An interview with the author of the book So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, British journalist Jon Ronson
Author Archives: Gwynedd Stuart
Taking on food waste, one wilted vegetable at a time
At Stock, the cafe inside the new midwestern culinary mecca Local Foods, Abra Berens is giving new life to undesirable produce.
In Fear of Dying, Erica Jong explores sex and death in the age of Internet dating
And renounces the zipless fuck for good.
Pac-Man meets a Donkey Kong potato at Level 257 in Schaumburg
The classic mall arcade this is not. It’s also not a very good restaurant.
It’s fall sitcom time! Pay attention before they all go away!
A look at what’s coming down the TV pike this season
A dozen Riot Fest acts in doughnut form
You can blame Drive Like Jehu drummer Mark Trombino and his punny pastry shop for inspiring this foolishness.
Dick Wolf’s Chicago Med offers a dose of ER-esque hospital drama
Sometimes television has an elegant way of coming full circle. In 1994 we slid headfirst on a gurney through the doors of Chicago’s fictional County General Hospital, where we’d spend more than a decade soaking up all the drama (and George Clooney) ER could supply. Presumably the popularity of workplace dramas—particularly those where Chicagoans’ lives […]
Nathan for You’s third season means more hilariously terrible business ideas
On Nathan for You, now in its third season, Canadian comedian Nathan Fielder poses as an expert and helps small business owners revolutionize their fledgling concerns by coaching them to do things that are really, really ridiculous—like serving poop-flavored frozen yogurt, selling vouchers for booze to underage kids, or renaming a coffee shop Dumb Starbucks. […]
The Daily Show enters the Trevor Noah era
It’s basically impossible to imagine The Daily Show without Jon Stewart, which is probably part of the reason people have reacted so poorly to Trevor Noah becoming his successor. OK, that and the fact that he’s practically an unknown. And then there were his tweets—unfunny at best, offensive at worst—that were used as evidence of […]
Get FOBABed at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers
According to Reader Beer and Metal columnist Philip Montoro, “Not remembering shit is a common side effect of FOBAB.” That’s because a lot of the assertive beers poured at the annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer have been brewed to withstand the time they’ll spend languishing in repurposed liquor barrels prior to pouring. […]
Chris Pandel looks to elevate the steak house with Swift & Sons
In July chef Chris Pandel (the Bristol, Balena) told Chicago magazine of the Boka Restaurant Group steak house he’ll helm come October: “We don’t want to change the steak house. We want to elevate it.” So far, though, the place has been defined by change. Originally the restaurant was going to be called Armour & […]
Intro hosts Jean-Georges Vongerichten protege Stephen Gillanders
Back in March, when the weather was still cold and dreary, we praised chef C.J. Jacobson for bringing some west-coast sunshine to Intro, the Lettuce Entertain You concept that hosts a new chef—who presents a new menu—every three months or so. Another LA chef is on his way to the restaurant’s kitchen, by way of […]
Richard Sandoval’s Latin Eataly, Latinicity, is opening in Block 37
Piggybacking on the success of Italian-food wonderland Eataly, celeb chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval plans to open Latinicity, a 22,000-square-foot monument to our collective love of Latin food, inside Block 37 in the Loop. So far we know that it’ll have a grocery section, a dozen food stands slinging things like ceviche and grilled meats, […]
Land and Sea Dept. gets a Prime Time spot at the MCA
With the opening of Cherry Circle Room and Game Room inside downtown’s stately but hip Chicago Athletic Club Hotel, it’s been a big year for Land and Sea Dept. Hell, it’s been a big half decade. The group responsible for Longman & Eagle, Parson’s Chicken & Fish, Lost Lake, and other spots has proven capable […]