Taryn McFadden

Jan 7, 2025 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn McFadden

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [email protected]. The Youngster at R&A Sourdough is a bagel sandwich with plain schmear, your choice of sausage or hot-honey bacon, egg frittata, cheddar, and hot sauce. But let’s get this out of the way: There are a few key customizations needed to make this a bagel sandwich worth talking about.

Dec 26, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn McFadden

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you can’t stop thinking about? Share it with us at [email protected]. Hot chocolate isn’t something I usually go for. While I may crave it a couple times a year, usually around the holidays, it was more in my rotation when I was younger—before I acquired a taste for coffee, matcha, or chai.

Dec 23, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Peter Keough |Taryn McFadden

Putting aside the joy and chaos of “Hollywood Shuffle” reading like an absolute fever dream of impressions and quotations, this piece from April 2, 1987, is a fascinating time capsule. Not only does it accomplish the classic Reader feat of spotlighting a now-famous Chicagoan at the onset of their career, but it also provides a glimpse of the film industry in the late 80s, notably describing how it felt to be a Black creative trying to find work.

Nov 13, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn McFadden

Jack McCoy, 28, is the founder and owner of Sweet Void Cinema, a production company and microcinema in Humboldt Park. McCoy grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and came to Chicago in 2014 to study cinema at Columbia College Chicago. He’s lived in various neighborhoods across the city and currently resides in Lincoln Square. Sweet Void Cinema started conceptually in 2020 as a collaboration between myself, Jon Anderson, Jose Perez, and Aliya Haq, as a production company first and foremost.

Nov 13, 2024 | chicagoreader.com | Taryn McFadden

Taryn McFadden (she/her) is a Chicago Reader culture editor who oversees film and TV, food and drink, and other feature stories. She has held multiple positions since starting at the Reader in 2019, doing administrative and business work before settling into editorial. McFadden writes occasionally—mostly about food, culture, sports, and LGBTQ+ stories—but far prefers editing the Reader’s talented staff and contributors.