Julia Thiel
Bio:
I've worked at the Reader since 2007 and have had more titles than I can remember right now, the most current being staff writer. I write Key Ingredient, a chef-to-chef recipe challenge that won a James Beard award last year, and review pretty much anything that moves (or doesn't): restaurants, theater, books. Most of my articles focus on booze or food, from a Frenchman making quinoa vodka to a brewery that aspires to be off the grid. I also like to write about my personal failures, like getting lost on a bike ride to the Indiana Dunes or making mozzarella that could double as a SuperBall. Currently, I'm heading up the Reader's Bedbug Investigation Unit. Semicolons are my favorite punctuation mark, followed closely by em dashes--but I'm in a recovery program for chronic over-users and am not allowed to use them anymore.
I've worked at the Reader since 2007 and have had more titles than I can remember right now, the most current being staff writer. I write Key Ingredient, a chef-to-chef recipe challenge that won a James Beard award last year, and review pretty much anything that moves (or doesn't): restaurants, theater, books. Most of my articles focus on booze or food, from a Frenchman making quinoa vodka to a brewery that aspires to be off the grid. I also like to write about my personal failures, like getting lost on a bike ride to the Indiana Dunes or making mozzarella that could double as a SuperBall. Currently, I'm heading up the Reader's Bedbug Investigation Unit. Semicolons are my favorite punctuation mark, followed closely by em dashes--but I'm in a recovery program for chronic over-users and am not allowed to use them anymore.
Julia Thiel writes about booze every Wednesday.
- Blogs, Bleader, Jun 12, 2013
-
-
Best of the worst: Flavored whiskeys
Two new(ish) whiskeys with liqueur added are all you could expect from a flavored whiskey.
- Blogs, Bleader, Jun 7, 2013
-
-
Slightly authentic and very excessive Mexican fare at Autentico 5 de Mayo
A 24-hour Tex-Mex diner in Lakeview offers an overwhelming assortment of good food at reasonable prices.
- Lit & Lectures, Lit Feature, Jun 6, 2013
-
-
The Reader's guide to the Printers Row Lit Fest
Judy Blume, Art Spiegelman, D.T. Max, Haki Madhubuti, and more: Our critics pick favorites for the annual book blowout.
- Blogs, Bleader, Jun 5, 2013
-
-
Patio drinking: Parson's Chicken & Fish, Big Star, and Scofflaw
What to drink now: the negroni slushy, the Runaway, the Ramblin' Rose
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, Jun 3, 2013
-
-
Aaron Arnett of Davanti Enoteca makes peace with green peppercorns
But first they had to be tamed.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 29, 2013
-
-
Not two peas in a pod: Deschutes Inversion IPA and Class of '88 Porter
A collaboration with Great Lakes and a flagship beer from Deschutes.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, May 23, 2013
-
-
Tony Diaz of Maude's Liquor Bar works with cactus, the Slimer of succulents
The pads of the prickly pear, transformed into a paillard
- Blogs, Bleader, May 22, 2013
-
-
"How did we get here?"—Robbie Haynes and Brent Engel on their R. Franklin Malort
The Violet Hour beverage director and Letherbee's master distiller discuss why they made their own version of Malort, a wormwood-infused liquor that's famous for tasting terrible.
- Arts & Culture, Summer Guide, May 16, 2013
-
-
Summer Guide: Two cycling day trips to three brewpubs
A guide to biking for beer outside the city's limits—yes, Three Floyds included
- Food & Drink, Summer Guide, May 16, 2013
-
-
Chicago Craft Beer Week's cup runneth over
The 11-day week may be too much for one beer-nerd brain to process.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 15, 2013
-
-
Drinking on Soldier Field: The first American Beer Classic
More than 100 breweries graced the football field this past Saturday.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 15, 2013
-
-
What to do for Chicago Craft Beer Week
More than a dozen of the most promising-looking events from CCBW
- Blogs, Bleader, May 8, 2013
-
-
One Sip: Solemn Oath's Whisper Kisses farmhouse ale
Solemn Oath promises to make beer you'll fall in love with—and then take it away.
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, May 2, 2013
-
-
John Asbaty of Panozzo's takes honeycomb tripe from "funky" to "fresh"
A love-it-or-hate-it variety meat gets transformed into sausage.
- Blogs, Bleader, May 1, 2013
-
-
"It's a whiskey tasting, not a water tasting": WhiskyFest 2013
Tasting Pappy Van Winkle, Lagavulin Distillers' Edition, Balvenie 17-year DoubleWood, and more at this year's Chicago WhiskyFest
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 30, 2013
-
-
Drinking Malort at 9 AM
Abraham Conlon's version of Epoisses, and several other dishes local chefs are making for the Key Ingredient Cook-Off on Friday.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 26, 2013
-
-
The High Noon Saloon wins at churros, fails at everything else
Wicker Park saloon offers Tex-Mex food, sort of like its neighbor Big Star, but fails to measure up.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 24, 2013
-
-
The best of the Glunz Expo: New beers and new-to-Chicago beers
Highlights of the Glunz Beer Expo: Ten Ninety, Saugatuck Brewing Company, Furthermore Beer
- Food & Drink, Key Ingredient, Apr 19, 2013
-
-
Key Ingredient: Jonathan Zaragoza gets into muddy-tasting amphibians,
skin and allChallenged with live frog, the Masa Azul chef takes a trip to Chinatown and goes from there.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 19, 2013
-
-
Antitheft device the BikeSpike finds funding through Kickstarter
The BikeSpike, a bike tracking system developed by local entrepreneurs, is about to go into production.
