A wonderful Wednesday to you, Chicago.
Has anyone else been surprised to find their schedules getting packed? As we shake off the winter doldrums, I’m finding lots to look forward to.
I’d been counting down the days until I got to see “Hadestown,” here on tour for just shy of two weeks, and I’m happy to report it lived up to the hype — as critic Chris Jones chronicled in his review. The iconic California Clipper is back, and I can’t stop reaching for Revolution Brewing’s new Freedom Lemonade, which Tribune beer guru Josh Noel put to the taste test against Goose Island’s 312 Lemonade Shandy to see which mouth-puckering Chicago brew will reign supreme this summer.
But nothing has me as amped as our 2022 Food Awards, which are in full swing. If you missed the Critics’ Choice Food Awards, read up on which restaurants, barbecue, breweries and more stood out to our team of food critics and reporters. Then it’s your turn — nominate your favorites for our 2022 Readers’ Choice Food Awards by Friday.
It’s hard to resist the siren call of spring and summer (particularly after this past weekend’s false start), but perhaps I’ll throw caution to the wind and start making plans to attend Pitchfork Music Festival (did you see that lineup?) and go see “Turning Red” with my panda-loving pals.
After all, half the fun is in the anticipation. Here’s to hoping, and see you next week.
— Ariel Cheung, food and travel editor
‘Turning Red’ review: Raging hormones turn a girl into a panda in Pixar’s imaginative latest
Pixar’s latest is “quicksilver in its pacing and clear-eyed in its conflicts between parents and children,” writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
The story of a 13-year-old girl’s sudden onset of turning into a panda when she experiences strong emotions is frank, genial and a great success for “Bao” director Domee Shi — the first female filmmaker to receive sole directional credit on a Pixar feature. Read Phillips’ full review here.
Whether you first fell for Jared Padalecki as Rory Gilmore’s emotionally devastating (and, in retrospect, pretty problematic) beau or as the tortured Sam Ackles on “Supernatural,” he’s been tugging at heartstrings for two decades.
As he prepares to debut his newest role in The CW’s “Walker, Texas Ranger” reboot, he throws back to the “Gilmore Girl” days, when a late night with his buddies IRL interfered with Dean’s impending Stars Hollow nuptials.
More than 800 nominations from Tribune readers will help decide the finalists for Chicago’s Best Restaurant, Best Pop-Up, Best Chicago-Style Pizza and more in our 2022 Readers’ Choice Food Awards.
You’ve got until Friday to name your picks for our 12 categories
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— and check back in next Wednesday, when we’ll announce the finalists.Chicago Restaurant Week returns with 17 days of specials
Pucker up: Two Chicago breweries wage a boozy battle for the best lemonade beer
If you do have summer on the brain, stop by your local Binny’s to pick up the latest beer trend, spotted by our expert reporter Josh Noel: lemonade beer. He puts two Chicago breweries’ takes to the test: Revolution’s Freedom Lemonade and Goose Island’s 312 Lemonade Shandy.
See which one he thinks will reign supreme this summer.
More than 100 competitors turned out for the 32nd annual soda bread contest at Reilly’s Daughter, an Oak Lawn restaurant.
A single point separated the winner and the runner-up — and one recipe has stood the test of time.
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Review: ‘Hadestown’ arrives in Chicago, telling a dark and potent story set in hell
The tale of a Greek tragedy set to a backdrop of New Orleans jazz and steampunk scenery, “Hadestown” is in Chicago for one more weekend.
Theater critic Chris Jones says he found it “thrillingly alarmist” when it debuted on Broadway in 2019, but feels a chilling realism creep in as he takes in the hellish production from a 2022 perspective.
Review: Griffin Theatre explores space, aliens and lost loved ones in ‘Solaris’ at Raven Theatre
Raised in Chicago listening to her sister’s favorite artists such as Amerie, Brandy and Selena, rapper Ifeanyl Elswith broke into slam poetry as a teenager before segueing into rap. Now 23, she’s just released her debut album, “Everything Festyle,” and Tribune critic Britt Julious applauds Elswith’s ability to combine “elements of soul and hip hop for a warm, easy, charming listen that feels rooted in sounds of the near-past.”
Pitchfork Music Festival 2022: We have the bands, lineup and ticket details
Lesson No. 1 from ‘Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep’ at the Field Museum? Stay out of the water
Now through the fall, the Field Museum has even more fodder for your nightmares, should you choose to take the plunge. (Hurray?)
“Jurassic Oceans: Monsters of the Deep,” co-presented by the Natural History Museum in London, shows off the skin-crawling predators that reigned our prehistoric oceans while dinosaurs walked the earth, and we’ve got the full details.
“Winning Time” succeeds — and it does succeed — in its buoyant enthusiasm for an origin story, writes critic Nina Metz of the new HBO series from Adam McKay.
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“I found the show absorbing and highly entertaining for the same reasons I found ‘The Last Dance,’ about the 1990s Chicago Bulls, so compelling,” Metz adds. “Because sports only become interesting — for me, anyway — when you get a sense of the personalities involved. And, hoo-boy, are there some personalities involved.”
Column: ‘The Dropout,’ Elizabeth Holmes and Hollywood’s scammer fixation
The return of a legendary Humboldt Park cocktail lounge, plus fan favorites Milly’s Pizza in the Pan and TriBecca’s have found permanent digs. Food critic Louisa Chu has more on those and other recent Chicago-area restaurant openings.
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