While I put the finishing touches on the Father's Day F.I.L.M., I'm going to toss this incredible gem your way...
Do me a favor and just. watch. it.
Beautiful, right?
Okay, see you back here in a few minutes with the final F.I.L.M.
amy
Friday Foodie Forecast: Chicago Father's Day Dining
Jun. 18, 2010Father's Day is a trickier holiday than Mother's Day. As early as March, greeting card stores, supermarkets and florists display enough Mother's Day gear to ensure that you couldn't possibly forget Mom on her special day. Father's Day, outside of the Home Depot, is less visible. Maybe that's because most people really haven't figured out what constitutes a good Father's Day gift: another golf-tee shaped lamp? A fourth set of drill bits? a tie with his grandchildren's faces on it? But before you run to the cashier with that novelty "World's Greatest Dad" martini shaker, consider giving Dad what you know he loves: food, and spending time with his kids. Whether he's a BBQ and beer kind of guy, a seafood lover or an adventurous eater, Chicago offers plenty of options to make his day. Once you've made Dad proud, don't forget to pat yourself on the back with a wine class or blues dinner.
Grilled salmon from Shaw's Crab House
Why is Gabriel Spitzer taking a test designed for a toddler?
Jun. 18, 2010The Project on Child Development at Northwestern University uses this eye tracker contraption to measure minute movements of a baby's eyes -- or in this case, mine. Those red dots tell you what I'm looking at "¦ and that's my mug there in the lower-right corner. For a baby, those eye wiggles reveal, basically, what he or she feels like looking at. That may not sound like much, but that little toehold on a baby's cognition can, to a resourceful researcher, reveal all kinds of cool stuff about how tiny humans learn, organize information and acquire language. To me, it's just a great example of how creative these scientists are at solving problems.
Le Bouchon still solid after all these years
Jun. 18, 2010
Le Bouchon's onion soup (photo by Joseph Storch)
Do you miss those days of lugging around a backpack through the streets of Paris? Staying in youth hostels and memorizing train schedules? I don't. I do, however, miss the experience of eating in a real bistro. The kind of neighborhood place where the owner is usually the chef, and he typically knows the regulars, what kind of wine they drink and which cheeses they'll have before dessert. Le Bouchon has been that kind of place for decades. I remember having one of my early dates with my then girlfriend (soon-to-be wife) about 15 years ago, and even then it was considered an old, reliable joint. There is nothing fancy here and owner Jean-Claude Poilevey isn't going to win any James Beard Awards for his take on classic French cuisine, but who cares. This is solid cooking, rooted in years of tradition and executed with modest consistency.
The bread (Red Hen) and the butter are always there for you; the onion soup is topped with (purposely) stale bread and a thick crown of melted gruyere. Duck confit, salade Lyonnaise, foie gras - check, check, check.
At the water's edge, old stone meets modern glass
Jun. 18, 2010I was coming up from the riverwalk downtown on a recent morning, camera in hand, when I saw the vista of the winding Beaux Art staircase and the gleaming, modern, 321 N. Clark building, built in 1987, in the background. Architectural contrasts like this--and you can live here for years and not notice a particular one until one day---are what make Chicago so cool.
(photo by Lee Bey)
Nightclubbing: Land of the El Caminos, Holly Golightly, Zapruder Point, and much more
Jun. 18, 2010Here is a look at my picks for the best live music this weekend.
Land of the El Caminos
Long one of my favorite vaguely stoner-rock, unconditionally hard-hitting local bar bands, Land of the El Caminos once again is going strong after a burst of relative inactivity, and Dan Fanelli, Ken Wallin, and Aaron Cleall are certain to tear it up on a bill with Versailles, System and Station, and Panther Style starting at 9 tonight (Friday, June 18) at the Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake. The cover is $8, and more info can be found here.
