Eat. Watch. Do. — Haunted house roundup, ‘Flying Dutchman’

It’s Thursday, Chicago.

Our team is hard at work preparing for this year’s Holiday Cookie Contest, which launches Monday! Stay tuned for details on how you can submit a recipe, potentially snag one of our cash prizes and join the legion of winning bakers.

This week we have a touching essay from food critic Louisa Chu on the recent shuttering of Seven Treasures in Chinatown. Though the late-night restaurant survived the pandemic, Benjamin Au, who took over the decades-old business from his father, needed to retire.

Since the spookiest month of the year is right around the corner, we’ve also rounded up the region’s biggest frights in our annual haunted house list, and we’ll keep updating it until Halloween. You can check it out here.

Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll see you back here next week.

— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor

Eat. Watch. Do.

Weekly

What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life … now.

Tribune critic Louisa Chu chronicles the story of the now-closed restaurant Seven Treasures. Read what the immigrant-founded business meant to the family who owned it, what the closing says about a changing Chinatown and where its iconic dishes now survive, here.

Critic Nina Metz calls the NBC procedural that debuted this fall “a generic exercise, neither good nor bad but simply there.” Jesse L. Martin plays a behavioral scientist who helps the FBI solve crimes. Read her full review here.

Spooky season has arrived, and it’s time to make those haunted plans before it’s too late. Read our roundup of area frights, including a well-known haunted prison, and the new fully immersive Terror Roulette, here.

“The Flying Dutchman” at the Lyric Opera premiered this week. The Chicago production of Wagner’s 1843 dramatic opera features Polish bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny in the title role. Read Tribune critic Chris Jones’ review of the formidable show here.

Tribune movie critic Michael Phillips calls the concert film “the finest imaginable version of the Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues tour.” Read his review of the recently rereleased film here.

Pasta salad isn’t just for summer picnics. Looking for a recipe that packs a punch? We’ve got you covered, here.

Singer-turned-illustrator-turned-comedian Matteo Lane is returning to Chicago for a sold-out show at the Chicago Theatre Sept. 29. Read about the Arlington Heights-raised performer here.