David Schmid

Cooked end-of-winter/beginning-of-spring meal of lamb mafé. A rich, meaty, peanut stew from Senegal (known as mafé yapp). Warmer weather is around the corner.

Ate at Kouklas in Niles, IL. It is good to see Niles attracting new, good restaurants. And Kouklas, serving Greek food, is very good. However, I prefer the tried and true Psistaria Greek Taverna in Lincolnwood.

Ate at burl in Evanston, IL. A “farm-to-table” concept. Recently opened. Shows promise, but want to let it settle in before returning. Pacing was spotty and serving staff were unprepared.

Watched Marty Supreme. Don’t get the hype. Obnoxious protagonist in a self-indulgent movie.

Listening to World’s Gone Wrong by the great Lucinda Williams. As good as ever at 73 even after a stroke. So Much Trouble in the World with Mavis Staples is a classic.

Saw Cowboy Junkies at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago’s Lincoln Square. This Canadian alt band is still going strong. Melancholy never sounded so good.

Watched the miniseries The Spanish Princess. There have been many top-notch and interesting media portrayals of Henry VIII’s first wife. This is not one of them.

Listening to Magic Accident by Della Mae, an excellent bluegrass band from Boston. Takes All Kinds is especially good.

Watched Sentimental Value. The best international picture Oscar was well deserved. In 20 years, this picture will stand up as well as One Battle After Another and Sinners.

Saw Dance of Death by August Strindberg at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighbourhood. Great to see Jeff Perry and Kathryn Erbe back on the Steppenwolf stage but Steppenwolf performing Strindberg is like Goodman doing Sam Shepard. Totally out of their bailiwick.

Watched the 2009 movie, Duplicity. Stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen playing smug, full-of-themselves spies. The result: a smug, full-of-itself movie.

Watched The Secret Agent. Wagner Moura was great in it, but not sure why it was in the best-picture category for an Oscar. Glad that Sentimental Value won over this movie for best international picture.

Cooked Beef Tagine With Green Beans and Olives. Not my favourite, but I had fun cooking it in my new Magnifique Claypot Oven.

Watched both series of The Missing, a British series first broadcast 2014-2016. Very well done. Both had Tchéky Karyo, the great French actor who passed away last year. I think series 2 was a bit better because it also had Keeley Hawes, one of my favourite British actresses.

Listening to Somebody Tried to Sell Me a Bridge by Van Morrison. Van the Man is back to his great form!

Finished Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith (a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling). Book 5 of the excellent series. The book oozes a London atmosphere. On to Book 6 (The Ink Black Heart).

Continuing my Oscar prep. Watched Frankenstein. Visually stunning as Guillermo del Toro’s films tend to be. However, did we need another version of Frankenstein?

Listening to From The Fires by Greta Van Fleet. This Michigan band will give you your Led Zeppelin fix.

Watched the miniseries The Dope Thief on Apple+. Brian Tyree Henry shines in anything he does (see Atlanta). Hoping for a season 2.

Listening to Can’t Take My Story Away by Elles Bailey. Elles, from Bristol, England, is a blues/roots singer worth a listen. Take A Step Back is particularly good.