Latest news with #Artur
Eater
4 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Sample Ukrainian Pastries and Chicken Kyiv at This Stunning Sequel
Since it opened in January 2024, Lincoln Park's Soloway Coffee has maintained its long lines out the door even more than a year later. Artur and Iryna Yuzvik, the Ukrainian couple behind the stylish corner cafe, aren't strangers to thoughtfully crafting caffeine-centric concepts and the culture around it. They've opened two Karma Coffee cafes in their hometown of Ternopil, Ukraine. Soloway Coffee Roastery followed in 2016, becoming the first roastery in Ukraine to receive permission to export coffee to the U.S. On Wednesday, June 4 at 10 a.m., the couple will grow their community with the opening of Abrah just a few steps away at 2269 N. Lincoln Avenue. While coffee is the star at Soloway, at Abrah it's bread and pastries. The all-day bakery and bistro features a different menu of coffee drinks, baked goods, and more complex dishes for brunch and dinner. Like at Soloway — a term of endearment and sign of spring, meaning 'nightingale' in Ukrainian — Abrah's kitchen doesn't feature any prominent chefs. The couple recently hosted a four-day master class for their staff led by celebrated French pastry chef Romain Dufour. 'We have a good team, and we train them, so the end result behind everything is due to the teamwork,' Artur says. Adds Iryna in Ukrainian, which Artur translates into English: 'There's not a single dish or pastry that isn't our vision and matches our lifestyle philosophy. We want to make sure that people feel there is a personal touch to every project we do.' Abrah is divided into two spaces. One features freshly baked breads and to-go pastries, including creme brulee danish, seasonal berry-filled laminated pastry, and classic plain croissants. On the savory side, there's kimchi danish and puff pastry topped with roasted vegetables, bacon, and mashed sweet potato. For the streamlined coffee program, they have collaborated with the Soloway roastery team in Ternopil to create a 100 percent arabica custom blend with hints of peach yogurt, blueberry, and linden honey. Tea options are from Chicago's Spirit Tea. The couple also plans on adding a small retail section with items made on premises and unique imports. An intimate dining room open for breakfast, brunch, and dinner, with seating for 24 guests, occupies the other side, with an open kitchen dominating the space. For the menu, the couple found inspiration from France, Scandinavia, and Ukraine with American touches as well. 'We've been here for two years in Chicago, and we've noticed what are the local favorites,' says Artur. But they will be open to feedback. 'We will listen to our guests to make sure that they find what they're looking for.' 'We'll try to surprise our guests with unexpected flavors,' says Iryna, adding that the goal will be to present the ingredients in a way that best showcases them. Menu dishes include a Kyiv-style chicken cutlet, which is filled with dill butter. It's served atop parsnip puree and finished with pickled onions. Charred romaine and garlicky baby potatoes tossed in smoked paprika and butter sauce accompany a grilled skirt steak paired with a peppercorn sauce. Gombovci, a classic dish from Western Ukraine, features tender dumplings made from fresh farmer's cheese, flour, and eggs. They're filled with ripe cherries and include a coating of breadcrumbs, which adds a delicate crunch. They're garnished with a rich sour cream sauce, seasonal fruit, and cherry jam. The concise wine list features natural wines, including pét nats. For brunch, the cocktail offerings focus on aperitif-style drinks, while in the evening, there are espresso martinis and whiskey sours along with other classics. The interior design of Abrah features many custom elements, including charming food images hand-drawn by Iryna on white tiles on one wall. Lime-wash paint with delicate warm undertones helps create a calming atmosphere. Above the pass of the open kitchen, light blue and white patterned tiles add a vintage touch. A small patio is planned for the middle of the summer. For the name of their second venture in Chicago, the couple looked close to their new home. 'We wanted to play a bit with Abraham Lincoln as this is Lincoln Park,' says Iryna. 'We decided to give some respect for the street and area that accepted us as strangers and made us feel very welcome.' Tour the space before Wednesday's opening below. Abrah , 2269 N. Lincoln Avenue, opening on Wednesday, June 4; opening hours will be 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday.
Irish Examiner
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Renowned diver involved in Thai cave rescue smashes record for Ireland's deepest dive
He was involved in one of the most famous rescue missions the world has ever seen. Now, almost seven years on, Jim Warny — who formed part of the team that saved the lives of 12 boys and their football coach after they became trapped in a flooded cave in North Thailand — has achieved another incredible feat. The renowned cave diver made history a little closer to home this time after smashing the record for Ireland's deepest cave dive. Based in Ennis, Co Clare, Jim went head first into the challenge, completing a number of practice dives before the big event last month. The electrical engineer reached depths of 120m during his cave dive of Pollatoomary, in the Partry Mountains near Killavally, Westport, Co Mayo. Jim's wife Ammy was waiting for him after he surfaced from the record-breaking dive. The couple met during a promotional stint in Thailand for the film The Cave, in which Jim plays himself. Jim worked with Thai-Irish director Tom Waller on the project as well as others from the mission. The film depicts the events that unfolded in the summer of 2018 after a junior football team became trapped for 15 days in Tham Luang Nang Non cave system. The boys and their coach were trapped underground after unexpected heavy rainfall blocked their exit. However all were saved when a team of international divers and experts executed a daring rescue mission, though a Thai Navy Seal diver sadly lost his life. The location of Jim's most recent dive in Pollatoomary has been close to his heart for a number of years now. In a sense, he was taking care of some unfinished business for his friend Artur Koslowski, who had broken a record there back in 2008 before dying in an unrelated diving accident three years later. Artur Kozlowski braved depths of 103m in Pollatoomary, making it the record for the deepest cave dive in Ireland at the time. The rescue mission to save 12 boys and their soccer coach from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in June Jim had the heartbreaking task of recovering Artur's body after he lost his life in a cave dive of the Gort lowlands back in 2011. 'There are a lot of risks involved and sometimes bad things happen,' Jim told the Irish Examiner. 'It was good to give the family closure but it was a hard thing to do as well. I do a lot of my diving in Gort because it's close to Ennis, where I live. The evening Artur went missing I went on a dive to see if I could locate him but I never found him. "I went again the following morning but I was able to locate him this time. Rick, Jason and John, who are divers from the UK, came over that evening. It took five days — two dives a day — to progressively bring his body closer to the cave entrance. His body was located a kilometre inside the cave system.' Jim said his pastime, about which he is passionate, has also helped him to save lives. 'Dives like the one in Thailand and finding the body of Artur are memorable. They take a lot of digesting and recovering from mentally but they also affirm your skills, training and ability to cope. Before I went to Thailand, some of my friends and neighbours who weren't involved in cave diving viewed it as a pointless undertaking. They questioned why anyone would go down a dark watery hole for fun. At least this time I was able to show people that my crazy skills worked for something in life. Jim explains the background and preparation involved in his record-breaking dive. 'I didn't plan on doing it so quickly since it was only the beginning of the season. During the winter, there is no cave diving because the water levels are too high. These are basically underground rivers and the flow would be too strong to swim against. "You have to wait for three or four weeks of very dry weather to be able to dive in the caves so at the beginning of the season it's always smaller dives or preparation dives. I did those on St Patrick's Weekend and managed to progress deeper and deeper for those two weeks. "I didn't plan on breaking the record there and then. However, everything was going well and I had the equipment so I decided to go further. "It's amazing to come back from these dives and feel the accomplishment of exploring such depths. The visual memories aren't there. It's not really a scenic thing because you are just surrounded by brown water. However, you always remember the feelings.' Research is one of the most important motivations behind Jim's expeditions. 'The exploration is not so much about the record but to find out what's around the other corner. That, for me, is the main draw. During the Pollatoomary dive, I found the cave doesn't go any deeper anymore. It continues horizontally, which is a good thing because it means I won't have to go any deeper if I go back. "It's still quite an undertaking to go where I went but even if you dive in a known part you'll always find something you didn't see on previous dives. The boys after their dramatic rescue. The children were the true heroes of the story, Jim says. Picture:"One of the most memorable discoveries I made was making the connection between two cave systems near Kinvara in Galway. The most fascinating thing for me is when I go into unknown parts of caves that nobody has seen before. No other people have been in places where I have been able to go and that gives me a special feeling.' He stressed how important it is to be able to switch off during expeditions. In the case of the kids trapped in the cave in Thailand I just had to block out the outside world and really focus on the task at hand. As a diver it's really important to be able to compartmentalise. Jim even underwent a heart operation to improve his diving. 'I had a heart operation to help me continue diving deeper last summer. Human beings have a hole in their hearts between the two cavities because when they are in the womb they don't need to use their lungs. For the majority of people, this closes as they get older. "However, for 25% of people it doesn't fully close. This isn't a problem in normal everyday life but when you're diving and gases dissolve into your bloodstream it can be a problem. This is because when you come up to offload these gases, they don't go through your lungs as efficiently. The doctors went into the main artery with a catheter and deployed an implant to plug this hole. Luckily, they were successful.' Jim said he believed fear is a necessary component of a successful dive. If I wasn't afraid I would be fearless and I wouldn't be able to mind myself. Everybody has fear so I'm just like any other normal human being. The only difference is that I'm trained to deal with that fear. "What we do as divers is visualise the dive ahead or the mission and we plan around it. Those fears and concerns all feed into the dive plan. We have a response to every concern and every form of fear. Running out of oxygen is your first concern as a diver. That's why when you see a diver they will always have two tanks on their back or on their side. "Life is all about overcoming fears. You don't need to ignore them. What you can do is channel them into something positive. When you do something without fear you are not as careful as when you are scared.' He acknowledged the fearlessness of the children he helped saved in Thailand, saying it was their resilience that kept them alive. 'The diving wasn't threatening or stressful. There was risk involved for us but it was more of a risk for the children, some of whom couldn't even swim. Those children stuck together for 18 days. All they had was each other so for me they were the true heroes of the story. It's hard to believe they are all men now, but they will always be an inspiration.' Read More Sound of the underground: Curiosity pushes cavers onwards despite risks
Irish Examiner
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'Why would anyone go down a dark watery hole for fun?' From a daring Thai cave rescue to smashing Ireland's deep cave record
He was involved in one of the most famous rescue missions the world has ever seen. Now, almost seven years on, Jim Warny — who formed part of the team that saved the lives of 12 boys and their football coach after they became trapped in a flooded cave in North Thailand — has achieved another incredible feat. The renowned cave diver made history a little closer to home this time after smashing the record for Ireland's deepest cave dive. Based in Ennis, Co Clare, Jim went head first into the challenge, completing a number of practice dives before the big event last month. The electrical engineer reached depths of 120m during his cave dive of Pollatoomary, in the Partry Mountains near Killavally, Westport, Co Mayo. Jim's wife Ammy was waiting for him after he surfaced from the record-breaking dive. The couple met during a promotional stint in Thailand for the film The Cave, in which Jim plays himself. Jim worked with Thai-Irish director Tom Waller on the project as well as others from the mission. The film depicts the events that unfolded in the summer of 2018 after a junior football team became trapped for 15 days in Tham Luang Nang Non cave system. The boys and their coach were trapped underground after unexpected heavy rainfall blocked their exit. However all were saved when a team of international divers and experts executed a daring rescue mission, though a Thai Navy Seal diver sadly lost his life. The location of Jim's most recent dive in Pollatoomary has been close to his heart for a number of years now. In a sense, he was taking care of some unfinished business for his friend Artur Koslowski, who had broken a record there back in 2008 before dying in an unrelated diving accident three years later. Artur Kozlowski braved depths of 103m in Pollatoomary, making it the record for the deepest cave dive in Ireland at the time. The rescue mission to save 12 boys and their soccer coach from Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in June Jim had the heartbreaking task of recovering Artur's body after he lost his life in a cave dive of the Gort lowlands back in 2011. 'There are a lot of risks involved and sometimes bad things happen,' Jim told the Irish Examiner. 'It was good to give the family closure but it was a hard thing to do as well. I do a lot of my diving in Gort because it's close to Ennis, where I live. The evening Artur went missing I went on a dive to see if I could locate him but I never found him. "I went again the following morning but I was able to locate him this time. Rick, Jason and John, who are divers from the UK, came over that evening. It took five days — two dives a day — to progressively bring his body closer to the cave entrance. His body was located a kilometre inside the cave system.' Jim said his pastime, about which he is passionate, has also helped him to save lives. 'Dives like the one in Thailand and finding the body of Artur are memorable. They take a lot of digesting and recovering from mentally but they also affirm your skills, training and ability to cope. Before I went to Thailand, some of my friends and neighbours who weren't involved in cave diving viewed it as a pointless undertaking. They questioned why anyone would go down a dark watery hole for fun. At least this time I was able to show people that my crazy skills worked for something in life. Jim explains the background and preparation involved in his record-breaking dive. 'I didn't plan on doing it so quickly since it was only the beginning of the season. During the winter, there is no cave diving because the water levels are too high. These are basically underground rivers and the flow would be too strong to swim against. "You have to wait for three or four weeks of very dry weather to be able to dive in the caves so at the beginning of the season it's always smaller dives or preparation dives. I did those on St Patrick's Weekend and managed to progress deeper and deeper for those two weeks. "I didn't plan on breaking the record there and then. However, everything was going well and I had the equipment so I decided to go further. "It's amazing to come back from these dives and feel the accomplishment of exploring such depths. The visual memories aren't there. It's not really a scenic thing because you are just surrounded by brown water. However, you always remember the feelings.' Research is one of the most important motivations behind Jim's expeditions. 'The exploration is not so much about the record but to find out what's around the other corner. That, for me, is the main draw. During the Pollatoomary dive, I found the cave doesn't go any deeper anymore. It continues horizontally, which is a good thing because it means I won't have to go any deeper if I go back. "It's still quite an undertaking to go where I went but even if you dive in a known part you'll always find something you didn't see on previous dives. The boys after their dramatic rescue. The children were the true heroes of the story, Jim says. Picture:"One of the most memorable discoveries I made was making the connection between two cave systems near Kinvara in Galway. The most fascinating thing for me is when I go into unknown parts of caves that nobody has seen before. No other people have been in places where I have been able to go and that gives me a special feeling.' He stressed how important it is to be able to switch off during expeditions. In the case of the kids trapped in the cave in Thailand I just had to block out the outside world and really focus on the task at hand. As a diver it's really important to be able to compartmentalise. Jim even underwent a heart operation to improve his diving. 'I had a heart operation to help me continue diving deeper last summer. Human beings have a hole in their hearts between the two cavities because when they are in the womb they don't need to use their lungs. For the majority of people, this closes as they get older. "However, for 25% of people it doesn't fully close. This isn't a problem in normal everyday life but when you're diving and gases dissolve into your bloodstream it can be a problem. This is because when you come up to offload these gases, they don't go through your lungs as efficiently. The doctors went into the main artery with a catheter and deployed an implant to plug this hole. Luckily, they were successful.' Jim said he believed fear is a necessary component of a successful dive. If I wasn't afraid I would be fearless and I wouldn't be able to mind myself. Everybody has fear so I'm just like any other normal human being. The only difference is that I'm trained to deal with that fear. "What we do as divers is visualise the dive ahead or the mission and we plan around it. Those fears and concerns all feed into the dive plan. We have a response to every concern and every form of fear. Running out of oxygen is your first concern as a diver. That's why when you see a diver they will always have two tanks on their back or on their side. "Life is all about overcoming fears. You don't need to ignore them. What you can do is channel them into something positive. When you do something without fear you are not as careful as when you are scared.' He acknowledged the fearlessness of the children he helped saved in Thailand, saying it was their resilience that kept them alive. 'The diving wasn't threatening or stressful. There was risk involved for us but it was more of a risk for the children, some of whom couldn't even swim. Those children stuck together for 18 days. All they had was each other so for me they were the true heroes of the story. It's hard to believe they are all men now, but they will always be an inspiration.' Read More Sound of the underground: Curiosity pushes cavers onwards despite risks
Spectator
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Spectator
3 May 2025
A few years ago, Sally Brock – women's world champion many times over – told me she'd like some coaching in declarer-play from Artur Malinowski. Artur, she said, just seems to make more contracts than other people. And it's true: he has extraordinary table presence. He relies on 'reading' his opponents as much as he does on playing the odds. I was reminded of this during a recent TGRs Super League match: West led the ♥️8. The obvious line is to cash the ♥️KQ, play the ♦️A, ruff a diamond, draw the last trump, play a spade to the ♠️A and cash the ♦️K. If the ♦️Q falls, you claim. If not, you ruff again, cross to the ♠️K, pitch a second club on your last diamond, and play up to the ♣️KJ, hoping to get it right. But Artur had noted West's hesitation and passive trump lead, suggesting he had some values. He won the ♥️Q, and, deciding that West wouldn't lead a singleton trump, overtook the ♥️K with his ♥️A! To him, the small risk of a 4-1 break was worth it: he got to watch what his opponents discarded while they still had no idea what was in his hand. On the third trump, West discarded a spade (as did Artur). On the fourth, he threw another spade, making Artur think that he was either short in spades or under pressure. Artur discarded a club, and so did East, which suggested to Artur that the ♣️Q was with West (it's not easy to discard from a queen). On the fifth, West threw a club, Artur a spade, and East another club. Artur's strong hunch now was that West held the ♦️Q and ♣️Q. He played a diamond to the ♦️J, pitched two clubs, ruffed a diamond – and claimed.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian soldiers' lovers kept waiting as war drags on
Kateryna Halushka often sits alone, staring at her phone waiting for a sign of life from her boyfriend, a Ukrainian soldier fighting at the front. Like thousands of others, the Russian invasion has turned her love life into an anxious wait for messages, calls and short-lived reunions. Holding little faith in US President Donald Trump's promise to end the war, they are stuck in what Halushka called a constant state of waiting. "I've got a new social role," the 28-year-old told AFP in a Kyiv park. "I am now a woman who waits". Halushka struggled with the idea of sitting still. She worked two jobs and volunteered as a paramedic -- away from the front since she suffered a severe injury. "That constant waiting state is quite stressful ... you wind yourself up thinking something bad happened. You just sit there, waiting for a call, waiting for a message," she said. She had already lost one boyfriend in the war, killed at the front. That pain would come back anytime her current partner did not answer for a day or two. "You live with the constant understanding that he may go to fight and not return. You constantly live with the idea that he may die and you'll never see his body again," she said. - 'Live in the real world' - "Your brain never comes up with anything good. It doesn't imagine that your boyfriend shot Putin, or that the war is over," she added. Trump, who once boasted he could end the war in hours, is pushing for a peace deal that would, in theory, offer Ukrainian soldiers the chance to return home. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced a short Easter truce to run over the weekend. But he rejected a US call for an unconditional and full ceasefire last month and there is no sign Moscow and Kyiv are anywhere close to striking an agreement. Daria Yedamova, whose husband Artur was serving in the northeastern Kharkiv region, said she was also pessimistic. "I am hoping for him to come back, I wish we could have a forever peace. But we live in the real world," she said. Cheered on by Artur in video calls, she has been knocking down walls to renovate a flat they bought in Kyiv, all while taking care of their two young children. "We're laying the groundwork for the future," she said. But with no permanent end to the fighting in sight, the separation is taking its toll. Lina, the couple's 11-month-old daughter, does not always recognise her father on the rare occasions they meet up. He enlisted just a few months after she was born. - 'Dad will come' - Artur's son, three-year-old Taras, constantly longs for him. "He says, 'Dad will come', 'we will sleep together', or 'we will read together'," Yedamova told AFP. Families of serving soldiers regularly travel across the country for short reunions. Halushka's boyfriend is given occasional permission to come to Kyiv on leave. She was looking forward to honouring a small tradition when she next saw him -- stir-fried chicken Gong Bao at a food court in Kyiv, followed by take-out strawberry cake covered in pink icing. She held on to such fleeting moments of happiness against a darkening future. Halushka is among the growing numbers of Ukrainians anxious at Trump's overtures towards Moscow. The US leader has pressured Kyiv into making concessions and is refusing to offer US-backed security guarantees that Ukraine sees as vital. The share of Ukrainians believing Trump's election was bad for Ukraine surged from 21 percent in December 2024 to 73 percent in March 2025, according to the Kyiv Institute for Sociology. "I feel anger and hatred that we have to communicate with stupid people," Halushka said. Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk have probably "never opened a history book in their lives," she blasted. "When Russia attacks us again –- and it's a matter of when, not if -- then my boyfriend's chances to survive will be even lower," she said. brw/jc/am/sbk/rmb
