Plus, Chris and Andy remember the legendary engineer and producer, Steve Albini, who passed away this week
Chris and Andy remember the legendary engineer and producer, Steve Albini, who passed away this week (1:00). They then talk of news that the third season of The Bear will be out this June (13:25) and that Shogun will be getting a second season (18:30). Next, they talk about Disney and Warner Bros. reaching a deal to offer a Disney+, Hulu, and Max bundle (28:44), before diving into their new favorite delight on Netflix: John Mulaney’s quasi-late-night show, Everybody’s in L.A. (36:33).
Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald Producer: Kaya McMullen
Mother’s Day is coming around the corner on Sunday, May 12, which means Chicagoans who haven’t already made plans to celebrate are officially behind the eight ball. A special meal is a straightforward way to make any maternal figure feel appreciated, and fortunately for the procrastination-inclined, it’s not too late to book a reservation. And for good measure, here’s a hot take — screw brunch. Much like florals for spring, brunch on Mother’s Day isn’t exactly groundbreaking, so do right by the woman of the hour and take her to dinner.
Below, find Eater Chicago’s roundup featuring some of the city’s top restaurants with remaining availability during prime hours on Mother’s Day.
A charming walk through Lakeshore East Park makes for a lovely prelude to a Mother’s Day meal at this airy downtown outpost of Chicago’s mini-empire of modern Greek restaurants from the team at Avli Taverna. Its breezy rooftop space comes with stunning views of the city and Navy Pier.
Toast to the guest of honor on Mother’s Day with a glass or bottle from the fun and robust wine selection at this lively South Side spot helmed by veteran Chicago chef Lamar Moore. Families can count on warm, friendly service and a modern American menu with Southern influences.
For a sumptuous Mother’s Day meal, head to this wood grill-powered Mexican restaurant that’s had a resurgence of late thanks to new executive chef Brian Enyart, a veteran of Rick Bayless’ local hospitality empire and owner of Logan Square’s shuttered Dos Urban Cantina. Dishes like a smokey beef ribeye or whole sea bass will go a long way toward transporting mom to Baja, California.
Prime seafood, which arguably deserves a place among the love languages, is the star of the show at Boka Hospitality’s posh sushi palace in West Loop. From fatty bluefin tuna belly and unctuous uni to prized cuts of Japanese wagyu, the menu makes for an opulent spread.
If a Mother’s Day trip to Napa Valley isn’t in the budget, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ sprawling restaurant in Fulton Market is designed to offer a brief foray into West Coast wine country. Snap a shot of the special evening on its sweeping staircase before heading upstairs to dine on its year-round terrace and bar.
A celebrated farm-to-table destination for nearly two decades, One Off Hospitality’s game-changing Fulton Market restaurant remains a local favorite for its bustling atmosphere and penchant for pork.
The wide-open kitchen at chef Avgeria Stapaki’s inventive Mediterranean restaurant in Bucktown provides both dinner and a show for Mother’s Day celebrants as the energetic team whips up unusual spins like avgolemono “ramen.” Tama debuted in early April, so a booking might also make for a good chance to impress family with Chicago hospitality know-how.
An ode to decorated chef Carlos Gaytán’s hometown of Huitzuco, Mexico, this striking spot in River North offers an earthy departure from Chicago’s urban grit. Though the menu offers ample opportunity to fill up on favorites like Guerrero-style cochinita pibil and shrimp aguachile, wise diners will save room for dessert.
900 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607 (312) 733-1975
How did Carmy escape the walk-in? That question and more will be answered on Thursday, June 27, when the third season of The Bear debuts, according to a new teaser trailer out now. All episodes, as in past seasons, will drop at once on Hulu.
The show has become a pop-culture phenomenon with Chicago-area native Chris Storer giving viewers a peek into the restaurant world with his hometown as a backdrop. Season 1 helped showcase Chicago’s Italian beef sandwich for a nationwide audience.
FX announced the premiere date with a teaser showing Jeremy Allen White back in the kitchen — with a bright red LED clock reading 3:10. The camera zooms out of the restaurant — the former Mr. Beef on Orleans — flying south, and then east over River North toward DuSable Lake Shore Drive. The footage is accompanied by “The Dream Is Always the Same,” a song from the 1983 Tom Cruise movie Risky Business, filmed in Chicago.
Season 2’s build-up and climax saw the Original Beef of Chicagoland — loosely based on Mr. Beef, a venerable beef stand in River North — give way to a new restaurant called The Bear. The Bear seems to wed fine dining and neighborhood elements. With tons of Chicago restaurant cameos, Season 2 won over most Chicagoans, with a few exceptions.
12320 W 143rd St, Homer Glen, IL 60491 (708) 645-0456
666 North Orleans Street, , IL 60654 (312) 337-8500
Sony has delisted Helldivers 2 in more than 170 countries that don’t have dedicated regions in PSN, which was the main argument against the change. These countries no longer have the ability to buy the game or activate a retail key. Steam is refunding the game even with more than 100hrs of playtime.
Jomi and Steve are joined by producer Kerm to discuss some of their favorite comics from the month of April! Along the way, the guys discuss Ultimate Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Rat City.
Hosts: Jomi Adeniran and Steve Ahlman Producer: Jonathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal
The Baltimore native also mentions Hiphop Chicken, adding that she’s a “foodie” looking for the best places around Chicago. Fans began flooding social media with Chicago restaurant recs.
The Chicago Sky nabbed a pair of first-round picks in April’s WNBA draft with University of South Carolina star Kamila Cardosa and Reese. Cardoza, the No. 2 pick, is a national champion, and Reese made waves after LSU Tigers defeated superstar and No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2023 NCAA title game.
College athletes’s diets have been restricted by what their meal plans can afford, but in recent years that world has been reshaped by changes to rules, which allow college players to take endorsement money.
Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese seen on draft night in New York.Photo by Melanie Fidler/NBAE via Getty Images
Clark, the WNBA’s No. 1 pick, showed poise in April at a press conference in Cleveland — the Final Four’s host city. Reporters attempted to bait her by asking her about what she thought of Cleveland, which presumably would include its restaurants and cultural amenities. They wanted to contrast Clark versus former Chicago Bulls star Joakim Noah’s famous 2010 rant about “what’s so good about Cleveland,” a tirade that’s been the source of many laughs for those outside Cuyohoga County. This was Clark’s first visit, and she said it was “awesome.”
Of course, Noah, the son of a French professional tennis player and Swedish beauty pageant winner, might have a slightly different worldview from Clark, who was raised in Des Moines, Iowa. Busy college kids don’t have much time to explore. That’s something Alinea co-owner Nick Kokonas took note of in 2019 when offering up his three-Michelin-starred restaurant to celebrate the Clemson football squad’s national championship.
Clefairy, the fairy Pokémon from Kanto, can be found in the wild in Pokémon Go. Yes, Clefairy can be shiny in Pokémon Go!
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Source images: Niantic
The Clefairy family doesn’t see any use in PvE content (raids and gyms), but Clefable does see some use in PvP Ultra League for those interested.
Its shiny is a simple one, but it gets the point across. It gives more of an alien vibe to the Pokémon that comes from the moon.
What is the shiny rate for Clefairy in Pokémon Go?
As per old research by the now-defunct website The Silph Road (via Wayback Machine), the shiny rate for Pokémon on a regular day is approximately one in 500. Clefairy is not a confirmed Pokémon that gets a “permaboost” (meaning that it’s a rare spawn and thus gets a boosted shiny rate).
What can I do to attract more shiny Pokémon?
Not much, unfortunately. It appears to be random chance. Shiny Pokémon catch rates are set by developer Niantic, and they are typically only boosted during special events like Community Days or Safari Zones, or in Legendary Raids. There are no consumable items that boost shiny Pokémon rates.
Where can I find a list of available shiny Pokémon?
It sometimes seems surprising that tennis doesn’t inspire more movies. Its one-on-one gladiatorial clashes are inherently dramatic and psychological, while the devious scoring system means no match is ever lost until it’s lost. Nail-biting climaxes and last-minute turnarounds are baked into the design. On the other hand, the fast-moving, seesawing action is technically difficult to frame in a way that’s both exciting and legible — and that same scoring system might drastically confuse anyone who doesn’t follow the sport.
Or maybe there are only so many tennis stories to tell. It’s certainly true that after watching Challengers, the torrid, wildly entertaining new tennis melodrama starring Zendaya and directed by Call Me by Your Name’s Luca Guadagnino, I was struck by some surprising similarities to an earlier film. Only this film isn’t a proper sports movie, or even a pseudo-serious bit of prestige pulp like Challengers. 7 Days in Hell is a profoundly silly 43-minute HBO mockumentary from 2015, starring The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg and streaming on Hulu and Max.
It’s tough to prove my point without comprehensively spoiling either film. You should watch them both; they’re both lots of fun. Let’s just say that both feature a hotly contested, emotionally (and maybe sexually) charged match between rival male players that goes the distance — and far beyond. Both movies also feature varying degrees of hot threesome action; an absurdly extended, physically impossible rally at the net; and a certain gesture that takes things up a gear. And they both end in strikingly similar ways, even though the actual outcomes are very, very different.
Image: HBO
Image: HBO
Photo: Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures
Above: Andy Samberg and Kit Harington in 7 Days in Hell. Below: Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor in Challengers.
Perhaps the key to both films’ success is that they recognize that tennis, with its strange rituals, hourslong matches, hushed intensity, and soundtrack of echoing pops, grunts, and smacks, is actually pretty ridiculous. Guadagnino’s movie spends more than two hours edging along the border of high camp, urged along by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ pounding gay-club score. 7 Days in Hell is an all-out parody; it has no such restraint, if restraint is the word.
7 Days in Hell spoofs an ESPN 30 for 30-style sports documentary. Its subject is the longest match in tennis history, a first-round clash at Wimbledon that lasted for seven days. The top seed is Charles Poole (Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington), a tragically dim Brit carrying the nation’s hopes on his shoulders. The wild card is Aaron Williams (Samberg), a washed-up “bad boy of tennis” in the Andre Agassi mold who happens to be Venus and Serena Williams’ adoptive brother. (In one of many talking-head cameos from famous real-world tennis figures, Serena explains that her father, Richard, adopted a white boy off the streets and turned him into a tennis pro in a “reverse Blind Side.”) Aaron is on the comeback trail after killing a line umpire with a 176 mph serve in the 1990s.
7 Days in Hell’s prime target is the absurdly extended matches that the Grand Slam tournaments are known for — particularly Wimbledon, where rain often delays play into the next day, and tie breaks weren’t used in the final set until 2019, making endless matches theoretically possible. The movie delights in the absurdism and masochism of both playing and watching this sport, as rain, streakers, traffic accidents, conjuring tricks, and more conspire to imprison the two players and their audience in an agonizing weeklong death spiral.
The fun comes from 7 Days in Hell’s extremely broad, even crude, humor (you’re going to need to enjoy dick jokes — this is a Samberg joint, after all) mixed with its savage parody of both the tennis world and the sports-documentary format. The film’s best gag is a brilliantly sustained digression into the history of Swedish courtroom sketch art, delivered with completely straight faces by tennis legends John McEnroe and Chris Evert, as well as the film’s stacked cast of comic actors. It’s a sly satirization of the way docs can use celebrity and misappropriated expertise as a vehicle for all kinds of barely relevant, unexamined information.
Among those self-mocking talking heads, McEnroe is particularly good value throughout. (His best line delivery: “Aaron probably should have forfeited after killing a guy. But he didn’t, because he’s an asshole.” McEnroe remains undefeated at cursing.) David Copperfield also sends himself up beautifully. The pro performers are great, too, with Fred Armisen as All England Club chairman Edward Pudding, MCU veteran Karen Gillan as Charles Poole’s supermodel ex-girlfriend, Mary Steenburgen as his overbearing mother, Lena Dunham as a fashion CEO, and an unforgettable turn from Michael Sheen as Caspian Wint, a pervy, chain-smoking British sports broadcaster. The smooth narration comes from Jon Hamm.
Before things come to a head on day seven of the match, the two players hold a joint press conference. A dispute starts, and they square up against each other, hurling insults, in an argument that briefly turns into a confused, thwarted embrace. Fundamentally, 7 Days in Hell and Challengers are saying the same two things. One: Sport may be about competition and dominance, but it’s a thin line between dominance and desire. And two: Tennis is absurd.
Crepes, the endlessly versatile French specialty, is a deceptively simple creation that can take on a remarkable number of forms. The delicate pancake dish can be served sweet or savory; for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert; on a plate at a sit-down restaurant, or in a cone for street-side munching. The crepe has a slew of international cousins like Chinese jianbing and South Asian dosa, and can be thoughtfully adapted for vegans and gluten-free diners.
That’s a lot to consider, so Eater Chicago is here to help. This map takes an expansive view of the crepe family tree, guiding locals and visitors through the city’s best creperies, crepe-centric cafes, and lesser-known crepe outposts around town.
The team behind Common Decency knew they had big shoes to fill inside the former Lost Lake space. Their response? Focus on food and cocktails that everyone could enjoy. That includes making sure the bread used in their Cuban sandwich is gluten-free (which accommodates beverage director Kelsey Kasper’s allergy) and giving partner Jason Turley a top-flight vegetarian option with the mushroom French dip, made with roasted portabella and gruyere.
While Lost Lake focused on liquids and was often crowded with folks holding drinks garnished with umbrellas, Common Decency sports tables in the aisles where diners can enjoy small bites like skillet cornbread or thrice-cooked (baked, smoked, fried) chicken wings to more robust dishes like a hanger steak or dumpling cacio e pepe. Dumplings have been a signature dish for ex-Funkenhausen chef Mark Steuer since his days at Carriage House in Wicker Park. The difference in Logan Square is ensuring the gluten-free dumplings are airy.
They’ve added a disco ball.
The space feels wider and flashier thanks to the ’80s vibe which allows visitors to enact their Miami Vice dreams. But instead of fighting over who gets to play Crockett and who gets to play Tubbs, Steuer sees a welcoming atmosphere. There’s a disco ball and a photo booth, plus a new backroom for larger groups.
Don’t look for banana daiquiri on the drink menu. There are frozen drinks, like frozen Key lime pie with rum and Greek yogurt. The drinks from Kasper, a partner in the bar who formerly managed Spilt Milk, showcase her gift of balancing acid, says Steuer, her fiance. A drink called Barbershop Celebrity uses sticky rice, mango, and Thai basil mixed with coconut-washed vodka. The Coffee Date is their answer to the espresso martini using Hexe espresso, honey, dates, and cacao. Steuer says they’ll eventually make seltzer and vinegars using citrus peels and other waste from fruit.
Common Decency’s owners are offering workers profit sharing and health insurance co-pays after six months of employment as part of their way of raising the standards in the workplace for hospitality workers. Those benefits will be baked into the cost of food and drink. Steuer says QR codes and surcharges are pet peeves he’ll avoid.
Earlier this month, partner and co-chef Felipe Hernandez suddenly died in an accident. Hernandez’s loss is felt on several fronts, including lost recipes that weren’t written down. Steuer and company have attempted to reverse-engineer some. Later this summer, a companion restaurant, Fever Dream, will open next door inside the space where Thank You, the Chinese American takeout spot that was once operated by Lost Lake’s owners. Hernandez was to play a large role in Fever Dream. Steuer says they’re still figuring out how to properly honor their friend at the bar. There’s a bit of push that the best way to remember Hernandez is to make sure Common Decency is successful.
While Hernandez won’t be present for the next stop in their journey, he’ll remain in the staff’s hearts when Common Decency opens on Friday, April 26.
Common Decency, 3154 W. Diversey, opening Friday, April 26.
Quick-serve Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava, a budding force in bowl-centric dining, will launch its first foray into the Midwest market this week in Wicker Park. The company, which is already teasing a second outpost in the suburbs, will make its Chicago debut on Friday, April 26 at 1484 N. Milwaukee Avenue.
Adored by fans for its wallet-friendly menu laden with nutritious and meat-free options, Cava seems an apt replacement for the location’s previous tenant, local vegetarian chain Native Foods. Its menu applies a familiar mix-and-match approach to its Eater Bowl Bowl-winning grain and vegetable bowls, weaving in Mediterranean-style ingredients like tzatziki, falafel, and spicy lamb meatballs. Cava also features pita wraps with options like Greek chicken with olives and feta.
Fast-casual restaurants have a reputation for fluorescent sterility, a quality that Cava seems intent on bucking with a design style it’s dubbed “Project Soul,” theSun-Times reports. The company tapped Chicago artist Alyssa Low to create a colorful mural featuring local elements like the city’s flag and Lake Michigan inside the 30-seat Wicker Park restaurant, where customers can also expect cushioned booths and soft lighting.
Cava insists that bowls don’t have to be boring.Cava
Cava’s second Illinois outpost is slated for a summer debut in Vernon Hills (coincidentally, also on a Milwaukee Avenue — at 890 N. Milwaukee Avenue in the suburb), co-founder Ted Xenohristos tells reporters. The short timeline between openings may signal that a cascade of Cava locations is headed to the Chicago area, as the brand is in the midst of a nationwide expansion, opening 72 locations last year. If all goes according to plan, it hopes to secure 1,000 restaurants by 2032.
Xenohristos, along with partners and childhood friends Ike Grigoropoulos and chef Dimitri Moshovitis, opened the first Cava nearly 20 years ago in Maryland. In the intervening years, Mediterranean food has gained significant prominence in the U.S. It seems that trajectory has served Cava well, as the company went public in 2023 and touts more than $700 million in annual revenue.
Cava Wicker Park, 1484 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Scheduled to open Friday, April 26. Cava Vernon Hills, 890 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills, scheduled to open this summer.
The Fulton Market sister spot to a breezy, agave-obsessed cocktail bar in Logan Square, Estereo FM is a playful, sun-drenched retreat from the bustle of Downtown Chicago. Its menu is packed with tequila and mezcal, and margarita fans can try icy options like Frozen #1 (salted mango, Tromba tequila, lime), Frozen #2 (blackberry, lime, Convite mezcal), or a swirl of both flavors.
Trubbish, the trash bag Pokémon from Unova, can be found in the wild in Pokémon Go. Yes, Trubbish can be shiny in Pokémon Go!
Graphic: Julia Lee/Polygon | Image sources: Niantic/The Pokémon Company
Neither Trubbish nor Garbodor see any meta use in PvE or PvP, though Garbodor has some really niche uses in some PvP leagues. As meta Pokémon, these guys go into the trash. As Pokémon themselves, they deserve love, care, and a wonderful home.
What is the shiny rate for Trubbish in Pokémon Go?
As per old research by the now-defunct website The Silph Road (via Wayback Machine), the shiny rate for Pokémon on a regular day is approximately one in 500. Trubbish is not a confirmed Pokémon that gets a “permaboost” (meaning that it’s a rare spawn and thus gets a boosted shiny rate).
What can I do to attract more shiny Pokémon?
Not much, unfortunately. It appears to be random chance. Shiny Pokémon catch rates are set by developer Niantic, and they are typically only boosted during special events like Community Days or Safari Zones, or in Legendary Raids. There are no consumable items that boost shiny Pokémon rates.
Where can I find a list of available shiny Pokémon?
This weekend sees the release of not one, but two sci-fi epics in the form of Dune: Part Two and Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver on VOD and streaming. If neither of those strikes your fancy, don’t worry; we’ve once again descended into the backlog of Netflix’s streaming library to bring you a trio of the best sci-fi movies to watch in April.
This month’s picks include John Carpenter’s 1984 sci-fi body-horror romance starring Jeff Bridges, an underrated post-apocalyptic blockbuster about mobile city fortresses duking it out for resources, and an anime adaptation of a cult-classic cyberpunk manga.
Let’s take a look at what this month has to offer!
Editor’s pick: Starman
Image: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Director: John Carpenter Cast: Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith
The pitch “John Carpenter’s version of Close Encounters” conjures a far different image for fans of the Halloween director than what his 1984 film Starman turned out to be. The film kicks off with a sleek spaceship descending upon Earth in a frame not too far off from the opening of The Thing. There’s even a bit of body horror: When the alien creeps into the home of the recently widowed Jenny (Karen Allen), the entity uses bits of DNA of her deceased husband to recast his corporeal self — growing from baby to toddler to teen to adult Jeff Bridges in mere seconds. It’s sick! Then Carpenter gets all mushy in his most romantic film to date.
Starman is a sci-fi film through and through — the alien visits our planet after intercepting Voyager 2’s golden disc, and its arrival sparks a classic Spielbergian cat-and-mouse game between bumbling feds and the on-the-lam ET — but in having the alien assume the form of Jenny’s dead husband, Carpenter burrows deeper into human mortality than these screen stories tend to go. Allen, spiraling in an impossible situation, and Bridges, mixing his alien’s hyperintelligence with childlike wonder, have the chemistry to make a silly story sing. Jenny knows the man in her passenger seat isn’t her husband, but he is a second chance. Carpenter mines the dreamlike premise for all the sap, leaning on Jack Nitzsche’s unforgettable score to swell at just the right moments. Starman is pure Hollywood romance, and proof that boxing a director into one genre is the quickest way to limit greatness. —Matt Patches
Mortal Engines
Image: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Director: Christian Rivers Cast: Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving
An underrated post-apocalyptic blockbuster from many of the people who made the Lord of the Rings movies, Mortal Engines was a box-office bomb but deserved much better. Set in a future where cities are mobile and big cities hunt smaller ones, the story follows a young assassin (Hera Hilmar) who seeks to take out a power-hungry leader (Hugo Weaving). Along the way, she finds allies (Jihae) and maybe even a bit of love (Robert Sheehan).
But the characters or narrative aren’t Mortal Engines’main selling point (although Weaving does fully and delightfully commit to an over-the-top villainous performance). Instead, it’s the fantastic production design and creative world-building that make Mortal Engines feel like a breath of fresh air in the sequel/prequel/remake-heavy sci-fi blockbuster landscape. Now that it’s newly on Netflix, check out one of the 2010s’ most undeserved flops. —Pete Volk
Blame!
Image: Polygon Pictures/Netflix
Director: Hiroyuki Seshita Cast: Takahiro Sakurai, Kana Hanazawa, Sora Amamiya
Alongside the likes of H.R. Giger and Shinya Tsukamoto, Tsutomu Nihei is one of the most prolific artists associated with the subgenre of posthuman science fiction, emphasizing horrific man-machine hybrids and massive, desolate worlds set in the far future.
Nihei’s 1997 manga Blame! is inarguably his magnum opus — a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk saga about a mysterious warrior known as “Killy” wandering the metallic wastelands of an Earth overrun by a techno-organic virus. Adapted into a feature-length anime by director Hiroyuki Seshita (Knights of Sidonia), Blame! streamlines the manga’s story into a single adventure in Killy’s quest to find a means of undoing the virus that has reshaped the world and endangered humanity’s last remaining descendents.
While the film loses some of the evocative, wordless melancholy of the manga in its translation from page to screen, it lacks none of the scale and depth of its world-building and vistas. The action is punishing and electrifying, as Killy contends with monstrous killer androids and a ruthless antagonist hellbent on killing as many impure humans (i.e., everyone) as possible. Blame! is a worthy adaptation of the source material, as well as a worthwhile watch for anyone who considers themself a fan of dark sci-fi animation. —Toussaint Egan
Rachel Lindsay and Callie Curry kick off this week’s jumbo-sized Morally Corrupt with an in-depth guide to the seemingly endless stream of news coming from the Bravosphere this week (4:50). They then talk about the conclusion of the Real Housewives of Potomac Season 8 reunion (17:04). Later, Rachel and Callie dive into Season 2, Episode 4 of Summer House: Martha’s Vineyard (33:52), as well as Season 8, Episode 9 of Summer House (49:52). Finally, Rachel is joined by Jodi Walker to recap Season 1, Episode 5 of The Valley (1:10:31) and Season 11, Episode 12 of Vanderpump Rules (1:36:25).
Chris and Andy talk about the news that Apple TV will be making a For All Mankind spinoff called Star City, and adapting another one of Mick Herron’s novels (author of Slow Horses) for a show starring Emma Thompson (1:00). Then, they talk about an article in Harper’s that looks at the role private equity firms have played in the TV industry over the past decade (13:38), before discussing the penultimate episode of Shogun (29:07) and Episodes 4 and 5 of Ripley (59:09).
It took its sweet time in coming but the Filipino cuisine boom that had been predicted year after year in Chicago is finally here. And it’s not just savory food that’s finding its footing. Filipino American bakeries have also found a welcome home in the Windy City.
Adding to the growing list that includes Umaga Bakehouse, Jennivee’s, Crumbs.nd.Creams, and Michelin-starred Kasama, is Lincoln Square’s Del Sur Bakery.
Scheduled to open in the fall next to Damen’s Brown Line El stop, Del Sur is the brainchild of Justin Lerias, who previously had been selling — and more often than not selling out — his creative and beautiful Filipino American baked goods such as turon danishes, longanisa croissants, calamansi hojicha buns, and ube oatmeal cream pies at Ravenswood’s Side Practice Coffee (the coffee shop’s founder, Francis Almeda, is a co-owner of Del Sur, 4639 N. Damen Avenue).
While Lerias’ pastry chef experience includes stints at Lost Larson and Big Jones in Andersonville, it wasn’t until the pandemic when he began incorporating his Filipino roots into his baked goods. Lerias was born on the southern Philippine Island of Mindanao and grew up on Chicago’s North Side
“One day during 2020 I was like I have Filipino food at home and I’m going to fill these pastries with it,” he says. “I had adobo at the time, and I shredded that and folded it in some croissant dough and called it a day.”
Lerias adds: “I’ve always known that Filipino food has potential, especially with the region where I’m from.”
A turon danish.Del Sur
Those experiments turned into an eye-opening moment for Lerias, who has wanted to have his own bakery since he was 16 — he’s 23 now — but wasn’t sure of what the exact format would be.
“I thought to myself that maybe this could be the concept of my bakery,” he says. “I was very excited to be able to finally discover a voice through my baking. That was the lightning bolt for me and that’s when I started experimenting with other ingredients.”
For the next two years, lucky friends and family got to sample Lerias’ experiments, all while he took ceramic classes at the School of the Art Institute. “I was going through a phase of ‘I don’t want to be a chef,’” he says.
Filipino flavors go beyond ube, but ube is still great.Del Sur
Ube ice cream sandwichesDel Sur
After seeing a 2022 story in the Tribune about Almeda of Side Practice and the coffee shop’s concept of showcasing people’s side gigs, Lerias first thought he’d reach out about his ceramics as he wasn’t sure his baked goods were good enough. Fortunately, the recipients of his “Midwestern techniques with Filipino flavors” pastries convinced him otherwise.
At the first Side Practice pop-up, Lerias’ pastries sold out within 20 minutes, with a line out the door. Not too long after, Almeda asked Lerias to supply pastries for the coffee shop regularly, later adding in sister spot Drip Collective, a coffee shop that opened earlier in 2024 in Fulton Market.
In the beginning, Filipinos made up the majority of his customers, says Lerias. But while the popularity of his pastries hasn’t changed, the audience has grown. “It’s good to be part of this Filipino boom that is happening in Chicago right now,” says Lerias, who credits the growth to “the domino effect” of other Filipino restaurants opening.
There’s plenty to showcase. For example, the people of Mindanao, which has a large Muslim population, have a different heritage from the rest of the Filipino diaspora (there’s been a push on the island to create an autonomous government).
“It’s a very good glimpse of what the Philippines could have been if it didn’t have colonialism,” Lerias says. “There are so many traditions people don’t even know about and that’s something that I want to highlight at the bakery.”
On Wednesday, March 6, Lerias paused his pastry-making for Side Practice to focus on Del Sur. When it opens, the 1,200-square-foot bakery, formerly Brew Camp, will be set up like “a living room.”
“What I love about baking was having my friends come over and baking for them. I want that same exact feel for the bakery,” says Lerias. “I want it to feel like a warm hug when you walk in.”
Calamansi hojicha bunsDel Sur
Putting his year at the Art Institute to good use, Lerias will be creating plateware for the new bakery. He recently finished making matcha bowls and glassware. “A lot of pastry techniques translate really well to pottery so that works in my favor,” he says.
The pastries at Del Sur will be very similar to what he created for Side Practice, including the calamansi chamomile bun and turron danish, the latter of which is filled with caramelized banana jam and topped with vanilla flan. Gluten-free and vegan offerings will be available, too.
His popular longanisa croissant, which is topped with soy sauce caramel, bay leaves, and a cured egg yolk, will also be on the menu. And, yes, ube, the purple-hued yam, will appear at Del Sur in his oatmeal ube cream pie among other pastries. But it won’t be the highlight. “Filipino food is way more than ube,” says Lerias.
For Lerias, Del Sur is much more than a bakery. Top of mind is a four-day work week, employee discourse on the tipping system, and empowering his staff to use their voices, something he encourages the high school students who want to be chefs that he mentors. He sees James Beard Award nominee Lula Cafe in Logan Square as an example.
“I want to be able to introduce a lot of ethical work practices that are otherwise deemed impossible by a lot of other chefs.”
Del Sur, 4629 N. Damen Avenue, scheduled for a fall opening.
A unique breed of omakase restaurant — one that channels sleek subtlety — will soon launch on West Town’s Chicago Avenue strip. The owners behind Omakase Shoji see themselves as as a quietly defiant alternative to the city’s increasingly over-the-top omakase scene .
Japanese-born executive chef Shoji Takahashi (Matsuya, Mirai) and his mentor, chef Takashi Iida describe their philosophy as “original taste” — their quest to deliver an unadulterated Japanese omakase experience, one that will have a transportive effect on diners.
“When we say Japanese, we’re talking about not just the things you can see, but the preparation aspect, the methodology behind the fish, making sure every step of the way is pristine and up to quality standard,” Takahashi says in Japanese, as translated to English by a rep. “Your eyes are not the main way to experience the food — the primary focus should be flavor.”
As in most omakase, diners will get to watch chefs while they work.Garrett Baumer/Omakase Shoji
Minimalism contributes to the Japanese atmosphere.Garrett Baumer/Omakase Shoji
Dinner ($185) will feature 17 to 25 courses served in a minimalist 10-seat dining room. Dishes will change frequently, with fish imported twice weekly from Japanese markets including Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji Market. It will specialize in Edomae-style sushi, a sub-genre invented in Tokyo (then called Edo) that dates back more than 200 years. Diners can also select a more opulent menu ($225) that integrates ingredients like caviar and Japanese wagyu.
Upon entering the space — the former Six06 Cafe Bar which closed in 2023 — patrons will encounter an izakaya-style bar, which the team views as a symbolic middle ground between Chicago and Japan. The exposed brick walls remain, complimented by contemporary light fixtures.
Bar options include more than 40 types of sake.Garrett Baumer/Omakase Shoji
A cocktail list is not yet finalized, but the collection will include more than 40 varieties of ginjo and daiginjo sakes, as well as high-end whiskies including Hibiki 21 and Hibiki 30. Takahashi and his team will use the bar as an opportunity to flex their creative muscles with a menu of kappo cuisine — a term that refers to a style of Japanese restaurants that exist in the middle ground between upscale omakase dining and casual izakaya. Kappo restaurants, which are rare in Chicago, are known for merging the chef-led theatrics of omakase with a more playful atmosphere and a set menu of nostalgic staples and seasonal specials.
A native of Sendai, Japan, Takahashi immigrated to the U.S. in 1999 and almost immediately became a protégé of Iida, who previously cooked at the Imperial Palace in Japan and has served the royal family. Once Omakase Shoji debuts, Takahashi and Iida have more plans in the works — they aim to utilize the building’s rooftop bar this summer. Stay tuned for more details.
In the hours leading up to several gaming news events — like an indie event or a Nintendo Direct — you can see the rumblings of people online discussing a game called Hollow Knight: Silksong. Some share digital summoning circles constructed with emojis and dedicate them to the game in the hopes it will make an appearance at a showcase; others simply express their excitement by sharing memes prior to the event. During a digital event itself, you’ll see viewers spam the live chat with messages like “SKONG [with four airhorn emojis],” or “WHERE SILKSONG????!!??” Sometimes, the phrase “Silksong” will even trend online before one of these events because so many people are sharing their excitement.
All of this ruckus, just because fans just really want to hear a sliver of news about Hollow Knight: Silksong. The game — which fans shorten to Silksong — is the planned sequel to a game called Hollow Knight. Developer Team Cherry first announced the follow-up to its beloved Metroidvania in 2019; since then, it got a splashy trailer in 2022, but no concrete release date. And by now, its dedicated fan base has turned waiting for the game into one giant viral meme.
What is Hollow Knight: Silksong?
To understand the lasting popularity of Silksong, we need to look back at the game that preceded it: Hollow Knight. Developer Team Cherry first released the popular Metroidvania in 2017. At the time, the game stunned fans with its fantastical insectoid world and precise combat. Those elements, paired with its rich method of environmental storytelling, resulted in a gem of a game. Polygon hailed it as “unquestionably the finest Metroidvania ever made.”
Image: Team Cherry
Hollow Knight has racked up more than its fair share of devoted fans, so when Team Cherry surprised players with the announcement of a full-on sequel called Silksong, it drummed up plenty of buzz. The developers promised an original story, new bugs to meet, and new worlds to explore. What’s more is that fans would get to play as Hornet, a mysterious but beloved side character from the main game.
Fans excitedly awaited more news about the upcoming game, but none came. Years passed, and Team Cherry didn’t release any more trailers or news. With each passing gaming news event, it seemed all the more inevitable that players would get a release date, or a new trailer, or at least another peek at the project.
Finally, in 2022, the developer shared a new look at the game at an Xbox Showcase, but even then, the game had no stated release date. According to Xbox, however, the games in that showcase were going to be released in the next 12 months — meaning Silksong should have come out in 2023. But it didn’t. On May 9, 2023, Matthew Griffin from Team Cherry broke the news on X (formerly Twitter) that the game was not yet ready to be released and that fans should “expect more details from [Team Cherry] once we get closer to release.”
That was the last major update from the team, and since then, fans have been left in limbo — while still repeatedly expressing their hearts’ desires for the game online.
Why do fans shout about Silksong online?
In the years since its initial announcement, expressing a desire to see Silksong has become a viral bit online. At this point, you can’t watch a gaming news stream without people mentioning Silksong. People on social media will share fan art, memes, and reaction posts all in anticipation of the game, or making fun of the fact that there might not be more news about it. The avid fandom can spark the ire of other viewers in chats, and Silksong fans have inadvertently psyched up others excited for the game because they so regularly cause the game’s title to trend on X. All because people just want to express a desire to see this game.
Polygon reached out to Team Cherry to ask about what it’s been like to see fans talk about the game. We will update this article if we hear back.
Hollow Knight did sell in the millions, but that isn’t necessarily what seems to be causing this reaction to Silksong. It’s just that this game — which is genuinely a fantastic game to play — has inspired a super-dedicated cult following. The people who love the game just really adore it, and they want to see the next game released.
In this sense, Silksong does just come across as the next generation’s version of the entire “localize Mother 3” movement. Nintendo has never released an official English localization of Mother 3 in North America, but people have been asking for it for years. To this day, fans still beg Nintendo on social media to release the game, and several fans have regularly pulled IRL stunts to bring attention to the game. Being a Mother 3 fan is almost as much about wanting Mother 3 to come out officially in the U.S. as it is actually playing or enjoying the content of the game.
That all being said, Silksong has a much better chance of being released than the official English version of Mother 3. Team Cherry has assured fans that while the team might not have revealed too much, development is progressing. So I guess fans will have to rely on their summoning circles until then.
Fans of stalwart mini-chain Goddess and Grocer can order a $95 seder meal for two (or a two-seder meal for one) that plays all the hits: gefilte fish, chopped liver, charoset, matzo ball soup, brisket, tsimmes, garlic mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and flourless chocolate cake. The team is also offering a la carte options including a traditional seder plate, braised beef brisket, matzo-crusted chicken schnitzel, matzo s’mores cookies, and chocolate-and-toffee matzo bark with toasted almonds. Pre-orders must be placed online by noon on Monday, April 15 for pickup at any of their four locations.
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