Brett Batterson

Up next in our series of weekend plans from notable, in-the-know locals—a.k.a. people we like: Brett Batterson, the Auditorium Theatre executive director. The Auditorium Theatre’s annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz Gospel Messiah, is on 1/19 and 20.

“This Friday I'm going to take my wife Veronica to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Aurora, La Quinta de los Reyes. They have a mariachi band and handmade guacamole at the table, so it's our favorite. After that, we will probably go for a nightcap at the Hollywood Casino in Aurora. We tend to stick to the cheap slot machines, the penny and nickel slots. If we come home with $20, we're in heaven.

“Saturday, Veronica and I will go to Gateway Riding Center, where we go every Saturday morning. We both have had a long-held interest in horses and we just wanted to find a hobby that we both enjoyed. After I scrub the smell of horse off me, I'll head downtown and check into the Palmer House where I’ll stay for the weekend. That evening I’ll head to the Auditorium Theatre. We have our Fireside Chat at 6:00, which is a pre-performance talk with the artist from Too Hot to Handel. The performance of Too Hot to Handel is at 7:30. After, we’ll all go to Miller's Pub on Wabash for a late dinner. It's convenient, it's close, it's open late, and has good food.

“Sunday morning I'll head back to the Auditorium Theatre to attend the Willow Creek Chicago church service. It’s a little known fact that we have the Willow Creek Chicago church service there every Sunday. Later that night I’ll head home, pick up some dinner at Go Roma in Warrenville, which has great carryout Italian. At home, my wife and I will watch Downton Abbey with the rest of the world.” —As told to Emmet Sullivan