Tom Bachtell

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Tom Bachtell, the illustrator for the New Yorker’s Talk of the Town. Tom Bachtell: Drawings, an exhibit of Bachtell’s work, is on view at the historic Water Tower downtown through 2/24/13.

“When my New Yorker deadline ends on Friday, I’m just in a stupor. It’s like I’ve been on call for 48 hours. My studio is in the loop, so when I’m finished I’ll likely head home to Lincoln Square and practice piano. Later, I will probably order takeout from the Shanghai Inn, this sweet little red booth place on Damen.

“If I get my act together on Saturday morning, I’ll walk over to Nhu Lan’s Bakery on Lawrence where I get the chicken Banh Mi. It’s my morning constitution. At noon, I’ll head over to Big City Swing for swing dance group rehearsal. I’m addicted to swing dancing. Afterward, I wouldn’t mind being dragged to The Publican. I love everything on the menu all the way down to the radishes. They also have amazing sardines and oysters. I might go dancing at Untitled later that night. But I won’t stay too late because I like to get home in time for Steve Cushing’s Blues Before Sunrise radio show, which comes on at midnight.

“Sunday morning, I play chamber music for two hours. Sunday afternoons are one of the few times I can catch a museum show, so I’ll head to the Art Institute Chicago to see “Rarely Seen Contemporary Works on Paper,” which apparently includes some William Steig and “Of Gods and Glamour.” For dinner, I might go to Au Cheval, I love the atmosphere, it reminds me of those stories about writers going out late and ending up in a bar.” —As told to Elly Fishman