Louisa Kung Liu Chu – Page 37

"I miss my friend," said Floyd Johnson of Evanston, general manager and a 37-year employee of Hecky's Barbecue, who started as a dishwasher, as he talks about Hecky Powell. Johnson reflected on Powell's commitment to a work ethic, saying his late friend, "would be really proud" of the restaurant's legacy.

Hecky’s Barbecue keeps going: ‘We know we’re an institution in Evanston and we want to live up to that reputation’

February 11, 2021 at 11:44 a.m.

Second installment in an eight-part series. See the earlier profiles here. Throughout the pandemic, and a summer of protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, and now the scramble...

Mac Alexander, owner of MacArthur's Restaurant on West Madison Street, on Feb. 5, 2021.

‘Right now, we are pulling our own’: How Chicago’s Black-owned restaurants have fared during the pandemic

February 11, 2021 at 12:19 p.m.

First installment of an eight-part series. See the other profiles so far here. Nearly a year after the pandemic was first declared, and through a summer of protests triggered by...

Even with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan front and center, little in the trailer of "The Dig" seemed particularly promising,? I gave it a go and it's good. Some of it's true, too: Along the east coast of Britain in 1939, with war clouds looming, self-taught Suffolk archeologist Basil Brown was hired by ailing widow Edith Pretty to discover if anything of value lay beneath the earth mounds on her property. There was indeed, and the remains and artifacts of a sixth-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship stunned the world. Fiennes is Basil; Mulligan is Edith; around the halfway point of director Simon Stone's film, the focus (for better or worse) shifts to others in the orbit of the excavation effort, particularly characters played by Lily James and Johnny Flynn. Based on the 2007 novel by John Preston, "The Dig" freely mixes fact and invention, overloading the crises a bit but generally succeeding. A fair amount of screenwriter Moira Buffini's dialogue plays out as Terrence Malick-styled voiceover, while the camera focuses on the stark beauty of the surroundings, and men and women actually doing the work. The results are trim, well-made and quite moving. So much for my prejudgments. (Netflix) — Michael Phillips

Watch this. Eat that: Binge on the ‘Saved by the Bell’ with Big Kids takeout. It’s magic.

January 29, 2021 at 12:12 p.m.

Watch this: 'Saved by the Bell' Peacock's "Saved by the Bell" reboot is witty and funny, whether you grew up watching the students at Bayside High or you are just...

Where to get Jeni’s everything bagel ice cream — with cream cheese, garlic and onion — in Chicago

February 3, 2021 at 10:57 a.m.

If you've ever eaten an everything bagel, split and schmeared with cream cheese, still warm and wrapped in white paper, straight out of the brown paper bag from New York...

Chef Bill Kim’s Pizza & Parm Shop to pop up in Chicago with Korean barbecue Detroit-style pies

January 26, 2021 at 12:33 p.m.

Chef Bill Kim's Pizza & Parm Shop, the wildly popular virtual restaurant in suburban Oak Brook, will pop up at Urbanbelly in the city starting Feb. 3. "This menu pays...

People dine outdoors on North Clark Street in Chicago's River North neighborhood on July 14, 2022.

Chicago-area restaurants ready to reopen for indoor service again, some with tempered expectations, while others will stay closed

January 23, 2021 at 2:04 p.m.

Chicago bars and restaurants are ready to reopen for indoor service. Mostly. With Friday's announcement that such businesses may be able to seat and serve customers inside as soon as...

Watch this. Eat that: ‘One Night in Miami’ demands a scoop of Shawn Michelle’s ice cream

January 21, 2021 at 2:54 p.m.

Watch this: 'One Night in Miami' Set in 1964, this juicy Miami story imagines what was said and done when heavyweight champ Cassius Clay (Eli Goree, a ringer vocally for...

Craving: Chicago’s best hot chocolate for National Hot Chocolate Day — and all winter

January 29, 2021 at 4:33 p.m.

Hot chocolate is mandatory to make it through a Chicago winter. This year, you might be making your own cups of cocoa more often than in the past, but restaurants...

Sarah Stegner, owner of Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Boulevard, carries free holiday meals out to furloughed and unemployed workers on Dec. 22, 2020, in Northbrook. Stegner said the meals will continue until funds run out.

Taco bar in Downers Grove, Claudia finds a home and Rooh adds street food: How Chicago restaurants are adapting to draw you back in

January 15, 2021 at 2:18 p.m.

Desperate times, creative measures. The pandemic has put the dining scene in and around Chicago in upheaval. Many restaurants are cautiously reopening, either outdoors, indoors or both. New places are...

Cassoulet inspires $5,000 Kickstarter zine campaign by Honey Butter Fried Chicken chefs in Chicago

January 15, 2021 at 8:00 a.m.

In France, the Great Brotherhood of Cassoulet celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. The brothers and sisters — women do don the robes — had to cancel their annual festival...

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