Jul 14, 2025 - Culture

5 Chicago questions about "The Bear" season 4

Monica Eng

guy in t shirt and apron — Jeremy Allen White plays Carmy in "The Bear." Photo: Courtesy of FX

I recently binged season 4 of "The Bear" and found myself shouting questions that only Chicagoans would ask.

Who says J-O? Sure, we like to throw around the word jagoff, but I've never heard anyone refer to it as "J-O" the way Uncle Jimmy does when talking to his kid this season.

Which Trib reviewer? The Bear team obsesses over a tepid review by a Chicago Tribune dining critic who I assumed must be based on real critics Louisa Chu or Phil Vettel. That is until a character called the critic a "millennial jagoff."

Those two are neither.

Did cheesy beef start south? When Sydney's South Side hairdresser friend complains about North Side Italian beefs lacking cheese, it bolstered my hunch that cheesy beefs, like many great culinary inventions, started south.

Is Donnie on staff? I loved seeing TV star and restaurateur Alpana Singh dispensing wisdom this season just as One Off Hospitality partner Donnie Madia did in season two. But in one scene this season, it looks like Madia joined The Bear staff. When did this happen?

Do you wash chicken: This isn't just a Chicago thing, but I loved that Carmy informed his mom (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) that he doesn't wash chicken because it only spreads bacteria around the sink, as he prepared to make French Laundry chicken.

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5 Chicago questions about "The Bear" season 4

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