Notes from Chicago is a love letter to the greatest city on the planet. Every week join host and longtime Chicago resident Ashley Phillips as she talks with artists, entrepreneurs, scientists, tastemakers and more about their relationship with the city on the make.
The Best Burgers in Chicago with Food Critic Maggie Hennessy
What does a longtime Chicago restaurant critic actually eat when nobody’s assigning the story?
This week, Ashley sits down with Maggie Hennessy, a freelance food journalist, former Time Out Chicago restaurant critic, and author of The Burger Bible: Everything You Need to Know About the Humble Hamburger. Maggie left a financial journalism job covering hedge funds at Reuters for night classes at culinary school, and she’s covered Chicago’s food scene ever since.
Follow Maggie Hennessy:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edible_words/ (https://www.instagram.com/edible_words/)
* Website: https://www.maggiehennessy.com/ (https://www.maggiehennessy.com/)
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* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z (https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z)
* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173)
* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago (https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago)
* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi (https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi)
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago (https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago)
* Website: https://www.notesfromchicago.com/ (https://www.notesfromchicago.com/)
Notes from Chicago is a weekly interview show hosted by Ashley Phillips, centering the voices, stories, and neighborhoods that make up the real Chicago.
Host: Ashley Phillips
Producer & Editor: Tanisha Blakely, https://www.tanishablakely.com/ (https://www.tanishablakely.com/)
20 Oct 2026
Third Spaces, Food-Shaped Candles & Clouds: Chicago Artist and Shop Owner Jean Cate
Jean Cate is a Chicago artist and the owner of Martha Mae: Art Supplies & Beautiful Things and The Center of Order and Experimentation, a coffee and gift shop on Grand Avenue in West Town. In this episode of Notes from Chicago, she tells Ashley how she opened her first shop in Andersonville while still at SAIC and rebuilt it after the original concept failed. She also explains how running that shop pulled her through severe anxiety, and why she believes shops can be a container for connection.
Follow Jean Cate:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanmcate (https://www.instagram.com/jeanmcate)
https://www.instagram.com/orderandexperimentation (https://www.instagram.com/orderandexperimentation)
https://www.instagram.com/marthamae.beautifulthings (https://www.instagram.com/marthamae.beautifulthings)
* Website: https://marthamae.info/ (https://marthamae.info/) , not-a-cult.org (http://not-a-cult.org) , https://www.jeancate.com/ (https://www.jeancate.com/)
Follow Notes from Chicago:
* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z (https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z)
* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173)
* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago (https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago)
* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi (https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi)
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago (https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago)
* Website: https://www.notesfromchicago.com/ (https://www.notesfromchicago.com/)
Notes from Chicago is a weekly interview show hosted by Ashley Phillips, centering the voices, stories, and neighborhoods that make up the real Chicago.
Host: Ashley Phillips
Producer & Editor: Tanisha Blakely, https://www.tanishablakely.com/ (https://www.tanishablakely.com/)
13 Oct 2026
Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann on Founding Mishkan Chicago and Building a Radically Inclusive Jewish Community
At 29, Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann was living in Los Angeles when the idea of building the synagogue she actually wanted to go to pulled her back to Chicago.
Host Ashley talks with Rabbi Lizzi, Senior Rabbi and Founder of Mishkan Chicago, about growing up in Hyde Park, the South Side synagogue that shaped her, and why she set out to build a community for young adults who said, "Why would we go to synagogue?"
She shares how Mishkan went from a Honda Civic full of speakers to a 19-person staff, a religious school, and a teen program, with services that wander from Jefferson Park's Copernicus Center to Wicker Park.
Host Ashley talks with Rabbi Lizzi, Senior Rabbi and Founder of Mishkan Chicago, about growing up in Hyde Park, the South Side synagogue that shaped her, and why she set out to build a community for young adults who said, "Why would we go to synagogue?"
She shares how Mishkan went from a Honda Civic full of speakers to a 19-person staff, a religious school, and a teen program, with services that wander from Jefferson Park's Copernicus Center to Wicker Park.
Follow Mishkan Chicago:
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mishkanchicago/ (https://www.instagram.com/mishkanchicago/)
* YouTube: mishkanchicago.org/high-holidays-livestream-landing-page
* ‘Contact Chai’ podcast: https://contactchai.buzzsprout.com (https://contactchai.buzzsprout.com)
* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MishkanChicago/?fref=ts (https://www.facebook.com/MishkanChicago/?fref=ts)
Follow Notes from Chicago:
* Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z (https://open.spotify.com/show/0qkYwUroGt4hMZQlhTg32z)
* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/notes-from-chicago/id1838675173)
* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago (https://www.youtube.com/@NotesfromChicago)
* TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi (https://www.tiktok.com/@notesfromchi)
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago (https://www.instagram.com/notesfromchicago)
* Website: https://www.notesfromchicago.com/ (https://www.notesfromchicago.com/)
Notes from Chicago is a weekly interview show hosted by Ashley Phillips, centering the voices, stories, and neighborhoods that make up the real Chicago.
Host: Ashley Phillips
Producer & Editor: Tanisha Blakely, https://www.tanishablakely.com/ (https://www.tanishablakely.com/)
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
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