Friday, August 31, 2012
Food Chain Food & Drink Hie thee to Armitage for pizza sublimity
Posted by Kate Schmidt on 08.31.12 at 04:30 PM
- Ted Cox
- Nighthawks
Architecture Clout City News Dear Rahm and Rafael: About that sudden groundswell of support for bulldozing Prentice
Posted by Deanna Isaacs on 08.31.12 at 03:35 PM
And most of those messages might be telling them to let Northwestern University go ahead and bulldoze Bertrand Goldberg's odd duck of a building.
This could be impressive.
It might look to Rahm and Rafael like the public suddenly awoke to the rightness of NU's plan to take Prentice down and build a wonderful new medical research facility in its place.
They might assume that this public is fully informed and acting of its own accord.
And they might think they have no choice but to obey such a spontaneous groundswell of public will.
So they ought to know that on Thursday, NU e-mailed a letter to members of its alumni association (200,000 or so strong) and, apparently, to anybody else on its various mailing lists, urging them to click a link or pick up a phone and send those messages.
The letter talks about all the jobs and money that the new research center will bring, and about looking for cures for things like ALS and Alzheimer's.
It doesn't mention that all those great things would also happen if the research center were built on another piece of ground, like the huge empty lot right across the street, which is owned by NU's sibling organization, Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Paranormal Film Focusing on the family in two new horror movies
Posted by Ben Sachs on 08.31.12 at 02:55 PM
This proved a boon to enjoying the 1946 programmer Black Angel, as I was able to focus on the unconsummated romance between Dan Duryea and June Vincent, rather than on the investigation they led together. What a poignant movie it became! Working to free Vincent's husband for the murder of Duryea's wife shows both characters how well they get along, hinting at the life they might have lived together. There's a Kieslowskian meditation on chance buried under this shoddy mystery, and I probably would have missed it altogether if I'd involved myself in the central plot.
Theater Arts Empty pools and tragic Greek fools: new performing arts reviews
Posted by Meg Pier on 08.31.12 at 02:23 PM
- Jonathan L. Green
- The gods have their little joke in Idomeneus
As for the few nonfest shows running now:
Expert use of choral speaking and strong audio and visual design make Sideshow Theatre Company's Idomeneus the solitary Reader-recommended production of the week. Our Albert Williams reports that German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig turns the Greek tale into an exploration of war, duty, and survivor's guilt.
Dan Jakes isn't nearly so pleased with Pool (No Water), a drama about a successful artist who's abused by her peers while lying comatose after a diving accident. "Pretentious verse, questionable dialects, and long, dull stretches of contact improvisation" reduce the play to the very kind of art it was meant to denounce. Change the Night Owl also misfires on all cylinders. Judi Lee and Cady Leinicke provide above-average performances but don't make up for the faults of this sex farce presented at Prop Thtr.
Food Chain Food & Drink Drought spikes global food prices and more food news bites
Posted by Mike Sula on 08.31.12 at 01:05 PM
On the heels of our news that Premise closed, Dish followed up with further details on the new owners Stephan and Nicole Outrequin Quaisser: they plan to offer "a menu similar to their casual French restaurant Troquet."
More food news—not all depressing—after the jump:
Media News A headline of no importance
Posted by Michael Miner on 08.31.12 at 12:33 PM
"Being earnest: The ballad of reading guilt."
I read the article below the headline anxiously, fearful that the Tribune would make the catastrophic mistake of pandering to readers by explaining it. Smartly, the paper didn't. You either got it or you didn't.
The article was worthy of its headline. Written by Ellen Jean Hirst, it told the tale of a limited-edition copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray 78 years overdue at the Chicago Public Library. But the library had declared an amnesty, so back it went.
Hirst began, "Dorian Gray's story would have been much different had he been granted amnesty for his sins. Instead he died a deformed, barely human figure, resembling the ugliness of his immoral life."
The headline was written by Pat Daily, a temp on the copy desk. I'm pleased to say that in a better time Daily got off his good ones for the benefit of the Reader.
12 O'Clock Track Music 12 O'Clock Track: Dephosphorus, "Starless"
Posted by Philip Montoro on 08.31.12 at 12:00 PM
- Viral Graphics
- Dephosphorus (I know it's hard to tell, but there are three of them)
On August 20 the band released Night Sky Transform (7 Degrees), their first proper full-length and the source of today's 12 O'Clock Track. The album will run you all of five dollars via Bandcamp, and vinyl copies should be available soon.
Food Chain Food & Drink Taste of Polonia and other food and drink events
Posted by Meg Pier on 08.31.12 at 11:34 AM
- http://s.momofukufor2.com
A Stone Brewing Co. rep will educate attendees on the qualities that distinguish IPAs from other beers and provide several styles for sampling. 5-7 PM, Armanetti Wine and Spirits Shop, 3530 N. Lincoln.
If you missed out on the Taste of Little Italy, the 31st annual Taste of Melrose Park may help satisfy your Italian food cravings, serving up various Italian treats including sfingi (doughnut holes), arancini, cannoli, and fried bologna sandwiches. Fri 5-11 PM, Sat noon-11 PM, Sun noon-10 PM, Village Hall, 1000 N. 25th, free admission, food and drink additional.
For those looking to show their Polska pride, join Chicago as it gets in touch with its Polish heritage at this weekend's Taste of Polonia. Chicago's vast Polish population will be serving up all the Polish staples; pierogies, potato pancakes, kielbasa, and more, along with Polish beer. Live entertainment, including polka and Polish rock bands, artists and traditional folk dancing will be featured at the festival. Fri 5-11 PM, Sat-Sun noon-11 PM, Mon noon-10 PM, Copernicus Center, 5216 W. Lawrence, $7 at the gate, $5 for seniors, kids under 12 free.
Election 2012 Politics News Romney's plea to the great women of America
Posted by Steve Bogira on 08.31.12 at 10:37 AM
- Austen Hufford
- Romney in Detroit in February
I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility.
I will be using the word great often tonight, because this is a great country, and because the word great has done great in focus groups.
For our next vice president, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. I love the way he lights up around his kids, and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom. Any of you women out there, I hope you noticed too.
Foreign Food Chain Food & Drink Chicago's only Yunnanese restaurant and more in this week's Food & Drink
Posted by Kate Schmidt on 08.31.12 at 07:31 AM
- Andrea Bauer
- Lao Yunnan, formerly Spring World
The Chinatown empire of Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan, Lao Beijing, Lao Shanghai, Lao Hunan) continues to grow, with Lao Mala now open in the former Lure Izakaya space and a River North venture in the works. In this week's Food & Drink Mike Sula reviews Lao Yunnan, Hu's rapid takeover of Spring World, which has received less attention than its fellows. This is a pity: Spring World was Chicago's only Yunnanese restaurant, and Hu's menu retains many favorites, with a dedicated Yunnanese section amid the dauntingly long list of more than 800 panregional items. You can still eat such dishes as nuggets of boneless fried chicken tossed with nubbins of chewy rice cake, smoky lamb riblets fuming with cuminy vapors, and fatty fists of pig feet dubbed "Lao Yunnan special pork hand." There are lots of fish preparations, hot pots, and cold plates of soft, spicy eggplant or chewy slices of pig tongue. And the most iconic of Yunnanese specialties remains: Cross-Bridge rice noodles, a pork-and-chicken-broth soup customizable with beef or pork tripe and blood cakes.
