When online drama is good for kidson April 21, 2020 at 8:10 pm

With schools in Illinois closed for the remainder of the year, families may be scrambling to find enrichment activities for the quarantine to take the place of their usual extracurricular outings. Several theater companies have either created new family-oriented material or stepped up their existing online roster of classes to address the need.

Chicago Children’s Theatre

“This is really kind of a new world for us,” says Chicago Children’s Theatre cofounder and artistic director Jacqueline Russell. CCT didn’t have any online programming until the shutdown in March. But they quickly ramped up those offerings. “I don’t think we will ever again NOT have online content. I think we’re going to be forever changed by this. And I think that could be a good thing,” says Russell. “We’ve certainly learned a lot from creating and sharing this content. And it is absolutely increasing our reach, I think.”

The initial impulse to take classes and activities online came from pure necessity. Notes Russell, “We already had class sessions that were suddenly cut short. So the first thing we wanted to do was fulfill our obligations to those families. We immediately got our education team trying to figure out how we can put these offerings online and make sure that we’re finishing what we’re starting with these kids, knowing it was going to look a little different. Every family took us up on participating. I think people were happy to have their kids continue to do something that was, quote unquote ‘normal’ and still getting to be with their friends from the theater class.” As it has for most of us, Zoom has become a go-to for keeping the kids and CCT instructors together for classes.

But another goal was to find ways to involve the entire family. CCT quickly unveiled the “Play at Home” video contest, which encourages kids and families to create a short (five minutes or less) play involving “a mythical creature of your choice, an evil villain, AND one of your family members.” The contest is open through May 31, with submissions regularly uploaded to the CCT YouTube channel. “A lot of the kids are creating and directing their parents, which is really fun to watch,” says Russell. “And I think it’s empowering for the children to be creative leaders in their family.”

The YouTube channel also includes content created by CCT artists, including a version of Leo Lionni’s children’s classic Frederick, presented with puppets and a hand-turned “cranky” moving background. (Will Bishop and Grace Needlman designed, built, and performed the show, with music by Nick Davio.) CCT called in a heavy hitter for the narration: Michael Shannon, cofounder of A Red Orchid Theatre and two-time Oscar nominee.

The tale of a field mouse whose imaginative contributions to his family yield surprising results is an appropriate choice for celebrating the importance of storytelling in quarantine, though CCT also produced a full-fledged musical version of Lionni’s story several years ago. Rather than just toss an archival video of that show on their website, CCT decided to reimagine it as an entirely online production.

By taking classes and activities into the virtual realm, Russell points out that there is an opportunity now for CCT and other companies to “level the playing field for so many people in a setting like this. If you have a working parent and you can’t have somebody take you and pick you up after a class somewhere, that’s a barrier. With something like this available to you in your home, you can participate in something that you couldn’t have before.”

For Kilby Inabinet, 7, switching to an online class with CCT has pluses and minuses. Interviewed via e-mail, Inabinet, with the assistance of mother Anna, noted, “We don’t get to play the fun games they have at the CCT. We don’t get to go into classrooms. I miss doing our shows on stage in front of an audience.” However, like many adults, Kilby sees the upside of working remotely. “It was fun to have the class online because we could wear our pajamas and get snacks whenever we want!”

CCT is also continuing its Red Kite program of classes for children with autism online. “That has been kind of blossoming, and we’re just amazed at every session how many kids keep joining us,” says Russell. “A lot of those kids are not necessarily right here in Chicago. So we have this geographic barrier that is broken down.” She also notes that one advantage of the Zoom classes for the Red Kite students is that they can see everyone’s faces at the same time, which is important for students who sometimes have difficulty reading visual cues.

Russell notes that CCT’s recent virtual spring camp sessions included participants as far away as California. “It’s kind of funny. We keep talking about how our mission is to serve the children of Chicago, because we’re Chicago Children’s Theatre. But we’re serving children all over the country now. That is kind of amazing to me and it’s such a positive outcome of this.”

Mudlark Theater Company

Founded in 2005, Evanston-based Mudlark focuses not just on creating work geared for young audiences, but on putting young artists onstage. Executive director Maureen Powers notes that they stage about 12 productions a year. They also offer after-school classes that normally take place at over 20 schools as well as at their headquarters, and provide about 60 summer camps annually. The majority of these programs take place in Evanston and the North Shore, though there are some north-side Chicago schools that participate as well.

Says Powers, “A lot of youth theaters give kids an opportunity to be onstage, and they cram a lot of kids on and everybody gets one line, and there are pretty low production values. That’s kind of what we’ve come to expect from children’s theater. But at Mudlark we raise expectations pretty high for the kids. We have small casts, which is why we do so many shows.”

She adds: “All of our theater is from the youth perspective. It is not necessarily children’s theater. We don’t recommend kids under eight coming to our shows.”

Like CCT, Mudlark pivoted quickly to create online classes. From one of those grew The Mudlark News Network, a half-hour youth version of The Daily Show featuring correspondents reporting “live from various houses and backyards,” with segments featuring sports, science (an interview with the coronavirus, in which it sounds like a certain chief executive as it touts its ratings and all its “fans”), and celebrity interviews. The show utilized a previous Mudlark offering, notes Powers. “We have a class called Costumes and Characters that used to be in person and kids would source from our costume collection, but now it’s online and the kids run around their house and find costume pieces.”

Sisters Alexis and Phoebe Rogers participated in MNN, with Alexis reporting on a kid (Phoebe) who deals with social distancing by refusing to leave her backyard trampoline. They also played a pair of Girl Scouts hoarding cookies. Alexis notes that though the class met through Zoom and received various writing prompts, “we got to improvise and make our own material. And then they turned it into a script which we eventually got to perform.” She adds, “It was an interesting experience to be able to try a new form of media for acting.”

Phoebe notes that one advantage of the online course is that “it’s fast and it’s fun, and then you can move on to a different one,” which is advantageous for those who find their attention spans challenged by the limitations imposed by the quarantine.

And though these online theater activities can be a bonding experience for families, Alexis and Phoebe’s mother, Michelle Rogers, says, “I was really hands-off from a parenting perspective, which was fantastic. I’m a teacher and it can be really difficult to manage your children’s activities and their studies and my own work.” She also noted that the class took the kids away from the current overabundance of screen time required in remote classes by sending them in search of costumes, props, and locations–within the mandates of social distancing, of course.

Filament Theatre

“Everybody’s in a scramble to figure out how to exist and still be relevant,” says Julie Ritchey, artistic director and founder of Portage Park’s Filament Theatre. The company never had an online educational component. “I feel like all of our initial panic was kind of internally driven, staff conversations and artist conversations, and nothing felt right. We were in rehearsals for a show already so we were trying to figure out, how can we pivot that to be something brand new? When we finally took a breath to say ‘What do people need right now?,’ then the panic subsided a little bit and everything became a little bit more clear.”

Filament’s staff consulted with their audiences and their youth advisory council to find out what they thought was needed. “There were three pretty clear categories that came out of that, which were continued interaction in real time, as opposed to just prerecorded video content–some kind of ability to react in real time; materials that can be done at any time in the home, especially for parents who are suddenly homeschooling their kids to find some creative opportunities in the home as well; and then just a way to kind of process feelings around all of this. We got one e-mail in particular from a fourth-grade teacher saying that her students were just really all anxious and uncertain and overwhelmed and needed some space to work through some of that.”

Filament quickly developed online real-time classes, along with a printable tool kit. “Even though it’s a digital resource, hopefully it takes families away from the screen,” says Ritchey. She also notes that the youth advisory council stressed that they missed the structure of the regular classes, as well as seeing their friends.

The activities include the “Lightbulb Lab,” which encourages kids to imagine a post-quarantine future and to connect with older family members who may not be able to visit with them right now in order to gather family histories. “One of our advisory council members said ‘This is a really historic time. What does it feel like to be living during a historic event?’ And then some of the students were like ‘I’m enjoying this. I want to enjoy time with my pets, I want to enjoy the time with my parents’–sort of focusing on the joy and what was just strange but nice about having to break from the regular routine.”

Regardless of when the shutdown lifts, these companies find it hard to imagine that the online components developed in response to it will go away. Ritchey says “Frankly, this is just me personally and artistically, but I have no interest in innovating in the digital space at all. It’s just not where my heart is or where my strengths are.” But she adds, “We’ve kind of been joking internally that we’ve been preparing our audiences for this for 13 years, because the way we’ve always structured our programming and cultivated our audience and the way that we interact with them is that anything is a play, and anything is a theater event. Maybe there are no actors and maybe it’s outside. Maybe it’s for a small group of people at a time. Now it’s just exploring ‘How does a play happen in your home?'”

OTHER THEATER FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES ONLINE

Actors Gymnasium

The Evanston-based circus arts academy offers virtual classes for kids and adults that don’t require a trapeze kit, focused on building physical flexibility and theater games. actorsgymnasium.org

Collaboraction

The company offers “The Prodigy’s Workshop” online each Tuesday at 4 PM, hosted by teaching artists Luis Crespo and J. Nicole Brooks. The aim is to help youth “create content that amplifies their voice and seeks to incite social change.” collaboraction.org

The Second City Training Center

The programs for kids and teens range from one-to-five-day online camps to drop-in classes on improv, sketch writing, and film. Secondcity.com v

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Beer Review: Wild Onion Barrel-Aged Dragoon April 22, 2020 at 4:41 am

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The best Jerry Krause memes in reaction to ‘The Last Dance’on April 22, 2020 at 1:14 am

ChicagoNow Staff Blog

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ChicagoNOW

The best Jerry Krause memes in reaction to ‘The Last Dance’on April 22, 2020 at 1:14 am Read More »

The best of Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot memeson April 21, 2020 at 8:05 pm

ChicagoNow Staff Blog

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ChicagoNOW

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Disappears, White/Light, and Steve Shelley drop a collaboration recorded 11 years agoon April 21, 2020 at 10:10 pm

click to enlarge

In 2012, Gossip Wolf reported on a 2009 supersession involving Chicago cosmic garage band Disappears (at the time singer-guitarist Brian Case, guitarist Jonathan van Herik, bassist Damon Carruesco, and drummer Graeme Gibson), noisy drone duo White/Light (guitarist Matt Clark and electronicist Jeremy Lemos), and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. The resulting recording was tentatively scheduled for release on Shelley’s Vampire Blues label in fall 2012–which turned out to be off by about eight years. This week, Vampire Blues finally dropped the self-titled album, mixed by John Congleton, via Bandcamp. Its double-drummer drone improvisations and thumping space punk a la Spacemen 3 often swing with a heavy dub sound that foreshadows Disappears’ evolution into Facs.

Gossip Wolf last heard from electronic-pop trio Weatherman when they released a charmingly intimate self-titled EP in 2017. Drummer Jason Toth says that two and a half years ago, he and singer-keyboardist Annie Higgins left Chicago for a “tiny medieval village” in France, where they’re “recording and releasing new music under Annie’s name as AM Higgins.” Last week, they dropped the ruminative “Who Can Say?” on Soundcloud–it features former Weatherman bandmate Joshua Dumas on keyboards plus bass and vibraphone from Casey Foubert, who’s recorded with Pedro the Lion and Sufjan Stevens.

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Chicago electronic producer Sam Bik charmed Gossip Wolf last year with his debut 12-inch as Ahero, Ultima Flux, on his own Faceway label–its lively, cinematic sound blends ghostly vaporwave sonics and go-for-broke synth-pop hooks. Since then he’s dropped another Ahero album (February’s Spirit) and used the alias Talk to Me to release relatively straightforward retro-pop songs. On Monday, Talk to Me put out the dazzling full-length Drop Shadows, whose exultant single “Kingdom Come” should be on everybody’s playlists. v

Got a tip? Tweet @Gossip_Wolf or e-mail [email protected].

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The Ashby Ostermann Alliance have a second album after 37 yearson April 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.

My favorite way to discover an obscure Chicago band is to stumble upon a release I hadn’t known existed at a thrift shop or record store, then research the artist–and if I can, I contact them to get the full story. I did all three to learn about uber-musicianly jazz-fusion group the Ashby Ostermann Alliance, whose 1979 demo cassette I found at the Village Discount on Western and Milwaukee. (It’s my most-visited thrift store in the city, since it’s closest to my pad of many years–I’ve missed it during the stay-at-home order!) Upon investigation, I was happy to find that the boys had recently re-formed, cut a reunion album, and put up a website–and I was bemused to hear that they barely recall the existence of this demo.

Keyboardist and horn player Dennis Ostermann was born in Chicago in 1951 and raised in Brookfield and Lombard. The band’s other namesake, guitarist Vince Ashby, was born in Charleston, Illinois, in 1957. Ostermann started on piano at ten, though at that age he was mostly studying French horn, and Ashby began piano lessons at five, switching to guitar at 13. Between them they loved classical music, complex rock (Deep Purple, Brian Auger, Keith Emerson’s bands), and jazz-inflected crossover groups (Return to Forever, the Mahavishnu Orchestra). They met through Ashby’s brother Kevin while Ostermann was attending Eastern Illinois University in Charleston and performing with his group MotherFox. “I remember the first time I met Vince–he had a Sunn Sceptre with a sunburst Les Paul in an old dirty barn pointing west, blowing out decibels that were entertaining to the neighbors two or three miles away,” says Ostermann. “I thought it was going to be something interesting, and it was.”

The Ashby Ostermann Alliance began in 1977 with a jam session in that barn in Charleston that included Ashby, Ostermann, bassist John D’Arco, and drummer Bubba Bryant (who left before the group started gigging). The tunes “Nightstorm” and “Universal Melody” began to take shape there, and late that year Ashby moved to Chicago to pursue the group. Cicero native Jim Massoth, who’d been playing saxophone with pianist Marshall Vente, was also in Ostermann’s group Jazmin, and Ostermann introduced him to Ashby. Musically the band began to jell, but the lineup was still unstable. D’Arco played only a couple gigs before moving on–they had to audition several bassists before finding Indianapolis native J.T. Bromley in late ’78.

Ashby, Ostermann, Massoth, and Bromley became the core of the AOA, which went through drummers the way Spinal Tap went through keyboardists (and drummers, come to think of it). Eventually Ostermann found the bright side in the situation, deciding that the constant turnover “kept things fresh”–he didn’t have much choice, since in their seven-year original run AOA had at least a dozen different drummers (including acclaimed jazzman Paul Wertico, before his 17-year stint in the Pat Metheny Group). Their first proper gig was in a coffeehouse at the College of DuPage, where they shared the bill with Jim Belushi. Early in their history, they also played other universities, including Morton College in Cicero and Trine University in Angola, Indiana, as well as more conventional music venues such as B’Ginnings (in Schaumburg), Kimball Street Bridge Club (in Elgin), and famous Chicago reggae hotspot the Wild Hare & Singing Armadillo Frog Sanctuary. (I’d never known the Wild Hare’s whole handle till now, and it might be the best venue name I’ve ever heard.)

In 1980 the AOA secured management from Diane Daniel, and they started gigging much more frequently, at Chicago clubs (Tuts, Wise Fools Pub, On Broadway, Biddy Mulligan’s) and all over the suburbs and beyond (Harry Hope’s in Cary, the Uprising in Dekalb, Durty Nellie’s in Palatine, the Great Escape in Carbondale, Crows Mill School in Springfield, Charlotte’s Web in Rockford, and many more). The AOA never strayed far from their home base in Chicago, but they pummeled the local college circuit too, playing the likes of Northwestern University, McHenry Junior College, Harper Community College, UIUC, and Northern Illinois University. They got booked twice for ChicagoFest, first in 1981 (Ashby says they almost got cited for inciting a riot when they attempted an encore) and again in ’82 (sharing the bill with Tito Puente). They also hit Summerfest in 1982 and ’83, Waukegan Fest in ’82 and ’83, and the Festival of Lights in Aurora in ’82.

The AOA recorded the 1979 demo at a studio in Lombard whose name they no longer remember, and on December 8, 1980–the day John Lennon was shot and killed–they started sessions for what till recently was their only album. They tracked the self-titled LP (released on their own Divide label, whose name combined letters of Ashby, Ostermann, and Daniel’s first names) in three days for around $1,800 at Hedden West in Schaumburg with legendary producer Iain Burgess. At that point, their drummer was Ty von Jenef, who’s since passed away.

Both the demo I have and the self-titled 1981 LP feature versions of the the spacey, near-psychedelic “Mongol Sunrise” and the complex pieces “Nightstorm” and “Tidebreaker”–which show off Ashby’s sick tone and virtuosic playing and Ostermann’s serious jazz chops. The Windy City had a vibrant jazz-fusion scene in the 70s and early 80s, with the likes of Streetdancer and Proteus (the AOA gigged with the latter, and both have been SHoCM subjects over the years). The Ashby Ostermann Alliance led the pack, in this writer’s opinion, but by 1984 the group were all but done. “Things began to die down, lives change,” says Ostermann. The members soon “decided to pursue other interests.”

Massoth now produces and engineers at Crystall Recorders Studios in Lombard, and he’s still active on the Windy City music scene. Ostermann went on to perform with Juggular, and in 2013 he produced a CD with his band Brailledog in 2013 (Bromley appears on the album, as does present-day AOA drummer Scott Kohler). Currently he’s mostly a church musician and records with his group the Gojo Ensemble. In 1985 Ashby produced an EP called Hollywood Remains, and in 2009 he released the country-rock CD Kinda Sorta Maybe under the name Buck Buick & the Wildcats. In 2016, with the 40th anniversary of the AOA’s formation coming up, he was inspired to get the group back together for a reunion, and after the four original core members recruited Kohler to drum, they recorded new and previously unreleased tunes from their heyday at Ostermann’s studio in Batavia. That material is collected on the 2018 album Unfinished Business, released on the band’s own And Conquer label, the successor to Divide (get it?). The AOA sound like they’ve picked right up where their debut record left off 37 years ago, so this SHoCM tale has a happy ending! v

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Best Ways to Host Unforgettable Virtual Events With Friendson April 20, 2020 at 8:03 pm

Who knew being a hermit was this lonely? When you need to feel the warmth of your community — from a socially safe distance — refer to this finely curated list of events to host or virtually attend with your besties, family, or twice-removed-friends-from-Facebook.

Prior to jumping into any of these fun events, be sure to choose your medium wisely.

FaceTime: You can always use FaceTime for all 32 of your Apple folk to gather around.
Skype: For groups up to 50, Skype is an ideal video chatting service. There’s even screen sharing available!
Google Hangouts: Maybe your group is smaller to the tune of 10 people? You may want to consider Google Hangouts.
Zoom: You’re probably very familiar with Zoom if you’re working from home… (Cue: are you on mute?) Zoom is free for 40-minute increments of video chatting (unless you sign up for a subscription).
HouseParty: Create a room with all of your friends via HouseParty! With an app and a Google Extension, HouseParty is all the rage for all the get-togethers.

Happy Hours

It’s five o’clock somewhere! With alcohol and liquor sales soaring, you’re sure to have something in the fridge for a virtual happy hour with friends. Spice up your virtual happy hour with games — like the Uno app!

Hot Tip: If you’re missing any favorite cocktails from your top restaurants and bars, many of them offer baskets for purchase. See these make-at-home cocktail kits from Three Dots and a Dash, The Whistler, or any from this wide-ranging list!

Recap Clubs (AKA Book Club for Podcasts, Netflix, etc)

Happy Hours may not be your thing — but given the current circumstances, you have most likely consumed a lot of media. From books and podcasts to Netflix and Hulu, you’ve seen it, read it, and heard it all. Make good on all that consumption with a recap club (i.e. a book club that talks about all forms of media — not limited to books!).

Video Games with Discord

Confined with video games? Want to show your skillz while you crush your high scores? Considering that you already have a pretty stacked list of video and online games, step up your gaming with Discord. Discord is the tried and true method for connecting with friends and strangers through the world of online gaming!

Netflix Party

There’s an extension for that! For real, you can download a Google Chrome browser extension to binge-watch popular favorite shows with your friends — from a safe distance! Gather your friends and family to watch any of these Netflix shows — and share your ideas (virtually!).

Hot Tip: for food ideas, be sure to order from any of your favorite local restaurants with pick-up and delivery options!

Musical Concerts

You can agree that cancel-culture has gone way too far. Virtually unite with fans and attend your favorite musicians’ concerts — all in the comfort of your PJs. Although there might not be as many rave bunnies in your kitchen, you’ll be able to enjoy the world of music from your beloved musicians for this quarantine. There are a variety of concurrently updating lists. For more mainstream music, check out Billboard’s site. For indie, folk, jazz, and even orchestra, NPR has been updating their list as well.

Workout Sessions

Nama-stay in your house! Salute the sun and your friends with a workout session. Crush your goals — together — with all the free fitness apps. Blast those glutes and sculpt your shoulders with your favorite instructors and your trusty friends – from a safe distance.

Hot Tip: For those who need a reward for the workout, plan a Happy Hour afterward!

Photo Credit: Google Arts & Culture Facebook

Art and Culture with Google (AKA Museums!)

Night at the Museum — every night! Share your screen with Google’s Art and Culture site (and app!), you’ll be able to explore museums across the globe with your friends (from your bed). Plus, the Art and Culture app from Google is so interactive that you’ll be able to name dinosaurs based on fossils and even identify famous artwork from their respective artists. You’ll be an art critic in no time!

Virtual Game Night

You’ll all win at quarantine with virtual game night. Play Heads Up via HouseParty, trivia via QuizUp, or even card games via PlayingCards with your friends and family. Share some laughs, score some points, and make some memories with virtual competition!

Hot Tip: Cards Against Humanity has a printable family edition of the game (available for free!). Of course, should you prefer the NSFW version, go to this playincards.io site!

Remote Coffee

So you might not know what day it is, much less what time it is; however, if you’re feeling nostalgic for your favorite coffee brews with your best coffee friends, be sure to organize a good ol’ fashioned video chat. And if finding a time to virtually meet is challenging, be sure to use a scheduling app (Doodle, anyone?).

Hot Tip: for those who want to support their local baristas and coffee shops, be sure to order your coffee with pick up from Heritage or free delivery on beans from Intelligentsia!

Share a Meal

With at-home meal kits from your favorite Chicago restaurants, you and your friends can recreate your favorite meals from your beloved restaurants — at home! Select a meal kit for delivery or pick up, turn up your video chat with friends, and break some bread. No fear — brunch is here!

Hot Tip: from Alinea and The Purple Pig to brunch from Homeslice, you’re sure to feel satisfied, connected, and supported.

Don’t let quarantine confine you and your friendships!

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These Michelin-Starred Restaurants Are Offering Takeout and Delivery During Quarantineon April 21, 2020 at 7:47 pm

Two months ago, Chicago kitchens were bustling. However, the city’s shelter-in-place has forced many eateries to reimagine their dining experience. Now you can pick up, curbside, at Michelin-starred restaurants… in your pajamas. So here’s our roundup of top spots offering amazing fare for takeout.

michelin restaurants takeout — Photo Credit: El Ideas Instagram

EL Ideas

For a mere $24, you can indulge in a three-course feast, courtesy of EL Ideas. Each meal includes a potato leek soup as well as their signature french fries and frosty. The chefs offer 3 basic options: a meaty, veggie, or splashy dish. Their menu rotates frequently but items include a traditional French cassoulet stew, a braised celery root and wild mushrooms with white beans cassoulet, or a seafood bouillabaisse. Order directly on their website. Bon appétit!

Entente

Craving something incredible? Entente’s team is, “back in the kitchen, making magic,” which means your taste buds are about to be very happy. With a few clicks on Tock, breakfast lovers can order butter croissants or toasted cinnamon kouign amann, each comes with a bag of Sparrow Coffee for $30-$55. Family meals include chicken tikka masala, southern fried chicken, or jerk chicken for $70 each. Entrees come with generous side dishes and desserts which make for a great value. But if you’re feeling extra, add on caviar and wine.

Alinea

Time to pull out the sweatsuit for this one. Alinea is known for a “fun, emotional, and provocative,” experience which also happens to describe most of our exes. But there’s a good chance you’ll end up in a long-term relationship with food after ordering takeout from here. For $42.50 per person, you can treat yourself to Duck Cassoulet. Or maybe you’re more in the mood for Osso Buco & Risotto alla Milanese for $34.50. Both meals require reheating at home which means some assembly is required.

Acadia

If you haven’t ordered Acadia to-go yet, do yourself a favor and scope out the goods on Toast. They have a nice-sized menu with decent prices like an $18 Stonington Maine lobster roll, a $14 house burger, $22 pappardelle, and more. Michelin-starred offerings at fast-casual prices? Yes, please.

Omakase Yume

Chef SangTae Park has been on the restaurant scene for many years but just nabbed a Michelin star in 2020. His omakase restaurant is offering up a single item: The Chirashi Don. For $55 you’ll get 14 pieces of top quality sashimi over sushi rice with a side of signature miso soup. Place an order by phone (312) 265-1610 or text (630) 464-4204 at least one day in advance.

Temporis

Stuck home with a roommate? Go halfsies on a $70 family meal from Temporis. The hardest part will be choosing between braised beef short ribs with jasmine coconut rice or seared Faroe Island salmon with spring pea risotto. Both dishes include arugula salad and “awe-inspiring” brownies. Tack on $11 brussels sprouts or $24 truffled mac and cheese because, well, there are no rules in quarantine.

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9 Chicago Beauty Shops Helping You Maintain Hair, Skin, and Body Care During Quarantineon April 20, 2020 at 8:55 pm

We know you miss the salon. Luckily, you can play around with pampering yourself thanks to Chicago beauty shops selling their products online. These beauty stores help you maintain your hair, skin, and body during quarantine.

Blo Blow Dry Bar

Invest in your community now, reap the benefits later at Blo Blow Dry Bar.

Shop gift cards online.

Chroma K8

Andersonville’s Chroma K8 is offering gift cards online.

Shop gift cards on their website.

Culture Connection 360

Culture Connection 360 is a one-stop-shop for all holistic self-care. They sell everything from natural body wash, essential oils, tea, and more. We’re doing a lot of chillin’ at home these days and bought a hair wrap to keep our tresses tamed until salons open back up.

Shop online for doorstep delivery.