Emmanuel Chirache

In this compact yet wildly diverse state, indecisive travelers can bring their most varied vacation fantasies to life with a multitude of things to do. Mountain-top adventure trips? Check. Lounge-by-the-sea days? Double check. From urban jaunts with rooftop bars to Instagram-worthy beach haunts, New Jersey packs it all in—and its best hotels have a strong sense of place. Maybe it’s a stylish farm tucked away in the verdant northwest, where the Delaware River creates a painted kind of light. Maybe it’s a city hotel with the best Manhattan views this side of…well, Manhattan. Or perhaps it’s all about escaping to the sea for a digital detox and locking your cellphone in the hotel vault. With options including Airstream trailers, safari tents, carriage houses or modern luxury with top-notch restaurant attached, it could be very hard to choose from our pick of the best places to stay, but, the cool thing about Jersey? It’s easy to mix it up, so you don’t have to choose. RECOMMENDED: Check out our favourite beaches in New Jersey. Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in every hotel featured, we've based our list on top reviews, hosts and amenities to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines.

Pour découvrir tous nos articles sur l'actualité de l'édition 2024 du festival Rock en Seine, c'est par ici. Pour la 11e édition en 2013, le festival Rock en Seine a réussi à battre son record d'audience en attirant 118 000 amateurs de rock. Avec ses soixante concerts en trois jours, c'est le festival d'Ile-de-France le plus massif, un antidépresseur musical qui se déroule chaque année à la fin de l'été pour mieux affronter la rentrée. Il est organisé dans le domaine national de Saint-Cloud, un immense parc de dix-sept hectares classé monument historique et agencé « à la française » il y a trois siècles par André Le Nôtre, paysagiste de Louis XIV. Aller à Rock en Seine, c'est le plaisir de se perdre dans ce dédale de taillis géométriques, et de sauter dans la boue au milieu de la foule sur les meilleurs sons du XXIe siècle. Les plus grands groupes de rock, électro, pop et hip-hop jouent sur les planches de la grande scène, tandis que des petits groupes attirent les curieux sur les estrades secondaires. Cette année, les programmateurs nous gâtent, en conviant notamment des groupes qui n'avaient pas fait de concerts depuis un moment, comme Portishead ou The Prodigy. Mais Rock en Seine est aussi l'occasion de couronner la montée en flèche de jeunes artistes qui ont le vent en poupe, comme les épatants français de Feu! Chatterton, le Canadien impertinant Mac DeMarco, Joey Bada$$ et son hip-hop qui sonne old-school, ou l'électro indie de Trentemøller. La liste des légendes qui ont

Pour découvrir tous nos articles sur l'actualité de l'édition 2024 du festival Rock en Seine, c'est par ici. Avec ses soixante concerts en trois jours, Rock en Seine est un des festivals d'Ile-de-France les plus massifs, un antidépresseur musical qui se déroule chaque année à la fin de l'été pour nous aider à mieux affronter la rentrée. Il est organisé dans le Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, un immense parc de dix-sept hectares classé monument historique et agencé « à la française » il y a trois siècles par André Le Nôtre, paysagiste de Louis XIV. Aller à Rock en Seine, c'est allier le plaisir de se perdre dans ce dédale de taillis géométriques, à celui de sauter dans la boue au milieu de la foule sur les meilleurs sons du XXIe siècle. Les plus grands groupes de rock, électro, pop et hip-hop jouent sur les planches de la grande scène, tandis que les plus petits attirent les curieux sur les estrades secondaires. En tête de l'affiche 2015, on retrouve des noms tels que Kasabian, FFS (Franz Ferdinand & Sparks), The Offspring, Fauve, Tame Impala, The Chemical Brothers, Alt-J, Hot Chip, Mark Lanegan Band... La liste des légendes qui ont joué ici ne cesse de s'allonger depuis la création du festival en 2003, alors ne manquez pas Rock en Seine 2015 pour vivre l'un des temps forts de l'été à Paris.

Wherever you’re visiting in New Jersey, you need a plan. This tightly-packed state is full of life, but it often gets overshadowed by its nearby big brother (New York, you’ve had your time). The best way to take it on? Don’t compare it to anywhere. Whether you’re in Hoboken, down the coast to Jersey City, or heading to Atlantic City, you’ll find more scenic coastline views and pockets of history than you can imagine. You might be flocking to the state for Jersey’s notorious Food Festival, for the Boat Show or to get your carnival on at the iconic Battle of Flowers. But whatever your reason, you’re going to need a guide to explore the rest of the city. And that’s where we come in. From beautiful state parks to historic battleships, here are the best things to do in New Jersey right now.  RECOMMENDED:🍴 The best restaurants in New Jersey🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Jersey Shore🏖️ The best beaches in New Jersey🏙️ The essential guide to Jersey City📍 The best things to do in Atlantic City

When the weather outside turns unbearably cold, there’s no better way to warm the belly—or the soul—than with a comforting cup of soup. Chicago’s restaurants offer a diverse range of options, including lemony avgolemono, steaming bowls of pho and plain old fashioned chicken noodle soup. These flavorful broths are made with TLC and come loaded with fresh seafood, grilled steak, huge matzo balls and much more. And you’ll find them all over the city, from Uptown to Chinatown. So whether you’re feeling under the weather or just want to heat your body up, check out our guide to the best soups in Chicago. RECOMMENDED: Discover the best ramen in Chicago

Initially, I called on the women behind these seven extraordinary restaurants a little sheepishly. Do we really need one more tokenizing roundup of “badass” female restaurant owners and chefs, when many elbowed their way to the table with the sole aim of being judged on their abilities, without asterisks or qualifiers? But as the conversations unfolded, I forgot about that and instead basked in the weight of their achievements—sometimes because or in spite of their gender, though just as often not. I saw the intentional and unforeseen ways being women—and mothers—informs running a business and impacts workplace culture. I absorbed the parallel journeys of Chicanas like Dominica Rice-Cisneros and Black women like Mashama Bailey to internalize the significance of their culinary heritages in an industry that long prized Eurocentric haute cuisine. As Monteverde executive chef-owner Sarah Grueneberg mused: “For so long, [co-owner] Meg [Sahs] and I weren’t really shouting about being a women-run restaurant—we were fighting that ‘cute’ stigma and wanted to just be considered real business leaders and restaurateurs. But I’m so proud. I wouldn't be the same chef if I was male—how I cook and how I think about the history and heart of a dish.” Many of these women arrived on the shoulders of women mentors before them, be they Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters or Ruth Rogers and the late Rose Gray of London’s legendary River Cafe or the matriarchs of their home kitchens. Seeing someone like the

Before recreational weed was legalized in Chicago earlier this year, the only edibles we could get our hands on were dodgy pot brownies and stale rice krispies treats with an unsavory, hempy aftertaste. While the rest of us muddled through off-market treats, award-winning Chicago pastry chef Mindy Segal was concocting a line of edibles that would raise the bar. In partnership with local cannabis company Cresco Labs, her dream manifested into Mindy’s Chef Led Artisanal Edibles, a line of THC-infused gummies, hard sweets, chocolates and fruit chews. Rather than invent in a sterile laboratory stocked with flavor extracts, Segal invited the Cresco team to her storied Bucktown restaurant, Mindy’s HotChocolate, where they sat around the time-worn communal table and embarked on a Willy Wonka-style tasting of her favorite desserts, from kiwi-tinged key-lime cheesecake and chocolate-peanut butter brittle to macerated melon sorbet. Eventually, 20 flavors dwindled to six, which the group workshopped into their final gummy forms, featuring a flavorless cannabis distillate and low (5mg) and micro (2mg) doses of THC and CBD—meaning you don’t have to divvy them into 12 pieces, or pop one and pray. “I wanted Cresco to really understand where each flavor comes from, how it began and how my flavor journey happens,” Segal says. “I’m so, so proud of what we created.” Seated at the same table where it all began, I too took the flavor journey through the beloved desserts that inspired these one-of

The unmistakable aroma of toasty, buttered caramel hits your nostrils on certain Chicago streets—rounding the corner at Ontario and Michigan in Streeterville or emerging from the Blue Line station at Jackson and Dearborn in the Loop. Most locals can promptly identify the intoxicating scent as CaramelCrisp, the flagship flavor of Garrett Popcorn Shops, the beloved confectionary chain that opened in Chicago 70 years ago. Today Garrett is a bonafide popcorn empire, with locations in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Korea, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Malaysia. But to most Chicagoans, the brand is still intrinsically local—the sort of delicacy we proudly tout to out-of-towners. “We make it the exact same way,” says director of consumer engagement Megan Chody, who, with CEO and husband Lance Chody, bought the brand from the Garrett family 13 years ago. “Nothing has changed, and it will not change.” Whenever she’s in one of the brand’s 48 shops, Chody greets customers as they walk through the door, whether they’re from Toronto, Macedonia, Tokyo, Madrid or the Chicago suburbs. As soon as I leave the Michigan Avenue flagship store that day, she’ll host a delegation from China. “What made you come in today?” she asks a man from Charlotte, North Carolina. “This is my first time in Chicago,” he replies. “I was told I had to come here.” Sweet beginnings Garrett opened in the Loop in 1949, but the recipe that launched the brand was born in Milwaukee—the result of a family

We’re officially stuffed. Throughout 2018, we sampled our way through some of Chicago’s best restaurants—both newcomers and mainstays—to hunt down knockout dishes and drinks that left us feeling inspired. We ended up with a collection of menu items that is as diverse as the city itself, from lobster dumplings and vegetarian sushi to a surprisingly awesome apple martini and a stack of lemon-blueberry pancakes. Better yet: Most of the dishes and drinks on this year's list ring up under $15. Check out the amazing morsels and tipples that top this year's list and plan your upcoming dining adventures accordingly.

You can tell a lot about New Jersey by the polarity of its nicknames. The Garden State. Dirty Jerz. But want to know a little secret? Both are a badge of pride. Locals know that this densely packed state has a ton of great things to do, not least of which is gorging on amazing food. Sure, New York and Philly are in Jersey’s backyard, and locals are happy to take advantage of that. But there’s no need to cross a bridge to find incredible meals. Book a hotel—and some world-class dining experiences—right here in Jersey. From affordable neighborhood joints to high-end temples recognized on the national scene, New Jersey’s restaurants reflect its ranking as one of the most culturally and socioeconomically diverse states in the nation. So, dust off any preconception that it’s all diners and pizza parlors—though they’re here, and amazing. In New Jersey, there are a million ways to feast.

Red Bank, New Jersey is a city of intersections. It has a Main Street Americana vibe, yet brags urban appeal, attracting artists and musicians. It’s a river town, but in shouting distance of the Atlantic coast’s waves. And when it comes to eating out, the city’s restaurant scene boasts laid-back creature comforts, buzzy spots with a see-and-be-seen vibe and everything in-between. While there are plenty of high-end offerings, Red Bank is laid-back enough to offset the glitz. Bonus: it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Case in point would be Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, a comic shop/pilgrimage point for fans of Jersey filmmaker Kevin Smith (it makes for a fun stop between courses). Paired with nearby Asbury Park and Long Branch, Red Bank is a tasty destination for the food-focused wanderer. Here’s where to dig in.

Maryland reveals its gems in a state of high contrast, from the otherworldly expanses of the Eastern Shore and its multi-generational watermen’s culture to the indie charms of Baltimore where the patron saint is John Waters. In a single day, you can watch the sun rising over the Atlantic, ogle art in the city and commune with nature in shouting distance of Northern Virginia’s grapevines. But why go so fast when there’s so much to savor? Maryland rewards those who take time to dig in. Done something on this list and loved it? Share it with the hashtag #TimeOutDoList and tag @TimeOutEverywhere. Find out more about how Time Out selects the very best things to do all over the world.

For a long time, we Midwestern Great Lakers kept many of our choicest food secrets in our grocery stores, delis and unassuming corner taverns. I’m talking about chunky smoked whitefish dip; oily giardiniera heaped on Italian beef; tangy beer cheese; crisp-edged hash; and charred, meaty burnt ends. What a time to see these ingredients reimagined with fine-dining ingenuity and breathless seasonality at places like Giant, Daisies and now five-month-old Nettare.  Nettare—meaning “nectar,” in reference to the restorative nature of good hospitality—is the debut restaurant of longtime bartender-turned restaurateur Conner O’Byrne (Publican, La Josie), with food helmed by executive chef John Dahlstrom (BLVD, Table, Donkey and Stick). This all-day cafe with a retail shop has the hipster, something-for-everyone vibe that’s pervaded openings since the pandemic. Despite the airy, plant-filled environs, Nettare’s food—punchy, rich and brackish on a recent April evening—recalls the embrace of a neighborhood joint with knotty-wood walls in, say, Petoskey, Michigan, or a timeworn Chicago beef stand. But friendly Midwestern comfort is merely a jumping-off point in the capable hands of Dahlstrom and company. The elongated, brick-walled space unfurls as a regionally focused market and bottle shop up front, past a hallway chef’s counter to the 45-seat dining room in back. Sliding into a banquette as evening waned, I felt soothed by the climbing, leafy plants and dim natural light pouring in from

It’s both silly and totally understandable that we human beings require tidy descriptors to sum up what kind of food a restaurant serves. Southeast Asian. Midwestern. Northern Italian. But how should one categorize the bold, veg-heavy, anything-goes dishes at handsome newcomer Maxwells Trading? In many ways, this singular menu synopsizes what it’s like to live and eat through major American cities right now—where cuisines, heritages and identities cram together and intermingle. Indeed, Maxwells Trading self-describes as “a Chicago restaurant by children of the city”—the children being Underscore Hospitality partners Erling Wu-Bower (Pacific Standard Time, Nico Osteria) and Josh Tilden (Pacific Standard Time) and executive chef Chris Jung (Momotaro).  Yet even this descriptor feels a little self-serious for what’s in store once you take your seat in the sprawling, urban-chic dining room. Here Chinese soup dumplings collide with pasta traditions of Bologna, Italy; Thai chili sauce dances with bitter greens and rare steak; and edible kelp whisks beurre blanc to the foamy seashore. Maxwells Trading is fresh, fiery and downright fun; I was unsurprised to learn that Tilden and Wu-Bower were inspired to create the kind of place where they’d want to hang out, where upbeat, free jazz spins on the turntable and martinis get their own menu subsection. After all, who said likable means unimaginative?  As this 80-seater is seemingly booked into oblivion*, my date and I walked in moments a

Walking into John’s Food & Wine on a busy Thursday night, I spotted a couple of open seats at the long marble bar. Normally, I’d make a beeline for this increasingly rare walk-in’s gift, but having just entered the back of the line at this upscale, fast-casual bistro, I hesitated. Was such self-serving behavior frowned upon?  Bar seats are indeed fair game for walk-ins at John’s, as I learned when a group behind me snagged the stools and commenced the ritual of dining out as we’ve all traditionally known it. But if you’re after a table at this Lincoln Park newcomer, you’ll queue up in front of a countertop tablet where (the night I was there) beverage director and sommelier Jonas Bittencourt takes your coursed, dinner order in one nerve-wracking go, then leads you to your table, where you choose your own pairing adventure by snapping a QR code and scrolling through Toast. There are no designated servers. Rather, a small crew helmed by co-owners and chefs Adam McFarland and Thomas Rogers breathlessly does a little of everything—hence the 20 percent service charge automatically applied to every check.  I acutely felt the lack of human touch throughout my meal—not just because this is a wine-focused restaurant full of cool, ever-changing pours that warrant a little storytelling. It also manifested in the harried pacing of courses and disconcerting sense that the main shepherd of our experience was the restaurant’s POS system. I longed for those small leisurely moments, like peru

Leave all preconceived notions about borscht at the door! I feel compelled to shout this, because at Avondale newcomer Anelya, the borsch (no “t” in Ukrainian) upends the thin, staunchly utilitarian soup you or I may have known. Homaging the style of Poltava in central Ukraine, it’s lush and harmonious, gently sour yet bearing sweet campfire notes from charcoal-dried pears; the addition of rich, gamey duck tames its telltale earthiness.  Like the rest of the menu at Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim’s exceptional restaurant, this humble dish both nourishes and teases with the thrill of discovery, less a chef’s reimagining of Ukrainian cuisine than a chef-led illumination of what’s long been there—and long suppressed—now joyously released. It makes Anelya the sort of restaurant you can’t wait to see evolve, but also one you want to greedily take in while it’s exuberantly new, and tell all who’ll listen to do the same. Anelya opened in October, born partly of misfortune, as chefs/co-owners Clark and wife Kim closed its casual prix-fixe predecessor Wherewithall last May following a collapsed sewer line—after barely surviving a prolonged, Covid-era closure. But it afforded them a blank slate of sorts to unpack Clark’s Ukrainian cooking roots, which he’d begun researching during the pandemic. Chicago is home to only a handful of Ukrainian restaurants, despite being the city with the second-largest population of Ukrainian immigrants.  Clark’s grandmother, Anelya Ochatchinskiya, was born

Before my sister and I dined at Lilac Tiger, we each spent some time perusing the menu in advance, as is our strategic custom, in the hope of stemming our tendency to over-order (this never works). During that time, she became convinced that the “Ferrani Special” crispy THC nuggets actually comprised small balls of weed fried like chicken. I assumed it was a play on words, but didn’t rule out the weed nuggets idea.  The real story is far more wholesome. THC stands for tandoor honey chicken; the name dually homages executive chef/partner Zubair Mohajir’s son Ferran, whose favorite snack is his dad’s chicken nuggets, sauced with honey featuring Mohajir’s 15-spice tandoori blend. Maybe more important for Time Out readers’ purposes, though, is how utterly mouthwatering these morsels are—tangy, warmly spicy and savory-sweet with a juicy interior and exterior sporting a softened crunch like gobi manchurian, dunked in gochujang aioli that tastes like supercharged fry sauce.  Still, there’s an undeniable coolness to this low-lit Wicker Park storefront with its punchy, South Asian street food and neon vibes that makes you not want to give yourself away with a square question like, “Um, is there weed in these nuggets?”  Lilac Tiger’s (formerly Wazwan) trendiness owes in part to its indie roots, beginning as an underground tasting-menu supper club in Lakeview, then a quick-service stall in the hastily shuttered Politan Row food hall and a ghost kitchen in River West. Wazwan found a phys

Kuku sibzamani, the first dish of our nine-course tasting menu at Albany Park newcomer Maman Zari, tasted familiar enough—a delicate, frittata-like potato and egg cake laced with tender zucchini shreds. But the accompanying sweet, paper-thin pickle coins and a shockingly green dab of herbaceous dalal, a north Iranian condiment affectionately known as “green salt,” seemed to shake us gently by the shoulders as if to say, “I’m not quite what you think!” A honeyed, dry sparkling German riesling pairing heightened the delicate contrasts, making me giddy for what lay ahead. Persian cuisine as Chicagoans typically experience it—a few paces down Kedzie Avenue at the terrific restaurants Noon-O-Kabab and Kabobi Grill, betrays the Iranian penchant for seasoning via nourishing heaps of fresh herbs; streaks of sweet, meaty pomegranate molasses; and warming, vintagey saffron. These restaurants likewise demonstrate a mastery of buttery, crisp-edged rice, soft charred eggplant and succulent grilled lamb and poultry—all in more casual, family-style guises of juicy kabobs served over heaps of saffron-stained rice dotted with plump dried fruit. At Maman Zari (named for owner and former flight attendant Mariam Shahsavarani’s grandmother, who taught her to cook), Shahsavarani reimagines these preparations in more thought-provoking formats, leaning on the culinary prowess of Italian chef/partner Matteo Lo Bianco (Coco Pazzo, Volare, Francesca’s, Rosebud) and her own deep knowledge of Persian foo

It’s not every day that a neighborhood tavern serves standout food that transports you elsewhere without feeling contrived. Leave it to a place that self-describes as a dive, I suppose. Of course, breezy, colorful Diego—in the former G&O Tavern space in West Town—is anything but a dive, dressed in blue and white tile, beachy woods and pale yellow walls accented by clusters of framed contemporary art and puffy graffiti. The food, chef/owner Stephen Sandoval’s loving nod to the street fare of Tijuana and his hometown of San Diego, centers around a terrific lineup of Baja-inspired tostadas and tacos.  Said tostadas shatter with a satisfyingly greasy crunch, by the way, indicating they’re fried to order from fresh corn tortillas. We broke off shards to scoop up bites of tangy snapper ceviche in coconut milk with tomatoes, avocado, onion and lime, while sipping our first round of drinks. A crisp September breeze floated in through the garage-style doors, which were thrown open to expose the spacious, wedge-shaped patio full of potted palms and revelers wrapped in colorful serape blankets.  Diego represents the casual companion to Sandoval’s forthcoming fine-dining restaurant Sueños, which will open at 1235 W. Grand Avenue early in 2024. The chef, who worked with Rick Bayless at Leña Brava, laid the groundwork for both concepts through his popup Entre Sueños, which morphed into a lengthy, beloved residency at Soho House dubbed Sueños.  It’s hard to pick a wrong tostada on Sandoval’

What is the function of dining out? Most literally it restores, providing something delicious we didn’t have to make, which we eat in the company of people we love, or at least find interesting. It can surprise us, by pushing creative boundaries; it can be a place to see and be seen, and even offer a kind of cultural currency, like following a certain band or artist.  Lately this diversion has gotten increasingly costly for everyone involved; its working conditions are being scrutinized like they should have been all along. All of this throws the question of what restaurants are for into a harsher light.  I thought about this question on a recent Saturday at Warlord, a hipster fine-dining restaurant in Avondale that serves some of the city’s most exciting food. My two companions and I were being aurally pummeled by a dark-synth song called “Humans Are Such Easy Prey” while eating a transcendent bite of 12-day aged fatty ora king salmon paired with a perfectly ripe rectangle of cantaloupe. We’d waited two-and-a-half hours for that bite, a sensual yet restrained harbinger of the spectacular food to follow.  Was it worth it? I’m still not sure.  Chef-partners Trevor Fleming, Emily Kraszyk and John Lupton—who’ve worked in acclaimed places like Kasama and Table Fifty-Two—debuted Warlord in April and quickly soared to critics’ darling status on the back of their bold, elemental cooking, which changes constantly. Every choice, from the name and enigmatic online presence to the first

On a recent Friday night at Boonie’s Filipino Restaurant, the conversation came to an abrupt halt when the sizzling pork sisig topped with raw egg hit our table. The four of us sat, transfixed, as a server methodically worked the egg into the citrus-scented hash of minced pork belly and caramelized sweet onions, which sputtered their approval like applause. Tangy, sweet, unctuous and textural, such gestalt cooking merits a moment of speechlessness. At the very least, promise me you’ll start your meal with it every time you eat here, if you’re a meat eater that is. Boonie’s sisig doesn’t just elicit awed silences; in fact, it was the subject of much chatter when chef/owner Joseph Fontelera’s pandemic popup, Boonie’s Foods, landed at Revival Food Hall in 2020. Since debuting his brick-and-mortar storefront five months ago, the former executive chef of Arami has come into his own with Filipino-inspired cooking that honors his Philippines-born grandmother, Estefania Bondoc Clarito, and his forebears who immigrated to Chicago starting in 1970.  Boonie’s hugs like a metaphorical grandmother in all sorts of ways, starting the moment you walk in and see bowls of individually wrapped Hongyuan guava candies in the entryway and on the host stand. The diminutive, low-lit space—warmly dressed in blonde wood accents and framed family photos and whimsical prints—offers a cozy contrast to the sprawling, airy restaurants that have punctuated Chicago’s buzzier openings of late. And, oh, that f

“Did it just get darker in here?” asked my date as we squinted at our menus in contemplation of our second round of drinks at Bokeh, a moody new cocktail den in Albany Park. It was entirely possible, as we seemed a few blown-out votives away from total darkness. Aside from the pesky matter of deciphering the menu (“Does that actually say cabbage simple syrup?”), we appreciated the flickering, low light of this sexy bar that fills a void for laid-back late-night watering holes near Kedzie and Lawrence. Named for a Japanese term that describes the quality of the blurry parts of a photograph, Bokeh is the debut solo venture of former professional photographer and hospitality vet Rick Weber. An understated photography theme permeates the bar’s design and 10 signature cocktails, with kitschy names like Lens Flare, Crop Factor and Aperture. Weber’s professional background may also explain why each cocktail (dreamed up with help from lead bartender Noah Kort) drinks like seeing something familiar from a brand-new angle. The namesake Bokeh elevates Fernet-Branca to a starring role in a minty, frothy suppressor sour with lemon and lime juices. Perhaps my favorite sipper, the Focal Length, pairs vegetal mezcal with tart and jammy cherry liqueur, a wine-based aperitif and grapefruit juice; a splash of cava lightens the load, lending the drink a lovely fuzzy texture. Two regulars posted up at the bar lamented the imminent phaseout of the Depth of Field, a surprisingly good cabbagey gimle

When I was 26 years old, I indulged in a life-changing bowl of bucatini carbonara made by chef Todd Stein at now-shuttered Cibo Matto in the Wit hotel. Ever since then, I’ve labored obsessively in my home kitchen to recreate the perfect alchemy of fat, salt, chew and heat. After a decade of tinkering, I now claim a derivative sliver of this Roman classic, though I’m not even 1 percent Italian. Questions of ownership and origin become more profound when someone opens a business aiming to profit off of said recipes—a thought that lingered in my mind when I dined at Gaijin, the new Japanese-inspired West Loop restaurant from white chef-owner Paul Virant (Vie, Vistro and bygone Perennial Virant). The focus at this bustling newcomer is okonomiyaki—savory Japanese pancakes crammed full of meat and vegetables and strewn with flavorful sauces. Virant’s wife fell in love with this Osaka-born comfort food while living in Japan as a student, and the chef has spent the past 25 years perfecting home-cooked iterations through his seasonal Midwestern lens. Virant playfully acknowledges that his take is at best that of an enamored outsider—the name Gaijin means “foreigner” in Japanese. “The deeper sentiment is that we’re doing something that’s a super-popular comfort dish in Japan—a place where people really have a reverence for their food and culture,” Virant told me. “Out of respect for them, we’re trying to do it as best we can.” Gaijin slings two expert versions of okonomiyaki that top o

For a long time, the neighborhood joint and wine bar felt like opposing ideals. By definition, the corner bar—with its cheap draughts and worn-in look—is built on approachability, while wine bars historically seemed to ooze with pretense, reserved for those fluent in vino classification tables. Thanks to inviting spots like Rootstock, Income Tax and Red & White, Chicago’s wine scene has grown more inclusive for those of us who don’t know much about the stuff beyond the fact that we like drinking it. New Logan Square watering hole Outside Voices takes that mission a step further, blurring the lines between the neighborhood tavern and a proper wine bar. This delightful storefront is sandwiched between two other beloved spots from the same owners—gin-focused cocktail den Scofflaw and sporty pub the Moonlighter. Like its siblings, vino-centric Outside Voices leans pricier than your everyday pub, but the vibe is unmistakably no fuss. Led by beverage manager Davis Sayer, the bar mostly eschews the pretense that often comes with wine—and not just because the staff has an affinity for flannel button-downs and playing Heart on vinyl. You feel it within 15 seconds of sidling up to the bar to peruse the menu. Rather than putting the onus on the drinker to decide on a style (Whites from France? Cabernets?), the daily-changing menu of whites, reds, rosés and orange, and bubbles focuses on individual flavors and textures in each of the 20-odd available wines. Bartenders take a similar tact

If you take a seat in the sprawling Guinness Open Gate Brewery in the West Loop, beneath the formidable, 7,700-pound metal harp sculpture that hangs over the main bar, and order a pint of Guinness, the bartender will promptly ask, “Which one?” You’ll find a dozen taps here, pouring a rotating selection of beers ranging from a sweet, American cream ale brewed with creamed corn to a dry kölsch-style ale, a tropical fruit-scented pale ale and a dry-hopped Italian pilsner. Of course, if you specify Guinness Draught Stout, the storied ritual will commence. The bartender takes up the tulip-shaped pint and turns it in her hand to check for cleanliness. She tilts the glass at 45 degrees beneath the tap, into which she cascades the liquid, at first a creamy light brown, until it’s three-quarters full. She sets it down, then returns some 120 seconds later to top it up and slide it across the bar—the beer now a ruby-tinted black thickly capped with cream-colored head.  You go in for that first sip, velvety textured, toasty and malty sweet with a coffee-esque backbone and bitter edge: “Ahhh! Tastes just like it does at the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin!” Photograph: Momoko Fritz You’re right, in the sense that the stout synonymous with the Diageo-owned brand is indeed brewed in Dublin, not here. In fact, a pint of the black at Open Gate doesn’t differ much from the excellent Guinness Draught Stout meticulously poured at Mrs. Murphy & Sons in North Center or Lady Gregory’s in Ander

"Nothing Else Matters" de Metallica qui devient un joli chant de Noël, "Hey Jude" des Beatles qui sonne comme un air funèbre... Pas besoin de rejouer le morceau pour obtenir un tel résultat, il suffit de modifier la tonalité du titre, de majeure en mineure ou inversement. Les deux tonalités dégagent chacune des émotions différentes, qu'on pourrait résumer (très grossièrement) ainsi : alors que la tonalité majeure est supposée plus joyeuse, plus emportée, pleine d'espoir et d'allégresse, la tonalité mineure est dite plus grave, triste, obscure, mélancolique.  Passer de l'une à l'autre à partir d'un fichier audio numérique est loin d'être évident. C'est pourtant le projet fou du compositeur et mélomane d'origine ukrainienne Oleg Berg, qui a dévolu un site et une chaîne YouTube à son activité. D'autres l'ont précédé ou imité dans cette démarche, mais Oleg semble être le seul à la poursuivre avec un tel acharnement et surtout une telle application. Tout est fait à la main, sans logiciel autotune, ce qui explique que certains solos joués dans une tonalité différente du morceau soient eux aussi transformés.  Si chacune de ces tentatives ne tient pas toutes ses promesses, nous en avons sélectionné quelques-unes plutôt réussies, en tout cas insolites, réalisées par Oleg Berg ou d'autres Youtubeurs. Avec en prime, un commentaire drôle ou intelligent d'un internaute, parce qu'ils ont du talent quand même. "I see why Michael preffered minors" "Is this Offspring new single ?"   "Extra

Kenza Aloui et Inès Weill-Rochant sont-elles inconscientes, ultra optimistes ou juste des jeunes filles qui refusent de perdre leurs illusions ? En plein regain de tension entre Israël et la Palestine sur la bande de Gaza en 2014 (un peu avant pour être précis), ces deux anciennes camarades de Sciences Po ont créé le premier festival Pèlerinage en décalage, qui invite des artistes des deux pays. L'initiative est unique en France et la première se déroule finalement sans heurts à la Bellevilloise. « Pour une première édition, on a reçu 1114 personnes, raconte Inès, on ne s’y attendait vraiment pas, ça fait 500-600 par jour ! Des soirées très remplies, le forum était blindé et surtout il n’y a pas eu de violences, pas même de débat houleux alors qu’on s’attendait à ça. » Et Kenza d'ajouter : « Nous sommes totalement indépendants des institutions gouvernementales et financés via le crowdfunding, donc les artistes ont tout de suite adhéré au projet ! »  En 2015, les deux amies remettent le couvert et enfoncent le clou : trente artistes bénévoles israéliens et palestiniens sont réunis autour de huit disciplines : poésie, cinéma, musique, slam, danse, mode, photographie et sculpture. A force de documentaires, de concerts survoltés, d'expos frappantes, de performances étonnantes et de rencontres éclectiques, Pèlerinage en décalage a réussi la prouesse de convaincre jusqu'à ses détracteurs les plus sceptiques, dont la curiosité est immanquablement piquée par la programmation. Surtout

Le 28 février dernier, les enchanteurs King Gizzard ont sorti leur nouveau chef-d'œuvre, 'Flying Microtonal Banana', et le 6 juillet prochain, le groupe culte Midnight Oil passera en concert à l'Olympia. Leur point commun ? Il s'agit de deux groupes australiens. Une actualité riche qui nous a donné envie de rendre hommage à un pays dont les rockers ont longtemps été snobés, pour ne pas dire méprisés. Pourtant, l'Australie est une vraie terre de rock, une patrie d'expatriés qui a elle aussi contribué à l'histoire du genre, ou plutôt des genres : punk, garage, indie rock, hard, psyché, les « aussie rock bands » savent tout faire. La preuve en quinze groupes. 1. The Atlantics Pionniers du rock australien, considérés comme l'un des meilleurs groupes de surf rock, ce genre popularisé par les Beach Boys et Dick Dale, les Atlantics ont connu une grande popularité chez eux et au-delà. Leur tube absolu s'intitule "Flight Of the Surf Guitar", un truc qui swingue et qui cogne, quasiment punk et garage.    2. The Easybeats Le groupe qui a posé les fondations du rock australien, l'alpha et l'oméga du coin. Savant mélange d'harmonies à la Beatles et de brutalité rock à la Stones, les Easybeats sont passés à la postérité grâce à leur génial hit "Friday On My Mind", qui a hélas éclipsé le reste d'une discographie à l'avenant. On pourrait citer une pléthore de morceaux de haute volée du même acabit, de "My Wedding Ring" à "Good Times" en passant par "I'll Make You Happy" ou "Sorry", tout un

It’s a hot, sticky afternoon in early July as we head into hipster Ukrainian Village cocktail den Sportsman’s Club, bound for the back patio, where a sizable crowd has gathered despite intermittent downpours. There, a small assemblage of local chefs and wine pros dish up freshly shucked New Zealand and Rhode Island oysters and paper bowls of Laotian-style boiled shrimp—in view of their unofficial mascot, a red Royal Enfield motorcycle.  This is Motorshucker, Chicago’s traveling oyster bar. Born in 2021 out of Mico Hillyard’s and Kat Dennis’s shared love of vintage bikes and bivalves, this pop-up business—also composed of partners Cubby Dimling and Jamie Davis—now has standing gigs at Sportsman’s, Easy Does It, The Charleston and Ludlow Liquors, and is doling out its Southeast Asian-spiced fried peanuts and potato chips strewn with creme fraiche and caviar at restaurant takeovers and events like Third Coast Soif and the forthcoming Pitchfork Music Festival. “We started during Covid, partly because we couldn’t find any oysters through restaurants being closed,” Hillyard says. “We were sourcing from a family friend’s farm, Fisher Island Oyster Farm in the Long Island Sound, hanging out, shucking them in the park. Around the same time Kat and I started working on motorcycles—we thought this would be a nice way to combine the two and bring them around town to people.” Photograph: Maggie HennessyKat Dennis and Cubby Dimling For their first unofficial event—undertaken mainly to ke

If you ask Henry Cai, the chef behind takeout startup @3LittlePigsChi, to divulge how he prepares his char siu-style Chinese barbecue pork, he smiles and hesitates—visibly conflicted between safeguarding a treasured recipe and disappointing you. Cai’s barbecue pork is succulent and satisfyingly toothsome, glossed in sticky-sweet sauce with tang and warming depth. He learned how to make it from his dad, an immigrant from Guangzhou, in Southern China, and chef turned jeweler who in turn learned from a Chinese si fu (master). “Chinese cooks my dad’s age (he’s 68) are really protective of recipes; my mom doesn’t even know how he makes it,” Cai tells me. With that he relents, just a little. “Traditionally, Chinese pork is more dry. I add more sauce, because that’s how I like it, and that’s how Americans eat barbecue.” Cai was scouting locations to open a Chinese barbecue restaurant around his native Bridgeport when COVID-19 ground those plans to a halt. Not long before, he’d started posting pictures on Instagram of his scratch-made dishes under the @3LittlePigsChi moniker. “My friends were like, ‘Lemme get an order—I’ll pay for it,’” he says. “Some friends, without permission, started telling people, ‘My buddy is doing this.’ Then suddenly, random people started messaging me for orders.” Thanks to ever-sleuthing food writer Titus Pullo, I became one of those random people, DMing a stranger for a pound of lacquered pork nubs and 10 juicy pork potstickers with thick, chewy wrappers

In 1855 Levi Boone, the anti-immigrant, pro-temperance mayor of a nascent Chicago, tried to leverage his power against a growing German population by going after their right to drink. He ordered police to enforce an old law requiring taverns to be closed on Sundays, a move that would disproportionately impact immigrants, who worked Monday through Saturday and (surprise) liked to throw back a few steins on their sole day off. He also jacked up liquor license fees from $50 per year to $300 a quarter, threatening to drive the city’s mostly German- and Irish-owned saloons out of business. Hundreds of tavern owners defied the law by remaining open on Sunday and were arrested. The day of their scheduled mass trial, some 1,000 protestors marched downtown, prompting Boone to call in militia reinforcements. A fight broke out between protestors and police, leaving one German man dead. A disgraced Boone was forced to release the prisoners and lower liquor license fees, and his weakened party didn’t run for re-election in 1856. Thanks in part to German voter turnout, a statewide prohibition referendum failed, leaving citizens to enjoy a drink as they pleased and helping a marginalized group claim a place in the growing, diversifying city. From this earliest instance of civil unrest known as the 1855 Lager Beer Riot, which laid the groundwork for Chicago’s rough-and-tumble politics, to the 19th century brewery-induced building boom that would establish the city as an architectural powerho

C'est l'un des lieux les plus excitants de Paris qui va enfin naître sous nos yeux, après cinq années de luttes et de travaux. Ancienne gare de l'avenue de Saint-Ouen créée en 1889 et réhabilitée par trois jeunes Parisiens, le Hasard Ludique va animer les soirées d'un quartier excentré et plutôt calme de Paris, entre la porte de Saint-Ouen et le métro Guy Môquet, dans un esprit solidaire et artistique. Du 29 avril au 21 mai, quatre week-ends de fête, de musique, de ripaille et de culture vont se succéder là-bas pour le plus grand plaisir des Parisiens. Il faut dire que le Hasard Ludique se conçoit comme un lieu participatif et original. C'est à travers une plateforme collaborative appelée la Fabrique du Hasard Ludique et via un crowdfunding que sa création a vu le jour au fil des années. Ici, les 1 200 « bâtisseurs » et bénévoles ont donné leur avis à chaque étape de la construction et leurs meilleures idées seront mises chaque année en avant lors d'un grand festival. Résultat, un formidable lieu hybride qui contient un bistrot, une salle de concert de 300 places et un atelier de pratique artistique collective, l'endroit idéal pour passer le printemps et l'été. Retrouvez tous les programmes et la billetterie ici.Quoi ? • Quatre week-ends de fête pour l'inauguration du Hasard LudiqueQuand ? • Du 29 avril au 21 maiOù • 128 avenue de Saint-Ouen, Paris 18eCombien ? • 8 € avant 16h30, 12 € après. Gratuit les dimanches.  

Avec les beaux jours, la folie des brocantes perdure, entraînant dans son sillon biffins et antiquaires, mais aussi particuliers en mal de petites économies. Le vendeur débarrasse ses étagères et met du beurre dans les épinards, l'acheteur trouve ce qu'il cherche à prix cassés et remplit son cagibi. Tout le monde est content, à commencer par ces six personnages que vous connaissez certainement déjà si vous êtes habitués aux vide-greniers.1. Le vautour     Réveillé à 5h du matin par l'excitation d'un nouveau vide-grenier, perspective plus enchanteresse que l'aube de Noël pour un enfant, le vautour se presse sur les étals des brocantes avant même que vous ayez déballé vos affaires à vendre. Le vautour n'est pas là pour bayer aux corneilles, c'est un pro de la brocante. Il n'y va pas pour trouver la bonne petite affaire, il y va pour faire des affaires, pour faire tourner son business, parce que c'est un métier, monsieur. Il y passe ses matinées, flairant les bons coups aux premières lueurs, parfois à celle de sa lampe-torche, quand le vendeur ensommeillé ne sait pas encore ce qui lui arrive. Comme dans le règne animal, le vautour de vide-grenier travaille en bande : il se réunit autour de votre stand à peine sur pieds et attaque de tous les côtés. « Combien les téléphones ? » lance un premier, « vous avez des pièces anciennes ? » enchérit un autre, tandis qu'un troisième observe vos sacs encore par terre en demandant « c'est quoi dedans ? Vous vendez de la technologie ? Combie

Chicago food writer Nicole Schnitzler has watched her brother Daniel make his favorite meal dozens of times. He fills the same pink Tupperware bowl with frozen corn, peas and carrots from the bag, adds a flurry of Kraft Parmesan cheese, then digs in while it’s still frosty. Daniel, who’s 42, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. “All his life, Daniel—like myself— has loved and embraced food, even though in many ways we have really different tastes,” says Schnitzler. “One day, I’m in the kitchen watching him make this, and it dawns on me: I bet a chef could make a dish inspired by this that I’d find really delicious.” Motivated by the state’s budget impasse, which threatened the main funding source for the residential and training programs Daniel counts on, Schnitzler founded Doors Open Dishes. The organization partners with Chicago chefs to create menu items inspired by the comfort foods of people with disabilities, donating part of the proceeds to an organization that supports the featured individual. DOD kicks off this month at Cindy’s, inside the Chicago Athletic Association, where executive chef Christian Ragano showcases crispy chicken milanesa with Texas caviar (barbecued beans with still-crunchy corn, fresh peas and carrots), local sweet-corn pudding and smoked ramp vinaigrette, inspired by Daniel. Cindy's executive chef Christian Ragano, Photograph: Jason Little “Daniel’s fantastic—so bubbly and very decisive about what he likes to eat,” says Ragano. “He loves fr

Si pour vous, les jeux de société sont synonymes de Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit et Hôtel, alors vous êtes un ringard. Aujourd'hui, les jeux de société sont innombrables, il en sort des tracto-pelletées chaque année et les inventeurs rêvent tous de décrocher le jackpot en créant un classique tel que ceux que nous avons cités. Mieux, il existe désormais des jeux de société sur tous les thèmes possibles et imaginables, de quoi ravir n'importe qui, n'importe quand. En bref, si avez l'esprit ludique et/ou des enfants, ce festival est fait pour vous. Entre la boutique, les centaines d'exposants, les tournois et les trois cents jeux en libre service, la journée risque de passer très vite. L'événement ayant lieu sur un boulodrome d'un hectare, vous pourrez autant jouer en plein air que sous les tentes aménagées, ce qui est top avouez-le. Et si vous n'êtes pas fan, partez à la découverte d'un univers qui n'attend que vous.Quoi ? • Paris est ludique !, le festival de jeux où l'on joue.Quand ? • Samedi 13 et dimanche 14 juin.  Où ? • Boulodrome ASB12, route des fortifications, Paris 12e. A une minute du métro Porte de Charenton (ligne 8). Paris est Ludique 2015 from junebug on Vimeo.

  « Ménilmontant, mais oui madame, c'est là que j'ai laissé mon cœur, c'est là que j'viens retrouver mon âme... », chantait Charles Trenet, enfant du pays. Une chanson symbole du quartier, un ancien village faubourien qui fleurait bon l'esprit d'artiste et le vin pas cher. Pendant longtemps, Ménilmontant était en effet séparé de la ville par la barrière d'octroi parisienne, ce qui permettait aux tenanciers de ne pas payer de taxes sur l'alcool et donc de régaler les ouvriers, saltimbanques et artisans qui s'aventuraient dans cette banlieue aux airs de campagne, avec ses vignes et ses coteaux. Aujourd'hui, la butte a conservé le charme de son histoire, sans doute grâce à sa situation excentrée et son altitude, qui l'isolent un peu du reste de la ville.9h : Une petite ascension vers le parc de Belleville pour s'ouvrir l'appétit.Une fois sorti du métro Ménilmontant, empruntez la rue Etienne Dolet un peu à l'écart, pour arriver face à l'église Notre-Dame de la Croix. Imposante avec son grand clocher, l'église vaut le coup d'œil, que ce soit depuis son esplanade, à l'intérieur, ou dans le petit square qui la jouxte. Une fois le tour du propriétaire effectué, prenez la rue d'Eupatoria, qui débouche sur une jolie passerelle sautant par-dessus les anciennes voies de la Petite Ceinture. Continuez le long de la rue de la Mare pour rejoindre la place Henri-Krazucki. Ménilmontant fait depuis longtemps partie des réservoirs d'eau de Paris, ce qui explique que le nom d'un certain nombre de