Latest news with #Esme
Eater
3 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Inside Gold Coast's Over-The-Top New Steakhouse Perched in a Downtown Skyscraper
In recent times, Chicago has been once again embracing its meatpacking history with a rush of new steakhouse openings. Trend pieces are no doubt on their way about the allure of comfort food and a need to return to the simple life. However, that's not the formula deployed at the Alston, an opulent steakhouse that debuts on Friday, May 30, on the third floor of the 971-foot-tall One Chicago, a $750 million skyscraper built in 2022. This is the same building that houses Gold Coast's Whole Foods. The food's from Jenner Tomaska, the James Beard Award finalist behind Esme in Lincoln Park. Tomaska is showing discipline at Alston, embracing his new role in developing a steakhouse menu that can appeal to the masses without sacrificing his avant-garde style that brought Esme a Michelin Star. The hope is that Tomaksa can incorporate elements of fine dining, including superior service, quality ingredients, and cheffy techniques, to show Chicago that a great steakhouse is about more than just keeping the juices in the chops. Tableside preparations include a bread cart and a duck press with the poultry carved in front of diners. The Alston is supposed to represent Midwestern steakhouses crossed with nouvelle French cuisine. The meat is prime and dry-aged, cooked over charcoal. Wagyu comes from American, Japanese, and Aussie sources. They range from $55 for a six-ounce dry-aged filet to $260 for a 16-ounce, 60-day dry-aged American wagyu chop, called the S.W. Chairman's Cut. That comes with a butter infused with Red Boat Vietnamese fish sauce. An arsenal of sauces is available to accent the selections. A rack of Dover sole is a tribute to Esme's tasting menu and its unique showstopper. Salt-baked trout is also available. A selection of pastas and salads should sate vegetarians. A Members Tower costs $300 and comes with a dozen oysters, four spot prawns, three razor clams, two scallops, a half-pound of King crab, and a whole cold water lobster. Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which also runs Kindling inside the Willis Tower, continues its downtown push. Visitors will find an assortment of textures used throughout the space. Don't blink, your eyes aren't deceiving you — the art on the ceiling of the main dining room changes. There's a digital projection screen that can stream a variety of art. It's a way Tomaska can bring a touch of Esme to the world of beef. There's a wine cellar, with selections curated by Charlie Trotter's alum Ken Frederickson, and tons of space for private events. A terrace with beautiful views of downtown Chicago will debut later this summer. Management hopes the outdoor seating will be more cocktail-focused, and there are plans for live music. There's also a members-only club which is downright intimate compared to the main dining room. That will come with a special menu. Walk through the space below and check out select dishes in the photos below. The Alston , 750 N. State Street, third floor, opening on Friday, May 30, reservations via OpenTable . Sign up for our newsletter. Pommes Boulangères au gratin
USA Today
3 days ago
- USA Today
America's carousels are spinning out of existence. There's a fight to save them.
America's carousels are spinning out of existence. There's a fight to save them. Experts estimate that as many as 3,500 wooden carousels were built at the turn of the 20th century – and only 150 are left. Show Caption Hide Caption Top three travel trends for summer 2025 Airbnb shares data behind the top summer destinations and motivators for 2025. WASHINGTON – On a humid Saturday afternoon in the shadow of the Washington National Cathedral, Esme Ohlsen sat atop a colorful wooden horse and waved to her mother and grandmother as she and a dozen smiling children spun around and around. It was a moment the young girl had eagerly awaited ever since learning that the cathedral's two-day fundraising event would feature a merry-go-round. 'I like how fast it went,' the 9-year-old said over the sound of an antique Wurlitzer organ playing "The Carousel Waltz." She added, 'I wish it went up and down.' What Esme didn't know was the antique wooden carousel she rode is one of a rare group of merry-go-rounds built at the turn of the 20th century and still spinning more than 100 years later. Experts estimate that as many as 3,500 carousels were built by a handful of American companies and artisans between the 1880s and the 1930s. Today, about 150 remain and only a fraction of those are still operational. "It's pretty amazing," said Patrick Wentzel, the president of the National Carousel Association. "These rides are the only antiques that you can not only touch but throw your leg over and ride." These rotating historical artifacts are the survivors of decades of economic, social and technological upheavals that destroyed the majority of their peers, from the Great Depression and the invention of the roller coaster to an antique carousel frenzy that saw countless carousels broken apart and sold piecemeal. Faced with what appeared to be a looming extinction, nonprofits, local governments, museums and other groups stepped in to save the last of the great American carousels. These operators pay artisans and specialized mechanics top dollar to maintain and refurbish the century-old rides, all in an effort to preserve their original design and craftsmanship. Though financially burdensome, today's carousel caretakers have made it their mission to preserve what remains of the golden age of U.S. carousel production. 'It's completely financially indefensible,' said Carol Kelleher, a member of the All Hallows Guild, which maintains the carousel at the National Cathedral. 'But we want to keep it the way it was.' A brief history of carousels in the United States Merry-go-rounds originated in Europe but didn't gain popularity in the U.S. until the late 1800s when artisans from Germany and England capitalized on the country's vast, untouched forests. These carvers – many of them classically trained – hand-chiseled and painted intricate designs that often evoked memories of their homelands. Meanwhile, cities and small towns were developing parks and looking for attractions to draw crowds. Vibrant, spinning carousels became a perfect centerpiece. To meet rising demand, companies sprang up and began churning out rides – smaller versions for traveling carnivals and larger ones for town squares and amusement parks. However, the carousel boom that began at the turn of the 20th century came to an abrupt end. The rapid decline was touched off by World War l and punctuated by the Great Depression. 'Parks were closing down and no one was buying carousels anymore,' Wentzel said. 'That pretty much killed everything.' After World War II, carousels saw a modest revival as new companies began making them from cast aluminum and, later, fiberglass – the materials used in most modern carousels today. Hundreds of these easier-to-manufacture rides appeared in suburban parks across postwar America. But unlike their wooden predecessors, these lacked the craftsmanship and individuality that defined the earlier era. Collectors took notice, and by the 1970s and '80s wooden carousel animals began appearing at auctions as operators discovered they could make more money selling individual horses than maintaining entire rides. For carousel enthusiasts, this was devastating. 'Carousel figures were selling for $40,000 apiece,' Wentzel said, recalling how beloved, historic carousels were dismantled for profit. 'It was really tragic.' A movement to preserve what's left As antique carousels were dismantled or left to deteriorate, the National Carousel Association formed to advocate for their preservation. The group eventually found success as local governments, museums and nonprofits joined the cause, often maintaining carousels at a steep financial loss. 'We haven't sold any carousels for 20 years now,' Wentzel said. Today, these historic rides can be found in parks, playgrounds and museums across the country, though few remain fully original. Many have replaced steam engines with electric motors, swapped out pipe organs for modern sound systems and installed straps and ramps for wheelchair accessibility. Kelleher, who helps maintain the carousel at the National Cathedral, said the ride has seen several major restorations over the past 60 years, including a 1990s campaign where donors adopted and redesigned the animals. In 2021, the guild hired a company for a multi-year project to touch up all 22 of the ride's animals. 'It's a huge undertaking,' Kelleher said, noting that it costs between $6,000 and $8,000 to restore each animal. In New Philadelphia, Ohio, a 1928 carousel is the centerpiece of Tuscora Park. Like the carousel in Washington, it underwent a major renovation in the 1990s, including a new paint job and the installation of a $53,000 motor. Richard Geib, president of the nonprofit, RTY Inc., which oversees the ride, says it's well worth the money to make sure the people of New Philadelphia can enjoy the carousel as he and his family have for decades. 'I have pictures of me on that carousel with my grandparents, and now my grandkids are helping to operate it,' he said. 'It's almost like a member of our family and it's like that for a lot of people in town.' The craftsmen keeping traditional carousels alive The grassroots movement to restore and maintain antique carousels created a steady stream of work for a small group of skilled artisans. One of the leading companies in this field is Carousels and Carvings, based in Marion, Ohio. Its workers have refurbished some of the country's most beloved merry-go-rounds, including the carousel at the Washington National Cathedral. Former cabinetmaker Todd Goings, known as 'the carousel doctor,' founded the company in the 1990s as advocacy to restore antique carousels was in full steam. What started as a foray into carousel repairs turned into his life's work. Today, Goings and his 20 employees maintain dozens of carousels across the country, repainting animals, upgrading mechanical systems and performing routine maintenance. They have also begun building their own carousels from scratch inside the company's 35,000 foot warehouse in Marion. 'I can't speak for everyone, but we are busier than ever,' he said. Still, Goings has had to confront an existential threat to his business: the aging workforce of carousel craftsmen. About five years ago, he realized most of his employees were over 60 and some were well into their 70s. To secure the future of his trade, he began hiring and training what he sees as a new generation of artisans, including his son, whom he hopes will eventually take over the family business. 'The shop has a good feeling about the future now,' he said. 'We're no longer counting the years to the end.' 'Something magical' On May 3, a long line of families waited eagerly for a turn on the historic carousel outside the Washington National Cathedral, which is only operational for two days out of the year. Among the bustling crowd was 81-year-old Katherine Wardlaw, who attended the event with her family. Wardlaw said she was never able to ride carousels herself but grew to love them through her granddaughter Emily. For Emily, who was nonverbal and struggled with mobility, the carousel was the one ride she could enjoy safely. Until her death at age 25, Emily would beg to be taken to the carousel at the mall near her home in Columbia, Maryland. 'She would go round and round – she was so happy,' Wardlaw recalled. 'It was one of the few things that brought her joy, to come with granny and ride the carousel.' Others echoed the sentiment, often tying carousels to their own childhood memories. Sarah Ohlsen, who brought her son and daughter to the fundraising event at the cathedral, said she grew up riding the over-100-year-old carousel at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. What makes the ride special, she said, is both the whimsy of the animals and its accessibility. 'Anyone can go on them,' she said. 'And it doesn't matter how old you are – people just love getting on a horse.' That enduring appeal is part of what keeps Goings and others committed to their restoration work. For them – and the countless people who've enjoyed a ride on a merry-go-round – carousels are more than mechanical novelties. 'It could seem kind of pointless – a bunch of animals going around in a circle,' Goings said. 'But when you get on, the magic comes. The lights turn on, the music plays, people laugh – and suddenly, there's something magical."
USA Today
25-05-2025
- USA Today
America's carousels are spinning out of existence. There's a fight to save them.
America's carousels are spinning out of existence. There's a fight to save them. Experts estimate that as many as 3,500 wooden carousels were built at the turn of the 20th century – and only 150 are left. Show Caption Hide Caption Top three travel trends for summer 2025 Airbnb shares data behind the top summer destinations and motivators for 2025. WASHINGTON – On a humid Saturday afternoon in the shadow of the Washington National Cathedral, Esme Ohlsen sat atop a colorful wooden horse and waved to her mother and grandmother as she and a dozen smiling children spun around and around. It was a moment the young girl had eagerly awaited ever since learning that the cathedral's two-day fundraising event would feature a merry-go-round. 'I like how fast it went,' the 9-year-old said over the sound of an antique Wurlitzer organ playing "The Carousel Waltz." She added, 'I wish it went up and down.' What Esme didn't know was the antique wooden carousel she rode is one of a rare group of merry-go-rounds built at the turn of the 20th century and still spinning more than 100 years later. Experts estimate that as many as 3,500 carousels were built by a handful of American companies and artisans between the 1880s and the 1930s. Today, about 150 remain and only a fraction of those are still operational. "It's pretty amazing," said Patrick Wentzel, the president of the National Carousel Association. "These rides are the only antiques that you can not only touch but throw your leg over and ride." These rotating historical artifacts are the survivors of decades of economic, social and technological upheavals that destroyed the majority of their peers, from the Great Depression and the invention of the roller coaster to an antique carousel frenzy that saw countless carousels broken apart and sold piecemeal. Faced with what appeared to be a looming extinction, nonprofits, local governments, museums and other groups stepped in to save the last of the great American carousels. These operators pay artisans and specialized mechanics top dollar to maintain and refurbish the century-old rides, all in an effort to preserve their original design and craftsmanship. Though financially burdensome, today's carousel caretakers have made it their mission to preserve what remains of the golden age of U.S. carousel production. 'It's completely financially indefensible,' said Carol Kelleher, a member of the All Hallows Guild, which maintains the carousel at the National Cathedral. 'But we want to keep it the way it was.' A brief history of carousels in the United States Merry-go-rounds originated in Europe but didn't gain popularity in the U.S. until the late 1800s when artisans from Germany and England capitalized on the country's vast, untouched forests. These carvers – many of them classically trained – hand-chiseled and painted intricate designs that often evoked memories of their homelands. Meanwhile, cities and small towns were developing parks and looking for attractions to draw crowds. Vibrant, spinning carousels became a perfect centerpiece. To meet rising demand, companies sprang up and began churning out rides – smaller versions for traveling carnivals and larger ones for town squares and amusement parks. However, the carousel boom that began at the turn of the 20th century came to an abrupt end. The rapid decline was touched off by World War l and punctuated by the Great Depression. 'Parks were closing down and no one was buying carousels anymore,' Wentzel said. 'That pretty much killed everything.' After World War II, carousels saw a modest revival as new companies began making them from cast aluminum and, later, fiberglass – the materials used in most modern carousels today. Hundreds of these easier-to-manufacture rides appeared in suburban parks across postwar America. But unlike their wooden predecessors, these lacked the craftsmanship and individuality that defined the earlier era. Collectors took notice, and by the 1970s and '80s wooden carousel animals began appearing at auctions as operators discovered they could make more money selling individual horses than maintaining entire rides. For carousel enthusiasts, this was devastating. 'Carousel figures were selling for $40,000 apiece,' Wentzel said, recalling how beloved, historic carousels were dismantled for profit. 'It was really tragic.' A movement to preserve what's left As antique carousels were dismantled or left to deteriorate, the National Carousel Association formed to advocate for their preservation. The group eventually found success as local governments, museums and nonprofits joined the cause, often maintaining carousels at a steep financial loss. 'We haven't sold any carousels for 20 years now,' Wentzel said. Today, these historic rides can be found in parks, playgrounds and museums across the country, though few remain fully original. Many have replaced steam engines with electric motors, swapped out pipe organs for modern sound systems and installed straps and ramps for wheelchair accessibility. Kelleher, who helps maintain the carousel at the National Cathedral, said the ride has seen several major restorations over the past 60 years, including a 1990s campaign where donors adopted and redesigned the animals. In 2021, the guild hired a company for a multi-year project to touch up all 22 of the ride's animals. 'It's a huge undertaking,' Kelleher said, noting that it costs between $6,000 and $8,000 to restore each animal. In New Philadelphia, Ohio, a 1928 carousel is the centerpiece of Tuscora Park. Like the carousel in Washington, it underwent a major renovation in the 1990s, including a new paint job and the installation of a $53,000 motor. Richard Geib, president of the nonprofit, RTY Inc., which oversees the ride, says it's well worth the money to make sure the people of New Philadelphia can enjoy the carousel as he and his family have for decades. 'I have pictures of me on that carousel with my grandparents, and now my grandkids are helping to operate it,' he said. 'It's almost like a member of our family and it's like that for a lot of people in town.' The craftsmen keeping traditional carousels alive The grassroots movement to restore and maintain antique carousels created a steady stream of work for a small group of skilled artisans. One of the leading companies in this field is Carousels and Carvings, based in Marion, Ohio. Its workers have refurbished some of the country's most beloved merry-go-rounds, including the carousel at the Washington National Cathedral. Former cabinetmaker Todd Goings, known as 'the carousel doctor,' founded the company in the 1990s as advocacy to restore antique carousels was in full steam. What started as a foray into carousel repairs turned into his life's work. Today, Goings and his 20 employees maintain dozens of carousels across the country, repainting animals, upgrading mechanical systems and performing routine maintenance. They have also begun building their own carousels from scratch inside the company's 35,000 foot warehouse in Marion. 'I can't speak for everyone, but we are busier than ever,' he said. Still, Goings has had to confront an existential threat to his business: the aging workforce of carousel craftsmen. About five years ago, he realized most of his employees were over 60 and some were well into their 70s. To secure the future of his trade, he began hiring and training what he sees as a new generation of artisans, including his son, whom he hopes will eventually take over the family business. 'The shop has a good feeling about the future now,' he said. 'We're no longer counting the years to the end.' 'Something magical' On May 3, a long line of families waited eagerly for a turn on the historic carousel outside the Washington National Cathedral, which is only operational for two days out of the year. Among the bustling crowd was 81-year-old Katherine Wardlaw, who attended the event with her family. Wardlaw said she was never able to ride carousels herself but grew to love them through her granddaughter Emily. For Emily, who was nonverbal and struggled with mobility, the carousel was the one ride she could enjoy safely. Until her death at age 25, Emily would beg to be taken to the carousel at the mall near her home in Columbia, Maryland. 'She would go round and round – she was so happy,' Wardlaw recalled. 'It was one of the few things that brought her joy, to come with granny and ride the carousel.' Others echoed the sentiment, often tying carousels to their own childhood memories. Sarah Ohlsen, who brought her son and daughter to the fundraising event at the cathedral, said she grew up riding the over-100-year-old carousel at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania. What makes the ride special, she said, is both the whimsy of the animals and its accessibility. 'Anyone can go on them,' she said. 'And it doesn't matter how old you are – people just love getting on a horse.' That enduring appeal is part of what keeps Goings and others committed to their restoration work. For them – and the countless people who've enjoyed a ride on a merry-go-round – carousels are more than mechanical novelties. 'It could seem kind of pointless – a bunch of animals going around in a circle,' Goings said. 'But when you get on, the magic comes. The lights turn on, the music plays, people laugh – and suddenly, there's something magical."
The Courier
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Don't miss young playwright's 'real deal' original script as Water Colour heads to St Andrews
There will be few plays seen on a Scottish stage this year that hit as powerfully as Water Colour, let alone any written by a 21-year-old. The winner of the St Andrews Playwriting Award 2024, by young Glaswegian writer Milly Sweeney, is about two young people whose chance late-night meeting on a bridge over the River Clyde as one of them contemplates suicide changes both their lives in different ways. Molly Geddes is Esme, a student at Glasgow College of Art, whose dream studies are disrupted by a crippling anxiety that her classmates are mocking her and her tutor looks down on her. Friendless and paralysed by her fear, she dreads the thought of her high school reunion. Meanwhile Ryan J Mackay (whose past work includes Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the West End and the National Theatre of Scotland's Kidnapped) is Harris. He is over-the-moon to get his dream job in a top Glasgow kitchen, but becomes eventually beaten down by overwork and visions of Esme in the brief moment he met her at her worst. The fact it's a brand new co-production between Pitlochry Festival Theatre and the Byre Theatre in St Andrews, two of the best theatres in the area. It's also technically the first play of Pitlochry's always-exciting summer season, although this year's was programmed before new artistic director Alan Cumming took over. Director Sally Reid (a hit as an actor in Pitlochry's Shirley Valentine and in Scot Squad on the BBC) will rightly draw people in too. She did a great job of Dundee Rep's hit Jim McLean bioplay Smile. And here she's on to another winner, directing her two immensely talented young leads with lots of heart and energy, not to mention really landing the funny lines. Quite simply, Sweeney's script is the real deal. A perfect insight into the trials of youth and young adulthood, it's truthful, funny and beautifully observed. Plus the perfect structure ebbs and flows as each character's fate plays out like a reverse image of the other. There's really no reason to avoid this wonderful play and every reason to see it if you can. But for those who appreciate trigger warnings, it does very realistically depict two characters in the throes of mental breakdown. 4/5
Scotsman
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Theatre reviews: Water Colour
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Water Colour, Pitlochry Festival Theatre ★★★★ Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama, Oran Mor, Glasgow ★★★ It's no news, to anyone paying attention, that young people in the 2020s have it tough, with many struggling to imagine any future at all, in a world so royally messed up by previous generations. So it's perhaps not surprising that the mental distress of young people is becoming an ever more present theme in theatre; and nowhere more so than in Molly Sweeney's debut play Water Colour, winner of this year's St Andrews Playwriting Award. Directed with skill and feeling by Sally Reid, the play premiered in Pitlochry's studio theatre last week; and there was no mistaking the strength of the audience response to Sweeney's story of two young people in contemporary Glasgow whose paths cross at a moment of crisis, with huge consequences for both of their lives. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Molly Geddes (Esme) and Ryan J Mackay (Harris) in Water Colour Esme, beautifully played by Molly Geddes, is a postgraduate student at Glasgow School of Art, about to fail her masters course because she has sunk into a profound depression. Esme is gay, has felt desperately socially isolated ever since her schooldays; and when her tutor damns her belated final art work submission, she finds herself on a bridge over the Clyde, preparing to end it all. Harris, meanwhile, is a chirpy lad of the same age, who has ambitions to become a chef, and is feeling upbeat because he has just landed a new job washing dishes in a cordon bleu restaurant. So when Harris spots Esme apparently preparing to jump, he acts decisively to stop her, reassuring her that things will and must get better. The play's subject, over a powerful and often moving 80 minutes, is the impact of that decisive moment on both Esme and Harris, as she begins to piece her life back together, and he – by contrast – finds that the incident unleashes inner demons that he has been suppressing for years. The criss-cross structure of these intertwined monologues is beautifully handled by both actors, with Ryan J Mackay as Harris stepping up to play Esme's mother and counsellor, among other characters. And both round out their own characters with memorable pathos and intensity; in a play that comes across as a vital dispatch from the front line of the mental health crisis among young people, delivered with real passion, and a memorable strand of pure poetry. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Taylor Dyson and Ewan Somers in Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama The central character in new Play, Pie and Pint play-with-songs Goodbye Dreamland Bowlarama, by Taylor Dyson and Calum Kelly, is also a young woman of 20 or so suffering severe mental distress; although in Charlie's case, she hides her grief and depression – following the deaths of her much-loved parents and grandparents – behind an increasingly frenzied display of upbeat optimism, and of improbable passion for her dead-end job as an assistant at the Dreamland Bowlarama, Inverness. It's a bloody incident at the Bowlarama, though, that finally bursts Charlie's delusional bubble, and sends her into a fugue state. She leaves behind her long-suffering brother Ross and his wife and baby, and flees towards Dundee, a city she has always wildly idealised as the home town of her beloved grandad, whose long lost twin brother she decides to track down. Her quest is a crazy fever-dream of a journey, full of wild gothic incident, comedy, rejection, and another bridge incident. And in Beth Morton's light-touch production, Ewan Somers as Ross and other hilarious and surreal characters, and Taylor Dyson herself as Charlie, make fine work of this unconvincing but vividly entertaining tale, which first shows us a young woman completely dislocated from reality, and then – in time honoured musical comedy style – suggests that she can be healed almost overnight by a crisis survived, a forgettable song, and a little soft-shoe dance.
