Phil Vettel

Even with Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan front and center, little in the trailer of "The Dig" seemed particularly promising,? I gave it a go and it's good. Some of it's true, too: Along the east coast of Britain in 1939, with war clouds looming, self-taught Suffolk archeologist Basil Brown was hired by ailing widow Edith Pretty to discover if anything of value lay beneath the earth mounds on her property. There was indeed, and the remains and artifacts of a sixth-century Anglo-Saxon burial ship stunned the world. Fiennes is Basil; Mulligan is Edith; around the halfway point of director Simon Stone's film, the focus (for better or worse) shifts to others in the orbit of the excavation effort, particularly characters played by Lily James and Johnny Flynn. Based on the 2007 novel by John Preston, "The Dig" freely mixes fact and invention, overloading the crises a bit but generally succeeding. A fair amount of screenwriter Moira Buffini's dialogue plays out as Terrence Malick-styled voiceover, while the camera focuses on the stark beauty of the surroundings, and men and women actually doing the work. The results are trim, well-made and quite moving. So much for my prejudgments. (Netflix) — Michael Phillips

Watch this. Eat that: Binge on the ‘Saved by the Bell’ with Big Kids takeout. It’s magic.

January 29, 2021 at 6:12 p.m.

Watch this: 'Saved by the Bell' Peacock's "Saved by the Bell" reboot is witty and funny, whether you grew up watching the students at Bayside High or you are just...

Watch this. Eat that: ‘One Night in Miami’ demands a scoop of Shawn Michelle’s ice cream

January 21, 2021 at 8:54 p.m.

Watch this: 'One Night in Miami' Set in 1964, this juicy Miami story imagines what was said and done when heavyweight champ Cassius Clay (Eli Goree, a ringer vocally for...

Craving: Chicago’s best hot chocolate for National Hot Chocolate Day — and all winter

January 29, 2021 at 10:33 p.m.

Hot chocolate is mandatory to make it through a Chicago winter. This year, you might be making your own cups of cocoa more often than in the past, but restaurants...

Patrons brave the weather while eating at Wildberry's outdoor dining patio on Jan. 15, 2021, in downtown Chicago across from Millennium Park. Owners who have invested in outdoor dining spaces are angry with restaurants serving diners indoors despite state restrictions.

Restaurants decry uneven playing field because of owners who flout indoor dining ban

January 20, 2021 at 3:46 p.m.

Even as a return to indoor dining in Illinois appears to be inching closer, restaurant owners — particularly those who have been complying with state mandates — are expressing growing...

Sarah Stegner, owner of Prairie Grass Cafe, 601 Skokie Boulevard, carries free holiday meals out to furloughed and unemployed workers on Dec. 22, 2020, in Northbrook. Stegner said the meals will continue until funds run out.

Taco bar in Downers Grove, Claudia finds a home and Rooh adds street food: How Chicago restaurants are adapting to draw you back in

January 15, 2021 at 8:18 p.m.

Desperate times, creative measures. The pandemic has put the dining scene in and around Chicago in upheaval. Many restaurants are cautiously reopening, either outdoors, indoors or both. New places are...

Phil Vettel is photographed at the Purple Pig on July 9, 2018.

‘The work is never done’ — Tribune restaurant critic Phil Vettel says goodbye after 41 years

January 15, 2021 at 12:16 p.m.

When the Chicago Tribune offered me the job of restaurant critic, I accepted with a mix of giddiness and fear. My food-reviewing credentials were, shall we say, a little thin;...

Watch this. Eat that: A dining rec that even Gordon Ramsay would love

January 15, 2021 at 7:56 p.m.

Watch this: 'Hell's Kitchen' Take a gamble on the new season of Fox's "Hell's Kitchen," which was taped in Las Vegas. Contestant Amber Lancaster has the chops for the competition,...

From pizza to doughnuts, burritos to Spam musubi, here are our favorite takeout orders and restaurants in the Chicago area.

Takeout 100 — our guide to Chicago’s best restaurants for pickup and delivery right now

January 12, 2021 at 3:21 p.m.

Takeout, once an afterthought, something to grab on the way home from work, has become a lifeline to restaurants — and to us. With dining rooms closed since late October...

From the ashes of Monnie Burke’s, Pilsen Yards opens Jan. 15 with casual food, sophisticated drink — and a hyper-heated patio

January 8, 2021 at 9:03 p.m.

Almost exactly a year ago, owners Anan Abu-Taleb and son Paul Abu-Taleb announced the closing of Monnie Burke's, an excellent (three stars from yours truly) Pilsen restaurant that boasted one...

Watch this. Eat that: ‘Soul’ demands inspired comfort food

January 8, 2021 at 7:39 p.m.

Yes, we're all staying in, but that doesn't mean you can't make a night of it. Our critics offer the perfect takeout to pair with your next movie night. Watch...

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