By Priyanka Rajput By Priyanka Rajput | May 24, 2023 | Lifestyle,
With #SummertimeCHI in sight, these five experiences and destinations have us out on the town this month.
Atelier’s mouthwatering pierogi is prepared with mushroom, crushed potato, cultured cream and blueberry.
DINE
James Beard Award finalist Christian Hunter is bringing his take on seasonal farm-fresh dishes to the table at new Lincoln Square eatery Atelier. The restaurant offers an intimate setup complete with an open kitchen and a rotating menu of plates featuring ingredients that are both inventive and sustainable, and sourced from Midwest farms. Hunter’s culinary style—a mix of new American and global flavors—is reflected in the six-course tasting menu, with dishes like rutabaga pappardelle caesar and a pastrami-spiced, 72-hour short rib. Adding a hint of sweetness are a foie gras crème brûlée, and a chocolate and lemon crepe cookie paired with Thai-inspired chamomile-milk tea infused with fermented tapioca pearls. Hunter enthuses, “[I hope to] shine more attention on local farmers and to expand diversity in fine dining both on the menu and in the kitchen.” 4835 N. Western Ave.
Pritzker Pavilion lights up the night during Grant Park Music Festival performances.
EXPERIENCE
For nearly 90 years, the Grant Park Music Festival has enthralled Chicagoans with performances from world-class artists like pianist Michelle Cann, violinist Rachel Barton Pine and clarinetist Afendi Yusuf. This month, the 10-week classical music concert series returns to Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion with a star-studded lineup, including Grammy Award-winning pianist Joyce Yang, double-bass virtuoso and composer Xavier Foley and Chicago natives violinist Tai Murray and soprano Olivia Boen. Principal conductor and artistic director Carlos Kalmar, who has helmed the festival for 23 years, will also take the stage in a series of much-anticipated programs. “Our festival celebrates the breadth and wonder of music, from the great classics to Broadway to the bravado of a dazzling soloist,” shares Kalmar. “We also have some circus zing with aerialists flying above the stage and music from Carmen. You can’t beat that!” June 14-Aug. 19, 201 E. Randolph St.
Todd Snyder’s new shop debuts just in time for a turn-of-the-season wardrobe refresh.
SHOP
Coveted menswear designer Todd Snyder brings his signature American style to the buzzing Armitage Avenue shopping district in Lincoln Park. The new boutique, on the ground floor of a Victorian-era brick townhouse, boasts a rustic, mid-century-meets-utilitarian-chic aesthetic that mirrors the brand’s ethos. In-store, Todd Snyder’s signature selects include Italian cashmere, U.S.-made denim, alongside a mix of curated pieces from brands such as New Balance, Asics, Alden and more. Personalized services like private shopping appointments, tailoring, alterations and same-day shipping within the city are also on offer. “We’ve spent a lot of time growing Chicago to be our fourth bigg est e-commerce market,” Snyder says. “So when it was time to expand, this was an essential market to plant physical roots.” 815 W. Armitage Ave.
VIEW
In the first major American museum exhibition since 1970 dedicated to Hector Guimard, the architect and designer synonymous with the French Art Nouveau movement, the Driehaus Museum offers a rare glimpse into the creative’s life and work. Guimard, best known for designing Paris Métro’s entrances, is showcased in a new light thanks to Hector Guimard: Art Nouveau to Modernism’s focus on his personal life, entrepreneurial techniques and commitment to making design accessible. Curator David A. Hanks presents approximately 100 pieces of the artist’s most significant works, which include furniture, jewelry, metalwork, ceramics, drawings and textiles from around the world. “The collections of Richard H. Driehaus and the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum hold some of the most significant objects by Hector Guimard in the United States,” Hanks shares. “We are thrilled to unite these objects alongside important loans from national and international collections to reveal new insights into this remarkable designer and his lasting impact.” Through Nov. 5, 40 E. Erie St.
Get a glimpse of Vincent van Gogh’s “The Restaurant Rispal at Asnières” (1887) at the Art Institute.
SEE
Experience the awe-inspiring works of post-impressionist icon Vincent Van Gogh and his peers Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Emile Bernard and Charles Angrand at Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape, now on view at the Art Institute of Chicago. Visitors will be transported to the early days of 19th-century post-impressionism as they explore over 75 works of art from the period. “The pioneering work by Seurat, Signac, Bernard and Angrand in the northwestern suburbs of Paris prompted many artists, including Van Gogh, to rethink the possibilities of painting,” shares Jacquelyn N. Coutré, Eleanor Wood Prince Associate Curator in Painting and Sculpture of Europe at the Art Institute of Chicago. “It was here that [Van Gogh] learned to energize his brushstroke and to see color, both of which are important contributions to his rapid development as an artist.” The exhibit include 25 pieces by Van Gogh, including three triptychs, which will be shown together for the first time, and luminous landscapes such as “Fishing in Spring, the Pont de Clichy (Asnières).” Through Sept. 4, 111 S. Michigan Ave.
Photography by: FROM TOP, PHOTOS BY: NEIL JOHN BURGER; NORMAN TIMONERA; PHOTO COURTESY OF: BRAND; NELSON-ATKINS MEDIA SERVICES, JAMISON MILLER/VINCENT VAN GOGH/THE NELSON-ATKINS MUSEUM OF ART, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, GIFT OF HENRY W. AND MARION H. BLOCH, 2015.13.10; THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO