Eat. Watch. Do. — Soul food fusion, ‘Swing State’ review, plus sweet bakeries in Chicago

It’s Thursday, Chicago.

We have a roundup of Chicago restaurant openings for your reading pleasure this week, a spotlight on Bridgeport’s Kimski, a look into how one Logan Square restaurant has remade itself, as well as reviews of new bakeries from acclaimed Chicago chefs.

We also have plenty of onstage and on-screen reviews for your weekend viewing. “Swing State,” playing now at Goodman Theatre, received a glowing review from Tribune critic Chris Jones. Giordano Dance Chicago is celebrating its 60th season with performances this weekend.

If you want to kick back at home, consider streaming “From Scratch” starring Zoe Saldaña, which Nina Metz reviews, or head out to the movie theater for “Till,” a timely and well-told biopic on the legacy of Emmett Till, with a review from Michael Phillips.

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

— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor

Tribune theater critic Chris Jones calls Chicago playwright Rebecca Gilman’s new play “Swing State” extraordinary. The play centers on working-class characters and explores themes of environmentalism, mental health, the opioid crisis, policing and our collective post-pandemic psyche. “Swing State” is playing now through Nov. 13 at The Goodman Theatre. Read his review here.

Acclaimed Chicago baker Greg Wade of Publican Quality Bread and pastry chef Mindy Segal of Mindy’s Bakery know just what it takes to make our mouths water. Tribune food critic Nick Kindelsperger covers offerings like an “impressive” jambon-beurre baguette and a “stunning” cheesecake honey Danish, in his latest review here.

“Like so many TV series at the moment, ‘From Scratch’ would work better as a movie,” writes Tribune critic Nina Metz. “But even so, there is a cumulative power to it.” The new eight-part Netflix drama stars Zoe Saldaña in a lightly fictionalized adaptation of actor Tembi Locke’s 2019 memoir “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home.” Read her entire review here.

Eat. Watch. Do.

Weekly

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

The SoulFood Lounge opened in North Lawndale’s Dr. King Legacy Apartments on Oct. 5, offering soul food fusion that combines African American soul food with Italian, Mexican and Asian cuisines. Chef Quentin Love recommends trying Louisiana blackened salmon with shrimp scampi, or his Korean rib tips and cavatappi, Tribune food critic Louisa Chu reports. Read about this restaurant and eight more new openings here.

Director Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till” delves into the background of Emmett Till’s lynching, covering a few months from the perspective of Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. “Till” “isn’t perfect, and some of it runs into conventional biopic trappings,” writes Tribune critic Michael Phillips. “But the best of it, in careful, watchful scenes you don’t expect, delves deeply and authentically into human grief and human resolve.” Read his entire review here.

Logan Square’s Flat & Point is no more. Owners Brian and Taylor Bruns believe the new name, Dorothy’s Bistro, will better reflect what they cook at the Alpine-inspired smokehouse. But customers will still be able to order their excellent lasagna, Nick Kindelsperger writes.

“Somewhere, Studs Terkel is smiling,” writes Tribune reporter Chris Borrelli of DePaul University’s Big Shoulders Books effort to gather an oral record of contemporary Chicago life. Its latest project, “Virus City,” accounts slices of Chicagoans’ pandemic experiences. Read the story here.

Bridgeport’s Korean-Polish restaurant Kimski will be testing a series of pop-ups this November as a way to give its chef, Won Kim, a sabbatical. Until late March, five monthly pop-ups will fill the space with a range of cuisines, from Mediterranean to Filipino, while the chef develops new dishes. Read Tribune Food reporter Tatyana Turner’s story here.

Giordano Dance Chicago is celebrating its 60th season this fall, with its fall series “Catch the Light,” at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Read about how the dance company overcame pandemic setbacks and what performances their fall program will highlight here.

Don’t forget about these Midwestern sites for your next RV trip — these state and national parks within a few hours’ driving distance of Chicago are perfect destinations for RV drivers to camp out and explore, from the Dakotas to Ohio.