Louisa Kung Liu Chu 朱功蕾

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chicagotribune.com/2025/08/05/restaurant-news-cerdito-muerto/?share=uowwcawoimccrt0utbns

Restaurant news: Cerdito Muerto, a cocktail bar and Mexican American kitchen, transforms an old family home in Pilsen Owned by Emidio Oceguera, the space was once his mother’s restaurant, Tacos Palacio, and his late father’s neighborhood pool hall.

Cerdito Muerto, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar with a contemporary Mexican American kitchen that’s transformed an old family home that survived the Great Chicago Fire, opened in Pilsen on June 26.

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chicagotribune.com/2025/07/28/restaurant-review-carnitas-uruapan/?share=r2omabtsgaessns5ni7p

Restaurant review: Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, a flagship for pork in Chicago Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita brings 50 years of tradition and transformation to a flagship committed to the community in Little Village.

Las Carnitas Uruapan La Villita, the newest Mexican restaurant by the first family of pork in Chicago, brings 50 years of tradition and transformation to a flagship committed to the community in Little Village.

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chicagotribune.com/2025/07/14/restaurant-review-mahari-chicago/?share=oeeauaanenw0eiiae277

Restaurant review: Mahari, a neighborhood home with the cuisine of the African diaspora in Hyde Park Mahari brings not just the vibrant cuisines of the African diaspora to Chicago, but chefs tracing their cultures and blazing their own paths.

Mahari brings not just the vibrant cuisines of the African diaspora to Chicago, but chefs tracing their cultures and blazing their own paths.

This place sounds awesome!

Also, never read restaurant reviews when you're already hungry.

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chicagotribune.com/2025/06/30/restaurant-review-void-chicago/?share=ntn5ogmowccwuesowid0

Restaurant review: Void, a whimsical Italian American refuge for the weird and wonderful in Chicago Spaghetti Uh-O’s emerged early as the signature dish since opening in Avondale last August, along with their non-alcoholic No-Lört.

While the Italian American restaurant Void does whimsy well, most evident with its Spaghetti Uh-O’s and No-Lört, it’s become one of the best restaurants in Chicago right now, writes @louisachu.bsky.social.

‘The Bear’ review: With the threat of closure imminent in Season 4, can the restaurant live to cook another day? The ongoing misadventures of Carmy & Co. as they work to sustain a viable fine dining establishment in Chicago.

Bottom line: Season 4 doesn’t feel like a tonal or thematic departure from Season 3 … meaning all the things that viewers liked — and criticized — about S3 are present in S4

That’s 20 eps over 2 seasons. The show’s writers are taking their time! It’s fair to ask if they’ve used it wisely

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The world of "The Bear" is insular, so much so that it has all but forgotten about the vague notion of neighborhood regulars who kept The Beef in business. That it was once a fixture of the community and affordable for anyone.

Carmy has recreated the same toxic workplace conditions he disliked so much at the height of his career before coming back home, and I wish the show had committed to exploring that irony … and the idea that it was worth pursuing over the idea of serving high quality affordable food to da masses

I miss the ragtag, kinetic, blue-collar energy established in the first season, when it was a collection of sweaty, frazzled, oddball personalities banging around in that grease-stained, beef juice-spattered kitchen and trying like hell to figure out a way to work together. Here's how Richie remembers the old place: "At the beef stand? You walked in, and that place was rockin', alright? It was alive and you were part of it and it was a vibe in there." And there was a dark comedy coursing through so much of it. Or as the Tribune's food and dining writer Ahmed Ali Akbar told me last year: The show was originally a story about "Carmy's big head trying to fit itself in that small kitchen and every individual having their own reasons for resisting him. But ultimately, they can't, because he owns the place."

The series has become more of a character study with only occasional nods to plot. S4 is an extension of that and could have been condensed to fit into S3, leaving room for more propulsive storytelling this time

But mostly it had me longing for the qualities that made me love it’s initial outting

‘The Bear’ review: With the threat of closure imminent in Season 4, can the restaurant live to cook another day? The ongoing misadventures of Carmy & Co. as they work to sustain a viable fine dining establishment in Chicago.

REVIEW: “The Bear” is back for Season 4

A digital clock has been placed in the kitchen to count down the minutes over the next two months and if the restaurant’s finances don’t improve by the time it reaches zero, The Bear will close for good. Will the restaurant live to cook another day?

Nina: Let me go off on a quick tangent: One of my critiques of a show like HBO’s “The White Lotus” is that it’s not an effective satire because it has no interest in the experiences and (likely scathing) point of view of the people who do all the manual labor that keeps these five-star resorts in pristine condition. The housekeeping staff see everything (and are tasked with cleaning it) and they are often treated as invisible — or worse. (“The Chambermaid,” which was Mexico’s 2019 Oscar submission, is a great corrective.) To that same end, I was curious about the dishwashers at The Bear. Who are they? What are their stories? Are they new hires or holdovers from The Beef? What do they make of all the shouting in the kitchen? (Maybe they don’t care about any of the drama!) I’m curious about all the facets needed to run a restaurant, so I’m interested in other things beyond the “sexier” work of devising these intricate menus. Do dishwashers ever socialize with kitchen staff, or is there a pretty clear class line dividing them? Where does the waitstaff fall in terms of status at a restaurant like this? Ahmed: I also want to learn more about them! It’s a bit hard to say with any broad generality, but I’d certainly want to know how this particular set of dishwashers relates to the rest of the staff. In my experience, you’d get some of the most interesting stories about restaurants and the industry speaking with dishwashers, cashiers and other behind-the-scenes workers. The show is torn between its interest in workplace dramedy and character study on grief and family. I miss longer seasons of TV where those characters could be breakouts if they had more space.

www.chicagotribune.com/2024/07/02/c...

Column: Class and social status in the kitchen and ‘The Bear’ A Chicago sandwich joint switches to fine dining, but restaurants of all types are an ecosystem where class issues play out. How well — or not — does “The Bear” tackle these themes?

With Season 4 of "The Bear" premiering this week, here's a piece from last year where I talked with my vfood & dining colleagues about the show's depiction of class and status in restaurant kitchens — both @louisachu.bsky.social and @radbrowndads.bsky.social had such great insights!

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chicagotribune.com/2025/05/27/restaurant-news-my-pi-closing/?share=aw0owwc2enmsmnhhte2y

Restaurant news: My Pi closing last pizzeria in Bucktown after 54 years of deep dish Plus the Poperoni in more pizza news, among openings around Chicago, and the closing of CosMc’s in the suburbs.

My Pi, the pizzeria founded on deep dish in Chicago, which once had 17 restaurants across the country, will close its last shop after 54 years next month.

Hamid Azizi walks home with five of his seven children, including Zhra, 10, from left, Surya, 14, Sarah, 7, Roya, 13, and Razma, 12, after picking them up from school in the West Ridge neighborhood Friday, May 2, 2025, in Chicago. Azizi helped clear land mines in his native Afghanistan and assisted U.S. military special forces from 2017 until 2021, when the Taliban regained control of the nation. The family fled to Kabul, then Pakistan and Qatar, finally arriving in the U.S. in April. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The Azizi family, including father Hamid, center left, mother Fahima, right, with their seven children, gather at the dinner table for snacks after school at their new home in the West Ridge neighborhood Friday, May 2, 2025, in Chicago.

Razma Azizi, 12, center, plays with a neighbor child as her sister, Zhra, 10, runs past in a courtyard outside their new home in the West Ridge neighborhood Friday, May 2, 2025, in Chicago.

Razma Azizi, 12, prays alongside her father, Hamid, in the living room of their new home in the West Ridge neighborhood Friday, May 2, 2025, in Chicago. Hamid Azizi helped clear land mines in his native Afghanistan and assisted U.S. military special forces from 2017 until 2021, when the Taliban regained control of the nation. The family fled to Kabul, then Pakistan and Qatar, finally arriving in the U.S. in April.

Story about Afghan family of nine fleeing Taliban rule to make Chicago home

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/17/a...

‘I think it’s here’: Uprooted Afghan family settles in Chicago after being rescued ahead of refugee program suspension Because Hamid Azizi helped U.S. forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban became a threat. After years on the run, his family arrived in Chicago.

Hamid, a former US military ally, and his family have been fleeing Afghanistan since US troops withdrew in 2021. When Trump admin suspended refugee assistance programs, No One Left Behind stepped in before it was too late. They're now resettling in Chicago ❤️

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/05/17/a...

Restaurant review: Funeral Potatoes, magical Midwestern comfort food, at Moonflower cocktail bar in Chicago Thoughtful monthly and weekly food specials, and even a whimsical mystery grilled cheese sandwich, heighten the experience.

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chicagotribune.com/2025/04/22/restaurant-review-funeral-potatoes-midwestern-comfort-food-moonflower-cocktail-bar-chicago/?share=rewmr5lctcaasoitadsw

Restaurant review: Funeral Potatoes, magical Midwestern comfort food, at Moonflower cocktail bar in Chicago Thoughtful monthly and weekly food specials, and even a whimsical mystery grilled cheese sandwich, heighten the experience.

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chicagotribune.com/2025/04/22/restaurant-review-funeral-potatoes-midwestern-comfort-food-moonflower-cocktail-bar-chicago/?share=rewmr5lctcaasoitadsw

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chicagotribune.com/2025/04/22/restaurant-review-funeral-potatoes-midwestern-comfort-food-moonflower-cocktail-bar-chicago/?share=rewmr5lctcaasoitadsw

Restaurant review: Funeral Potatoes, magical Midwestern comfort food, at Moonflower cocktail bar in Chicago Thoughtful monthly and weekly food specials, and even a whimsical mystery grilled cheese sandwich, heighten the experience.

Funeral Potatoes, a magical modern Midwestern comfort food restaurant, has found an idyllic home at Moonflower, an exemplary neighborhood cocktail bar in Portage Park, nestled among the bungalows on the Northwest Side of Chicago, writes Tribune food critic @louisachu.bsky.social.

🎁 Free link here: chicagotribune.com/2025/04/07/restaurant-review-mdakhan-chicago/?share=heoschaghotegwgekwog

Love that someone took middle eastern grilled meats and threw a southern barbecue spin on them -- those look great!

Restaurant review: M’daKhan, Middle Eastern food by way of backyard barbecues in Little Palestine near Chicago The bestselling smoked beef ribs, a pair piled high on a platter, explores the convergence of culinary cultures.

M’daKhan, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Bridgeview, specializes in great halal smoked and grilled meats, inspired by lifetimes of backyard barbecues in Little Palestine.

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Lawmakers have 1 year to appropriate funds, but estimated costs for the first year are $10-$20 million, expected to go down with competitive pricing from vendors. Regardless -- the bill is monumental for inclusivity + halal food infrastructure is already in place in several IL areas

Illinois becomes first state to mandate halal, kosher meals be available in public institutions such as schools With the Faith By Plate Act mandating halal and kosher meals be offered at places such as public schools, Muslim parents are thrilled and hope the state follows proper guidelines around slaughterin…

With the Faith By Plate Act mandating halal and kosher meals be offered at institutions such as public schools, Muslim parents are glad and hope they follow proper guidelines around slaughtering methods.

Sehri scenes at Cafe Bethak in Lombard: Samosa chaat, card games and chai during an early morning in Ramadan You never really know what to expect at a chai cafe open until 4 a.m. on a busier-than-usual street in suburban Lombard during Ramadan.

Then @zareensyed.bsky.social gives us a snapshot of a late night at a new cafe in Lombard, as people gathered during Ramadan for the early morning meal known as suhoor, or as it’s referred to in Urdu, sehri.

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/03/19/r...