Eat. Watch. Do. — Barbie world hits Chicago, art fairs across town, plus all-day dining in Lakeview
It’s Thursday, Chicago.
Remnants of this week’s slightly hazy air greet us going into the weekend, but we have options lined up for both indoor and outdoor fun, like a new Barbie-themed pop-up, a true-crime comedy on Peacock and the Old Town Art Fair.
Meanwhile, the food world’s biggest award show just went down at the Lyric Opera on Monday. Two local favorites were James Beard Award-winners — the chefs behind Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant Kasama took home the award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, and the chef de cuisine at Southern-inspired Virtue in Hyde Park won the Emerging Chef award.
Of course, there are some new players on the scene too. Tribune food critic Louisa Chu spent the day chowing down at the former site of Southport Lanes in Lakeview, where concepts by a few of Chicago’s most-lauded chefs have taken up shop.
Enjoy the weekend, we’ll see you back next week.
— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor
Update your beach read: 52 books for summer 2023
Instead of burdening yourself with the pressure to read as much as possible, Tribune reporter Chris Borrelli recommends sticking to a theme or genre for your summer reading this year. “Make a list so long you never finish it, but show up every day for it: Give yourself a minor degree in true crime or octopuses,” Borrelli writes. Read more here.
Mini reviews: GG’s Chicken Shop, Itoko and Little Goat Diner, the new all-day dining destination in Chicago
A trio of restaurants opened in Lakeview’s Southport Corridor, and Tribune food critic Louisa Chu samples what they’re offering in mini reviews of each.
“GG’s Chicken Shop, Itoko and Little Goat Diner could be an extension of the multimillion-dollar houses around the block,” Chu writes. “Yet each restaurant is better than it needs to be, albeit with varying degrees of success.” Read on here.
‘Past Lives’ review: A delicate romantic triangle forms the year’s most gratifying film so far
Writer-director Celine Song’s movie “Past Lives” debuts in theaters this summer and centers on the relationship between two childhood friends who reconnect in adulthood but have to grapple with their own separate lives. “(It) is that rarity — modest, I suppose, in scope and budget, yet expansive in its three-part, 24-year unfolding of a friendship that keeps coming back (as Irving Berlin put it) like a song,” Tribune critic Michael Phillips writes. Read more here.
Virtue, Kasama take home big wins at James Beard Awards in Chicago
Chicago took home two James Beard Awards on Monday, with Virtue chef de cuisine Damarr Brown and Kasama chefs Genie Kwon and Tim Flores winning in the city that once again played host to what many consider the Oscars of the culinary industry. Read more here.
‘Based on a True Story’ review: My podcast host, the serial killer
The eight-episode Peacock dark comedy starring Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina “teeters between slasher territory and the humor of domestic ennui,” Tribune critic Nina Metz writes. The expecting couple decides to host a serial killer on their true-crime podcast as a way to make extra cash, and high jinks ensue. Read more here.
Vienna Beef to launch $20M plaza in former Bucktown space, complete with hot dog restaurant
Enjoy your beef all day long at this multimillion-dollar complex opening in Bucktown next spring. A new restaurant, retail stores and outdoor spaces with a “lush garden feel” are underway for the former Vienna Beef factory location. Read more about the iconic hot dog brand here.
Broadway-bound ‘Personality’ opens in Chicago. Lloyd Price changed pop music, but do people remember his name?
The biographical musical “Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical” opens next week at the Studebaker Theater. Tribune theater critic Chris Jones interviews the show’s producers about rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Lloyd Price’s impact on American music and why the “unsung hero” should be celebrated through the project. Read more here.
Come on, Barbie — to Chicago! Malibu pop-up launches ahead of movie premiere
Break out your best hot-pink outfit and head to the West Loop, where a new pop-up restaurant celebrates all things Barbie. The pop-up runs through Sept. 15, and with Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated “Barbie” movie premiering this July, there’s plenty of time to embrace the doll’s aesthetic at the Instagrammable event. Read more here.
Art fairs swing back to colorful life, with the Old Town Art Fair this weekend
Artists inspire us, confound us and bring us together in the most trying times. This summer, check out a neighborhood art fair in Chicago, and take in the rush of energy, beauty and community “with one exhausting gulp,” Tribune reporter Rick Kogan writes. Read more about the bevy of street fests in town here.
Diamond jubilee: How to have a ball in London during the Cubs vs. Cardinals series
If you’re slipping across the pond to catch a Cubs game later this month, check out other happenings, places to stay and find out where to eat in London during the series. Read more here.
