Eat. Watch. Do. — ‘Are You There God?’ review, plus Food Award winners and Smoque Steak sneak peek

Happy Thursday, Chicago.

We’ve got a lot for you to chew on this week — literally, as our Readers’ Choice Food Awards reveal the best in Chicagoland dining, chosen by readers. From the Best New Restaurant in Beverly on the Far South Side, to the Best Chicago-Style Barbecue in Evanston, it’s a mouthwatering assortment of spots.

At the same time, it’s a big week in entertainment, as the highly anticipated film “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” premieres today and a smattering of new TV shows — “Drops of God,” “Citadel” — launch as well.

And while plant-based cuisine looms large on the Chicago food scene, there’s still plenty to satisfy the carnivores, from food critic Nick Kindelsperger’s latest musings on barbecue, to critic Louisa Chu’s sneak peek at the soon-to-open Smoque Steak, an offshoot of acclaimed Smoque BBQ.

Hungry for more? We’ve just refreshed our guide to all the best places to eat and drink in Chicago — take a look, find something to satiate your appetite, and we’ll see you back here next week.

— Ariel Cheung, food and travel editor

A restaurant inside the former Sears Tower has no business being as delicious as Kindling, writes Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger.

The massive wood-fired oven gets ample play on the meaty menu, and with James Beard Award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer at the helm, there’s lots to love, Kindelsperger says. Check out his latest review here.

Under Kezia Waters’ direction, the cast of “We Are Proud to Present” leans into the most ridiculous bits of comedy and the most gut-wrenching acts of violence.

It’s a great start for the newly relocated Theatre Y, which is also focusing on youth programming and a weekly series called the Monday Night Buzz. Curated by a rotating roster of local artists, programs include karaoke, hip hop, improvisation and community dialogues. Find out more here.

For this year’s Readers’ Choice Food Awards, nearly 9,000 votes poured in from Chicago neighborhoods such as Washington Heights and Logan Square, to suburban Evanston and St. Charles and beyond.

Read on to learn about our dozen winning restaurants, bars, diners, virtual kitchens and pop-ups. Want more favorites? Check out our Critics’ Choice winners from last month. You can also find all the winners since the start of our annual contest in 2011 in our searchable map.

Judy Blume’s 1970 novel threw millions of real-life Margarets a lifeline over several generations. It remains, in some parts of our world, a banned and controversial book.

In the newly released film version, the depth of feeling isn’t what you find in most commercial movies, certainly not most coming-of-age films — and that’s part of what makes the movie such a success, writes Tribune critic Michael Phillips. Read more in his full review here.

When widely acclaimed Smoque BBQ broke the news about Smoque Steak in April 2022, what immediately became one of the most anticipated new restaurants in Chicago was scheduled to open six months later, writes Tribune critic Louisa Chu.

A full year later, carnivorous fans still wait for what owner Barry Sorkin described as a different kind of steakhouse in the Avondale neighborhood. Here’s what else Sorkin had to say — and what Chu thought about her first taste of what Smoque Steak has to offer.

Chicago’s own Chance the Rapper announced a big hometown concert in August: The Acid Rap Ten Year Anniversary Show.

The concert will celebrate his 2013 mixtape “Acid Rap,” the Billboard-charting, 14-track mix that catapulted him to rap stardom. Get full details here.

Lately, Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger has been pondering if Chicago is on the cusp of becoming the next national barbecue hot spot.

We have the talent. We have the unique regional style and the new-school disrupters. The one big thing standing in the way, he says? City food codes. Here’s what some of the most cutting-edge pitmasters in Chicagoland had to say.

Next year will mark a half-century since Lake Geneva’s Gary Gygax and co-developer Dave Arneson debuted a radical new form of tabletop gaming, one that did away with a traditional board and relied on storytelling, a set of dice and a player’s imagination.

In subsequent decades, Dungeons & Dragons’ popularity gave the fantasy genre new life, influencing video game designers, artists, authors, costume makers and generations of Hollywood producers. Read more about how the cultural linchpin got its start just north of Illinois.

Part high-stakes competition, part family drama, “Drops of God” takes place in France and Japan, with a brief sojourn to Italy.

Both Camille (Fleur Geffrier) and Issei (Tomohisa Yamashita) have been named in the will of the French wine aficionado Alexandre Leger (Stanley Weber), who was renowned for his annual guide ranking the world’s best wines. What happens next, writes Tribune critic Nina Metz, “grows into a lively and emotionally engrossing story by the end.”

“With the Pink Ladies making a TV renaissance and all the sorrow surrounding the death of Olivia Newton-John, ‘Grease’ is the rare musical that feels like it never will fully drop out of the consciousness of the moment,” writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones.

Here are his thoughts on the latest Chicagoland production, playing in Oakbrook Terrace through June 4.

Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.