Julia Thiel
Chicago Reader
Chicago, IL, United States
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Past articles by Julia:
It’s been scientifically proven: Plants really do make you feel better.
The Chicago Botanic Garden is one of several local organizations that encourages horticultural therapy. → Read More
The new doc F*** Your Hair tells the story of 5 Rabbit Cervecería's inadvertent Trump protest
When you're stuck with 50 kegs of ale slated for Trump Tower and then Donald insults Mexican immigrants, what do you do? → Read More
The Cocktail Challenge hall of fame
Throughout the long run of Cocktail Challenge we've been continually impressed by the ingenuity of the bartenders who, challenged to create a cocktail with ingredients that have no place in a decent drink, come up with something clever, beautiful, and often even delicious. → Read More
A fond farewell to geoducks and other memorable Key Ingredients
Goodbye natto, and balut, and durian. → Read More
Momotaro chef Mark Hellyar deconstructs the tuna hoagie
Challenged to create a dish with canned tuna, Hellyar includes both the high-end fresh fish he's accustomed to working with at Momotaro and—well, canned tuna. → Read More
Take a chill ride to northwest Indiana—and its two-dozen breweries
A 20-mile ride takes you to plenty of refreshment—and you can take the train back. → Read More
How a mead that hasn’t yet hit the market exploded in popularity
Northwest Indiana's Boneflower Mead hasn't yet sold a single bottle of mead—but the company already has a dedicated following. → Read More
Gas station pork rinds and scotch? Watch this week’s Cocktail Challenge
Bartender Carley Gaskin uses the snack to make an almost-classic old-fashioned. → Read More
The City Museum in Saint Louis will do anything—even risk eternal damnation—to build its Louis Sullivan collection
The Chicago School is alive and well—300 miles south of the city. → Read More
In Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out, the Trib's Josh Noel outlines how Goose Island's sale led to battle lines being drawn in the brewing industry
Goose Island was the first craft brewery to sell out to Anheuser-Busch—which triggered a landslide of similar sales over the past seven years that has called into question what defines craft beer. → Read More
Jimmy Papadopoulos of Bellemore poaches fish in the world's most expensive edible oil
Challenged to create a dish with argan oil—better known as a hair and skin care product than a cooking ingredient—chef Jimmy Papadopoulos tries to subdue the pungent oil. → Read More
Chicago Craft Beer Week is no more; all hail Illinois Craft Beer Week
Illinois Craft Beer Week features a new festival, plus it's short and sweet this year at only one week long. → Read More
The new Chicago Style cocktail conference emphasizes thinking as much as drinking
Chicago Style, a cocktail conference taking place from May 7th to 10th at the Ace Hotel, hopes to start a conversation about long-overlooked issues in the beverage industry. → Read More
Getting ‘Graphic!’ at the Chicago Humanities Festival
"Graphic Novels and Identity" Sat 4/28, 1 PM, Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan, chicagohumanities.org, $20, $15 members, $10 students and teachers. T hi Bui was just three years old when her family escaped Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975, but her graphic memoir The Best We Could Do delves deep into the history of the war that divided her home country, often from the perspective of… → Read More
Dried scallops the key ingredient in chef C.J. Jacobson's 'Mediterranean XO sauce' [VIDEO]
The chef of Ema restaurant sticks to Chinese tradition but adds a Mediterranean flair in this week's challenge. → Read More
How a warehouse foul-up led to Fortuitous Union, a high-end rum-whiskey blend
Turner Wathen and Jordan Morris created Rolling Fork Spirits to import the purest rums to the U.S., but their plans went awry when rye whiskey unexpectedly entered the picture. → Read More
Watch a bartender turn a perfect pairing—queso dip with a michelada—into a cocktail
Challenged to create a cocktail with Lonesome Rose queso dip, bartender Elizabeth Mickiewicz of EZ Inn dehydrates it to rim a savory drink. → Read More
A speakeasy at a chocolate factory? What's not to love about Ethereal Confections?
A bean-to-bar chocolate company and confectionery is expanding for the fourth time in seven years, and owners Sara Miller and Mary and Michael Ervin have big plans for the new space. → Read More
The 20,000-word article on bees that would forever define the Reader
A 1977 article on beekeeping by Reader editor Michael Lenehan set a precedent for long-form storytelling in the paper. → Read More
Chicago is one of the most difficult places in the country to operate a food truck, a new study shows
Chicago ranks 13th in the U.S. for friendliness to food trucks and is the second-most expensive city in the nation for food truck fees, according to "Food Truck Nation," a comprehensive study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. → Read More