It’s Thursday, Chicago.
We’re surely savoring these fleeting moments of summer in the city — 90-plus-degree days excluded. No matter if cookouts, family trips or simple relaxation are on your agenda for the long weekend, we’ve got some tips for how to make the most of it.
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If you’re feeding a crowd this weekend and wondering where to pick up the best Polish sausages, Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger has you covered. If you’re planning your next night out, we also have a review of a Logan Square cocktail bar with a new chef who’s shaking things up.
Over in entertainment, fall TV and movie guides from our critics will have you prepped for cozy nights in, and our preview for the Chicago Jazz Festival starting today gets you all the details on the Labor Day weekend tradition.
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Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you next week.
— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor
Chef Fred Chung at Scofflaw, at 3201 W. Armitage Ave. in the Logan Square neighborhood, on Aug. 23, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Korean American chef Fred Chung is making some of the best food in Chicago at Scofflaw, according to Tribune critic Louisa Chu. Read what stunned her at the Logan Square restaurant here.
Clockwise from top left: Nicola Walker in “Annika,” LaKeith Stanfield in “The Changeling,” Joseph Sikora in “Power Book IV: Force” and Sinclair Daniel and Ashleigh Murray in “The Other Black Girl.” (HANDOUT)
The writers’ strike this summer undoubtedly affects the network TV lineup this fall, but that doesn’t mean nothing new will be on the air. Here’s a look at some offerings in the first few weeks of the fall TV season from Tribune critic Nina Metz.
Gerardo Avila moves sausages through a machine to be cut in the packing department at Makowski’s Real Sausage Co. in Bridgeport on Aug. 10, 2023. These Maxwell Street Polish sausages will be going to Portillo’s. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger explores how the sausage gets made — Chicago’s classic Maxwell Polish sausages, that is. Read here to learn which are his top picks, right in time for your next cookout.
Lily Gladstone, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” (Melinda Sue Gordon/Melinda Sue Gordon/Apple TV+/TNS)
The ongoing writers strike has pushed the date of at least one late 2023 premiere, and it’s unknown if studios will kick more titles down the line. Tribune critic Michael Phillips has a list of 10 movies scheduled to release this fall, here.
Saxophonist Chico Freeman performs at Jazz Showcase in Chicago on May 24, 2018. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
Nothing rings in fall weather like smooth jazz. The Labor Day weekend favorite is back, and you can check out the full schedule here.
Chicago magician Dennis Watkins moves his show “Magic Parlour” to the basement of Petterino’s restaurant. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
“The Magic Parlour,” performed for some 15 years at the Palmer House, is moving to Petterino’s. Tribune critic Chris Jones has more on the hit show here.
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Alice Cooper performs at Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre on Oct. 7, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)
Alice Cooper just released “Road,” his 22nd solo album, and plays Tinley Park on Sept. 1. Though Cooper tells Tribune reporter Chris Borrelli that audiences are harder to shock now than ever, he lists here 10 things that may surprise you about Cooper.
A monument of the Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson is seen at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, May 24, 2021. (Dustin Chambers/New York Times)
This week’s 60th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech presented a moment of reflection for Stone Mountain, Georgia native Nneka M. Okona. Read her tips for seeing the most-visited tourist site in Georgia, and its complicated past, here.