Best Rec Center With a Roller Rink and a Bowling Alley
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park & Family Entertainment Center
by Steve Bogira
Critics' Picks
Ireashia Bennett
1219 W. 76th, 312-747-2602, mlkskating.com
In fact, it's the only place in Chicago with a roller rink and a bowling alley under one roof. The facility in Auburn Gresham, owned by the Chicago Park District and privately managed, opened 11 years ago. The south side had a handful of bowling alleys back then, but most have since closed. The King Center has a dozen lanes, and a game is usually only $2, with plenty of open times. Skating is $5 to $7 on weekends and $5 for adult night Tuesday, when Chicago firefighter Joe Bowen DJs. From 4 to 6:30 PM Friday, skating and bowling are each only 50 cents. Bowling is more popular in the summer and skating in the winter, but both continue to attract people of all ages to the center, general manager Tuneasha Taylor says. There's also an arcade, and the facility can be rented for private parties.
— Steve Bogira
Best of Chicago 2014: Sports & Recreation
on June 25, 2014 at 6:00PM
Best Gym for Watching Politicians Spar
GLeonard Boxing Club
by Ben Joravsky on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
1140 W. Jackson, 312-543-6246 In the basement of the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, at the GLeonard Boxing Club, you're liable to run into such pols as state rep Christian Mitchell, Alderman Will Burns, Chicago Teachers Union field rep Joseph McDermott, and Alderman Walter Burnett.
Best Vinyasa Flow Instructor With a Voice That Could Keep You in Shavasana Forever
Dana Fares
by Lisa Schulz on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
Columbia College Chicago fitness studio, 731 S. Plymouth, 312-369-6920 (classes September-December and February-May); Core Power Yoga, 4428 N. Broadway, 773-271-9642, corepoweryoga.com Last summer I thought sinking my toes into the soft sand during down dog as the wind off Lake Michigan played with my hair was equivalent to nirvana.
Best Surf
57th Street Beach
by Kevin Warwick on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
Chicago surfers just have to make do with what's nearby—which means Lake Michigan is their best option for carving waves. Unlike ocean surfing, where waves are built by weather that might be brewing far off the coast, lake surfing occurs in the fetch, with the very wind that creates the waves still overhead.
Best Secret Driving Range
Marquette Park
by Steve Bogira on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
The Chicago Park District also has driving ranges at Jackson Park and near the lake at Diversey, but Marquette Park is the only one with natural-grass tees. The range is tucked away on an island encircled by a lagoon, just east of Kedzie.
Best Peninsula for a Run
by Mick Dumke on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
OK, it's not technically a peninsula, but it sure feels like it. The 199-acre park is tucked just south of where the Calumet River flows into Lake Michigan, behind a proud old residential part of the East Side neighborhood.
Best Stretch of Protected Bike Lane
Elston Between North and Chestnut
by Julia Thiel on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
Milwaukee Avenue is for suckers. Sure, I bike on it almost daily, but on the rare occasions when I take Elston I'm struck by how much nicer it is, free from the crush of car and bike traffic that you find on Milwaukee when the weather is nice.
Best Bingo Night
Copernicus Center Thursday Night Bingo
by Tal Rosenberg on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
If the Boiler Room's PBR Bingo is your idea of a hard-core game, then you've got a lot to learn, rookie. Copernicus Center Thursday Night Bingo isn't some amateur-hour, rinky-dink distraction for you and your pals at your local watering hole—this is serious bingo for serious people.
1219 W. 76th, 312-747-2602, mlkskating.com In fact, it's the only place in Chicago with a roller rink and a bowling alley under one roof.
Best Shuffleboard Venue With a Display of Patriotism
Revolution Brewing Tap Room
by Luca Cimarusti on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
Shuffleboard may have been a favorite pastime of King Henry VIII's, but you'll never feel more American than when you play at the Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Avondale while standing in the shadow of a monstrous star-spangled banner. The 15-feet-tall-by-25-feet-wide flag lords over the bar nestled inside the brewery's complex, with the shuffleboard table situated between the two, gamely playing its role as one of the best activities to eat up hours of an afternoon.
Best Men's Volleyball Team—in the Country
The Loyola University Ramblers
In May the Ramblers topped Stanford 3 to 1 in their home gym to capture their first NCAA title—just the fifth won by a school outside of California. "It was kind of a storybook ending," says coach Shane Davis.
Best Norm Van Lier-like Effort
Norm Van Lier is the second-greatest Bulls guard of all time, a player who gave maximum energy on both ends of the court. And while there are plenty of like-minded players from this year's team—Joakim Noah, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich—I'm singling out Taj Gibson for his stifling defense, thunderous dunks, surprisingly good midrange jumper, and all-out hustle.
Best Bears Draft Pick That Everyone Hated at First but Eventually Grew to Love
by Drew Hunt on June 25, 2014 at 3:00PM
With the 20th pick in the NFL draft, the Chicago Bears selected Kyle Long, offensive guard, Oregon—and the collective response from Bears fans was, "The fuck?" To be fair, Long's story didn't precede him.
Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
Runner-Up Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
1326 W. Madison 312-981-7100 westendwestloop.com Runner-Up
SmallBar Division
2049 W. Division 773-772-2727 smallbardivision.com Runner-Up
Billy Goat Tavern 430 N. Michigan 312-222-1525 billygoattavern.com
Sluggers World Class Sports Bar
3540 N. Clark 773-248-0055 sluggersbar.com Runner-Up
Bob Inn
2609 W. Fullerton 773-342-2309 Runner-Up
Best Chicago Fire bar
Globe Pub
1934 W. Irving Park 773-871-3757 theglobepub.net Runners-Up
State Restaurant & Cafe
935 W. Webster 773-975-8030 state-chicago.com Runner-Up
Humboldt Park
1440 N. Humboldt 312-742-7549 chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks/humboldtpark Runner-Up
Montrose Dog Beach
610 W. Lawrence mondog.org Runner-Up
North Shore Channel Trail
1400 N. Sacramento chicagoparkdistrict.com Runners-Up
chicagocriticalmass.org Runner-Up
Best place to take a stroll
Lakefront Trail
Montrose and Lake Shore cityofchicago.org Runner-Up
Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course
3600 N. Lake Shore 312-742-7930 cpdgolf.com Runner-Up
Pressure Billiards & Cafe
6318 N. Clark 773-743-7665 pressurebilliards.com Runner-Up
Lincoln Square Lanes
4874 N. Lincoln 773-561-8191 lincolnsquarelanes.net Runner-Up
Multiple locations 630-336-7245 kayakchicago.com Runner-Up
Sports & Recreation Best of Chicago 2014 rec center bowling alley roller rink Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park & Family Entertainment Center Auburn Gresham Joe Bowen Tuneasha Taylor Critics' Picks