Man of Steel destroys Chicago, rural Illinois on the big screen
Warning: This post contains spoilers to the plot of Man of Steel.
What is it about Chicago that makes it so attractive to filmmakers bent on destruction? Is it the location, nestled in the unassuming, generically American Midwest? All those gleaming skyscrapers just begging to be smashed by extraterrestrials? Or is it simply the sweet tax credit producers get for filming here?
During one of the many fight sequences in Man of Steel, the highly anticipated (and high-octane) Superman reboot in theaters June 14, our chiseled hero is thrown through the glass roof of Chicago's Union Station. In his spandex-meets-chainmail suit and blood-red cape, Henry Cavill's Superman plummets to the floor of the train hub's magnificent Great Hall, which on a normal afternoon is quiet, save the whispers of a docent leading an architectural tour.
What to see at Printers Row Lit Fest: Saturday
Author Julia Sweeney
I wish my 10-year-old self could accompany my adult self to the Printers Row Lit Fest this weekend. That was the age I stole a copy of Judy Blume's Just as Long as We're Together from my fourth-grade classroom, read and reread it until I could quote certain lines ("I broke off a sprig of forsythia and rang Alison's bell") and decided I wanted to be a writer because of it. Well, that and Bridge to Terabithia and everything by Roald Dahl.
Ms. Blume is a special guest at this year's bookstravaganza, conversing with journalist Julia Keller on Sunday at 2pm at Harold Washington Library. (BYO inner child.) There's a lot of notable talent at this year's festival, in fact, and a slew of great literary events—from readings to panels to a more-elaborate-than-a-spelling-bee vocab quiz: "The American Heritage Dictionary Define-a-thon" (Sunday at 3:15pm on the Center Stage). When not browsing new and used books or waiting in line at Pockets, check out these events:
Saturday
The 90-Second Newbery Film Festival
Author James Kennedy hosts this screening, featuring the winners of the film fest he founded, in which kids make 90-second movies telling the entire story of a Newbery Award–winning book. 10:30am at Jones College Prep Auditorium.
Doughnut Day | The ultimate doughnut mixtape
I don't think we were ready for that jelly. I now know why donut must be spelled with an "ugh" in the middle. Doughnut Day has reached its official sugar crash phase. We have stumbled out to purchase salads and now return to our desks wondering how to make it through without napping. Music always helps. Wu-Tang Clan totally helps. So here is a mix of cream, sugar, frosting and dough jams.
MORE DOUGHNUTS
Taste test: Dunkin' Donuts doughnut breakfast sandwich
Is it doughnut or donut? The experts weigh in.
Donuts in the movies (you just have to read the post)
Where to find doughnuts at Chicago restaurants
Give Chicago a freaking Tim Horton's already!
Is it a doughnut? We ask this question to 15 similar pastries.
The zaniest doughnut-related products on the internet
Doughnut Day | Donuts in the movies
Donuts figure prominently in movie history—more so than you probably realized. We rounded up some classic examples. Let us know in the comments if there are any holes in our list.
MORE DOUGHNUTS
Taste test: Dunkin' Donuts doughnut breakfast sandwich
The zaniest doughnut-related products on the internet
Is it doughnut or donut? The experts weigh in.
Where to find doughnuts at Chicago restaurants
Give Chicago a freaking Tim Horton's already!
Is it a doughnut? We ask this question to 15 related pastries.
Doughnut or donut? We ask the experts.
Glazed and Infused
As we geared up for Doughnut Day, a.k.a. Donut Day, a.k.a. the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, we here at TOC HQ faced a conundrum: How do we refer to our fave fried dough meal? (Whoops, we mean "treat.")
D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T or D-O-N-U-T?
Staffers began to take sides, arguing for the traditional spelling (the inclusion of "dough"), or else the more casual spelling (sans the "ugh"). I found myself researching "doughnut etymology" [Entenmannsology? Sorry.—BD], one of the cooler Google searches I've done lately, and found out some revealing facts:
- The entry for doughnut on etymonline.com: 1809, American English, from dough + nut. First recorded by Washington Irving, who described them as "balls of sweetened dough, fried in hog's fat, and called doughnuts, or olykoeks." Meaning "a driving in tight circles" is U.S. slang, 1981.
- The entry for donut on etymonline.com: see doughnut.
Thus, it seems the traditional spelling is preferred. Then again, why should we let Douglas Harper from Lancaster, P.A., editor of etymoline.com, have the final word? To settle the matter once and for all, I consulted two well-respected Chicago-based copy editors:
Carol Fisher Saller (senior manuscript editor at the University of Chicago Press and author of The Subversive Copy Editor): "I'm sure you couldn't possibly have known that next to pizza, donuts are my favorite food. (Oh—maybe that's why you picked me to ask?) Anyway, as you can see from the previous sentence, I favor 'donut,' because it's easier to type, but if I were editing something, I'd go with our house dictionary, Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate, which calls 'donut' a variant of 'doughnut.' Either way, it's important to remember that cake donuts are superior to raised!"
Rebecca Maughan (freelance copy editor and former copy chief at Time Out Chicago): "I have had *three* doughnuts already today, so take my word for it: It's spelled 'dough' because it's got dough in it. Dunkin' Donuts may choose its brand name because it's clever and short, but that doesn't dictate how all Americans should spell the word. There's a product called Weed B Gon too, but we don't change the spelling of 'gone' because of it."
So there you have it. It's settled. Oh wait, it's not settled at all. (But neither is my stomach after consuming three old-fashioneds, two glazed and a fritter. YOLO!)
MORE DOUGHNUTS
Taste test: Dunkin' Donuts doughnut breakfast sandwich
Is it a doughnut? We ask this question to 15 similar pastries.
The zaniest doughnut-related products on the internet
Donuts in the movies (you just have to read the post)
Where to find doughnuts at Chicago restaurants
Give Chicago a freaking Tim Horton's already!
Doughnut Day playlist: the ultimate doughnut mixtape
Doughnut Day | 15 non-doughnut places to get doughnuts in Chicago
The doughnuts at Mindy's Hot Chocolate
Atwood Café (1 W Washington St, 312-368-1900) The doughnuts here are rolled in cinnamon and sugar, then covered in a root beer glaze and sprinkled with chunks of bacon. Atwood serves doughnuts with raspberry jam at brunch, and the bacon-root beer version at lunch and dinner.
BellyQ (1400 W Randolph St, 312-563-1010) Since August of last year, BellyQ has been serving its Vietnamese cinnamon donuts with huckleberry jam and vanilla soft serve. The chefs make a Chinese-style bun (bao), fry it and then sprinkle the pastry with cinnamon. Served at lunch and dinner.
The Bristol (2152 N Damen Ave, 773-862-5555) As the seasons change, so do the doughnuts at the Bristol. During the spring and summer, you can enjoy a freshly made strawberry and rhubarb doughnut. The fall and winter brings cinnamon and sugar doughnuts served with apple butter. Served during brunch only.
Doughnut Day: Put a doughnut on it
I don't know anyone who loves doughnuts more than our Food & Drink editor Julia Kramer, so when I stumbled upon a doughnut sweatshirt I jokingly sent her the link. She, of course, actually liked the sweatshirt. As we were gearing up for Doughnut Day, I happened upon a pair of doughnut shoes, which I also sent Julia's way. And then I started to discover that there's really no limit to the ridiculous things people will put doughnuts on, including shirts and pillows and aprons and nail art (see below for evidence). Thankfully, all of these items can be found and purchased on the Internet for Julia and other doughnut-lovers.
MORE DOUGHNUTS
Taste test: Dunkin' Donuts doughnut breakfast sandwich
Is it doughnut or donut? The experts weigh in.
Donuts in the movies (you just have to read the post)
Where to find doughnuts at Chicago restaurants
Give Chicago a freaking Tim Horton's already!
Is it a doughnut? We ask this question to 15 similar pastries.
Doughnut Day playlist: the ultimate doughnut mixtape
Doughnut Day | Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich
Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts
LP: Are we going to lose credibility because Dunkin' Donuts was out of glazed doughnuts and gave us bacon and egg on a plain one instead?
BD: I think we're going to gain credibility. We went off menu. I only wish we had made it more Xtreme (or Flavor Blasted, if you will) with a chocolate glazed or jelly donut.
JM: Is this frankensteined sammy really all that extreme? Bacon is on all the artisanal doughnuts. And they've actually taken a doughnut and enriched it, adding much-needed protein in the form of eggs and bacon.
LP: Granted, it would be "healthier" to get the egg whites and turkey sausage, but that's like saying smoking American Spirits is "healthier" than Marlboro Reds.
BD: The only wonder is that it took this long for Dunkin' to make this. It's not that far off from their other sandwiches. In a world of Doritos Locos Tacos and Double Downs, is this really that crazy?
JM: So on first bite, it's not really exceptional in any way, bad or good. There's a decent sweet-salty thing happening. A cake doughnut is a good substitute for bread, but don't tell your doctor that.
LP: I'm actually surprised how innocuous this is. In fact—as a connoisseur of the Dunkin' Donuts Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich, a.k.a. a #5—I welcome this departure from a super chewy, kinda dry bagel.
BD: I was pleasantly surprised to really taste the egg, and is that a hint of cracked pepper I detect? But anyway, they really need to change their slogan from "America Runs on Dunkin'." Nobody is jogging around the block after eating this mess.
LP: Maybe "American Ambles Slowly on Dunkin' (With Labored Breath)"? Speaking of slow, this reminds me of when Paula Deen popped 'ludes and made a burger with two doughnuts in lieu of buns.
BD: There is a Baskin Robbins in the same space. You know, we could ask for a scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip on top.
MORE DOUGHNUTS
Is it a doughnut? We ask this question to 15 similar pastries.
The zaniest doughnut-related products on the internet
Is it doughnut or donut? The experts weigh in.
Donuts in the movies (you just have to read the post)
Where to find doughnuts at Chicago restaurants
Give Chicago a freaking Tim Horton's already!
Two not-to-be-missed cookbook events
Tonight: Adam Rapoport (Bon Appétit)
Whether you're a grilling novice or spend your summer perfecting techniques you saw on BBQ U, you'll learn something from Bon Appétit's new cookbook, The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide. Rapoport, the magazine's editor, is grilled (heh heh) by Daniel Gerzina, editor of Eater Chicago, as appetizers and cocktails from the new cookbook are made available for purchase. Plus, if you haven't yet been to Parson's, it's time to get on that. Parson's Chicken & Fish, 7pm.
Sunday: Rohan Anderson
Sometimes readings can be mind-numbingly boring. You find your attention drifting elsewhere, your eyes fixed on the clock. If only something interesting would happen, you think…like someone skinning a rabbit. That's what's going down at Rohan Anderson's very unboring reading for Whole Larder Love, a cookbook/how-to guide that covers setting up a home garden, hunting and fishing, identifying and collecting edible food growing in the wild and preparing said food. Anderson is an Australian hunter-gatherer, fisherman and cookbook author who lives in an 1800s gold rush town. Plus, he has a beard, so in other words: LEGIT. He reads from and signs the book at City Lit Books at 2pm, skins the aforementioned rabbit at OSB (Longman & Eagle's off-site bar) at 4pm and is the guest of honor at a dinner at Nellcôte in the evening. (Tickets for dinner available through eventbrite.com.) City Lit Books, 2pm. OSB, 4pm.
5 things to do today: Friday, June 7
Chicago Dance Crash performs The Cotton Mouth Club.
AROUND TOWN
Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers: CLLAW XVI Histrionics trump forearm strength as Lumberjack Jill, Anne Hackaway, Bust Your Tooth Bluth and other women go Over the Top in the night's staged bouts. If you think the ladies' names are a hoot, wait until you see their costumes. The event is a benefit for Sideshow Theatre Company and Community Counseling Centers of Chicago. Logan Square Auditorium. 10:30pm. $10.
BOOKS
Adam Rapoport (Bon Appétit) at Parson's The editor in chief of Bon Appétit signs copies of the magazine's new grilling cookbook, The Grilling Book: The Definitive Guide, at Parson's Chicken & Fish. Daniel Gerzina, editor of Eater Chicago, moderates a conversation, and appetizers and cocktails from the new cookbook will be available for purchase. Parson's Chicken & Fish. 6:30pm.
