DOWNTOWN — Here are a few stories DNAinfo editors and reporters are reading around the web on this foggy Tuesday:
One Pricey Mandolin: Bluegrass mandolin player Chris Thile and his band Nickel Creek wowed fans at Taste of Chicago last July. But that lovely sound didn’t come cheap. An Oberlin Conservatory Magazine piece details how Thile spent his time off at the Ohio music school in an “American roots residency” thanks to the financial largesse of Oberlin alum Ed Helms (of “The Office” and “The Hangover.”) But what especially fascinated senior editor Andrew Herrmann was a sidebar on Thile’s mandolin: It was made in 1924 by Lloyd Loar, an Obie from 1903-05. Thile paid $200,000 for the instrument.
A Song of Beer and Weed: Turns out the Lagunitas founders weren’t just into suds back in the day … they had a penchant for weed, too. So much so that a colossal joint with the circumference of a dime at the Lagunitas 2005 St. Patrick’s Day party led to a state drug bust — a day that would go down in Lagunitas history as the "St. Patrick’s Day Massacre." Sam Laird’s massive Mashable piece, “A Song of Beer and Weed,” details the undercover investigation, subsequent suspension of the brewery’s license to sell alcohol and the California brewer’s rise to become a name in the craft beer game afterwards.
Thank goodness that doobie didn’t cripple the now-craft beer powerhouse. Fast-forward a decade and we now get to enjoy all of the beer at the second Lagunitas brewery at 15th and Rockwell streets on the Near West Side — where tourguides happily recount the tale.
True Life: I Was in a Cult: Like everyone with a Netflix account, Kyla Gardner has been binge-watching “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Tina Fey’s new show. This review in Vulture trumps all others because writer Flor Edwards was actually in a cult for 14 years. She talks about what “Kimmy Schmidt” gets right — and how discovering a Chicago drinking fountain was a magical experience for her.
Move Over Nutella: If you’ve just jumped on the Nutella bandwagon, you’re backing the wrong European spread. Cookie butter is where it’s at, also known as Speculoos or Biscoff. It’s made from the same type of cookie that Julius Meinl ever so elegantly serves on a silver tray with your coffee. Get your fix of the stuff at Trader Joe’s or Stan’s, which has a Biscoff-filled doughnut that you should run out and gobble up immediately after you finish reading this paragraph. Baking enthusiast Patty Wetli whipped up a batch of the cookies and now she’s searching recipes for DIY Biscoff. This submission at Serious Eats looks like a winner. Volunteer taste testers anyone?
Suburban Malls Reborn: Rather than tearing down suburban malls, some developers are finding new uses for them. Mina Bloom read this Atlantic piece about mall rehabs around the country. For example, a dying mall in Jackson, Mississipi is now a medical complex that serves low-income people.
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