empanadas, Glow Superfood, MeetStop by SteMartaen, Penelope’s Vegan Taqueria, Soul Veg City, Vegan Plate Chicago.

VIBE VILLAGE Candy Cloud World, Kong Dog, Kurimu, Matcha Cita, Sugar Bliss, Taiyaki Chicago.

GA+ LOUNGE  Mr. Chilaquil, Stix & Noodles, The Original Uncle John’s Barbecue, Uncle Remus Saucy Fried Chicken, Zaza’s Pizzeria.

VIP LOUNGE Bad Johnny’s Wood-Fired Pizza, Fatso’s Last Stand, House of Meltz, Latin America Cravings, Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Slice Factory, Sugar Bliss, Thlaco Taco Tijuanense.

When Genesis Winter was watching “The Great British Bake Off” years ago, she wondered why there wasn’t a similar competition for amateur bakers in America. So, she and a friend put together the “Chicago’s Best Baker” competition. In the audio clip below, Genesis tells WGN’s Steve Alexander the event, which began in 2018 and took two years off for COVID, will feature around 100 bakers, all meeting the requirements that they be amateurs and from Chicago. Judging will be done by professional Chicago bakers and winners will be chosen in each of the categories: cakes, pies, cookies, pastries, bread, and gluten-free items, and there will be one overall entrant chosen as Chicago’s Best Baker of 2024. The real winners, though, are members of the general public who can taste samples of each entry after the judging. Winter says the deadline for entries is July 18, and bakers will drop off their entries Saturday morning, July 20. At 2 p.m., after the judging, the doors to the public will open, and after an awards ceremony, the tasting begins at 3 p.m. Tasting tickets are $10 per category, or $50 for an all access ticket. Winter says even at $10, tasters will have the opportunity to easily satisfy their sweet tooth, with dozens of samples available. It’s all happening Saturday, July 20, at 935 West Wilson in Uptown. (Walk through Everybody’s Coffee Shop to get to the event space.) The big winner, though, is the Cornerstone Community Outreach, a homeless shelter that will receive the proceeds of the day.