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As an American Express® Cardmember, we invite you to ask the editorial team an entertainment related question. Our entertainment editors will provide expert answers, with other Cardmembers providing additional input on the best in city entertainment!
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The Museum of Science and Industry will thrum with the sounds of lightsabers, X-wings and the Millennium Falcon when Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination opens October 5. You'll see more than 80 props, models and costumes from the Star Wars movies, along with video interviews with filmmakers, scientists and engineers. And fans will love the full-size replica of the Millennium Falcon's cockpit. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, opening Oct. 5
Museum of Science and Industry
57th Street and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago | 773-684-1414
Seeking a refreshing respite from the late summer heat? Get thee some ice cream! Mitchell's is a favorite for frozen delicacies and recently celebrated its 50th birthday. In addition to standard ice cream flavors that you could find anywhere else in the city, Mitchell's offers some creative and exotic delights like French custard vanilla, Mexican chocolate, avocado, buko (baby coconut), lychee, mango and ube (purple yam). The cantelope ice cream is only available for a few more weeks as a seasonal refreshment, so it's on our short list. And all their flavors are homemade, premium, rich and tasty. No wonder Mitchell's has been winning so many awards and hearts for all these years.
Mitchell's Ice Cream
688 San Jose Ave., San Francisco | 415-648-2300
Though the arrival of autumn may have you breaking out your cords and sweaters, temps aren't cooling down any time soon — or at least not this week. Make the most of Indian Summer with Big Onion Walking Tours, and more specifically, their Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour. On September 30th, sample the best traditional eats from the Dominican Republic, Eastern Europe, China, Italy and more while learning a little something about how our precious Lower East Side all came together. Group meets at 1pm on the southeast corner of Delancey and Essex Streets, in front of the Olympic Diner (look for the dude holding the "Big Onion Walking Tours" sign and you'll know you're in the right place). Tour price, $15, $5 extra for noshes along the way.
Original Multi-Ethnic Eating Tour, Sept. 30
Big Onion Walking Tours
Various locations, New York | 212-439-1090
Husband and Wife team Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker bring dreamy slo-core music to a big stage as Low hits the Great American Music Hall this Tuesday. Oft referred to as minimalistic, experimental or lyrically arch, Low will be showcasing latest and sometimes bold tracks from their latest release, "Drums and Guns." Come on, show these Minnesota natives some Bay Area love.
Low, Sept. 25
Great American Music Hall
859 O'Farrell St., San Francisco
For even the healthiest person on the planet, something is always a little out of wack; you're too full after you eat, your back is knotted and tight, or maybe your sleep patterns are all off. There's a spa in the village called Ayurveda's Beauty Care that will take care of what ails you, physically and spiritually. Through the science of the holistic ayurvedic tradition, this spa offers everything from Ayurvedic Analysis ($100 for 55 minutes), which will help you understand your unique makeup and bring you into balance, to customized massages (try the de-stressing Shirodhara, $85 for 30 min.), chakra energizing bodywork, detoxifying facials, meditation, yoga and more. A real treat in a land of same old spa, different day.
Ayurveda's Beauty Care
99 University Place, between 11th and 12th Streets, New York | 212-529-3300
Fans of the Italian delicacy that is tiramisu are often disappointed: their favorite dessert is too often a soggy, mushy mess. Not so at Anna Maria Pasteria. The Buena Park restaurant boasts the best in the city — light at fluffy, rich and decadent, it's the perfect end to a meal that starts with a nice bruschetta and moves on to once of more than a dozen pasta choices or heartier dishes like veal parmigiana and chicken vesuvio.
Anna Maria Pasteria
4400 N. Clark St., Chicago | 773-506-2662
Whether he's been kicked out of a band, or kicked off the airwaves, if there's one thing that history has taught us, it's that David Lee Roth, or Diamond Dave to those in the know, can't be held down for long. That's why when tickets go on sale Monday, September 24th, for the Van Halen reunion tour with Mr. Split Kick himself, you'd better log on, get on the phone, stand in line — whatever it takes to get your tickets for their show at the Garden on November 13th. Though original bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced with Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, it's still worth seeing these Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Famers bring down the house.
Van Halen, Nov. 13
Madison Square Garden
Seventh Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets, New York
Beer lovers around the world are mourning the master beer critic Michael Jackson, who passed away at the end of August. The UIC branch of Lush Wine & Spirits will be honoring the great Beer Hunter with a free beer tasting this Sunday between 2 and 5pm on Sunday, Sept. 30. They'll also be participating in the worldwide toast at 9pm. Raise a glass.
Michael Jackson Tribute & Beer Tasting, Sept. 30
Lush Wine & Spirits
1306 S. Halsted St., Chicago | 312-738-1900
"Come on honey, put on your pretty dress, we're hitting the Top of the Mark!" Such a line might stumble out of your mouth some excited evening and we glow in wonder at what you might be celebrating. At the zenith of the Mark Hopkins hotel is a sophisticated lounge that offers dozens of martini varieties along with a stunning view. And while there may be some stodgy types or tourists at the other tables, there's enough elegance and ambiance at the Mark to sleek over any odd details. Be forewarned, there may be a cover for a jazzy lounge band and the drinks are a bit on the spendy side. But really, what does it matter? You're celebrating!
Top of the Mark
1 Nob Hill, San Francisco | 415-616-6916
The Cape Cod Room at the Drake Hotel opened in 1933, and very little has changed about the menu and decor since then — this is very much a good thing. Lobster thermidor, crab cakes and other seafood delights dominate the menu, served by with quiet confidence by jacketed waitstaff. Simple elegance never goes out of style.
The Cape Cod Room
The Drake Hotel
140 E. Walton St., Chicago | 312-787-2200
Fabulous stylings, hospitable stylists, and reasonable prices? It's easy to see why patrons of the Addiction Hair Salon are making it a regular habit. Long hair, short, male, female, trendy styles, sleek and simple – the Addiction stylists are accommodating and sweet. Additionally, the stylists cheerfully doll out coffee or a glass of wine as you discuss your next new fabulous look.
Addiction Hair Salon
350 Alabama St., San Francisco | 415-552-2190
If all the candy corn, faux blood and silly string in stores now have you craving Halloween, or if you're just one of those people that looks forward to it all year long, celebrate its ghoulish glory early on the Ghostly Greenwich Village walking tour led by Street Smarts NY. While this tour won't scare the bejeezus out of you, it will remind you of the rich history and scandal that occurred in this now ritzy part of town, which honestly, in all its macabre-ness, is quite a comfort. Tours are weekends only, on Saturday at 2pm and 6pm, and again on Sunday at 6pm. $10 per person; reservations are not required, but call ahead for meeting places and/or a full tour schedule (they have quite a few on their roster).
Ghostly Greenwich Village walking tour
Street Smarts NY
Various locations, New York | 212-969-8262
If you are like me, then you believe pie falls into its own food group, and when done superbly it induces blissful euphoria with each tasty forkful. And if you love pie like this or want to love pie like this, consider Mission Pie your next destination. The variety of pies available is dizzying. Serving up apple, walnut, pumpkin, sweet potato, spinach, banana cream and other dreamy and savory confections. The pie may be sinful but the organization PieRanch certainly isn't with its education program which teaches students from urban areas about the agricultural roots and process that brings their tasty pies to the table.
Mission Pie
2901 Mission St., San Francisco | 415-282-1500
You're not an artist. You don't claim to be artistically inclined, nor do you know your gouache from your watercolors. Lucky for you that all are welcome at Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. Illustrator Molly Crabapple's ingenious event takes your standard, snoozer art class and kicks it up a notch; so instead of staring at a bowl of fruit atop a table dressed in a hideous print, you might be tasked with capturing the beauty of a burlesque dancer or circus freak. Classes take place on Saturday afternoons, run for 3 hours, and include drawing contests where you can win unexpected prizes. Next class takes place on September 29th from 3-6 pm at the Lucky Cat Lounge in Williamsburg, for the nominal price of $15. Book your place now, these classes fill up fast!
Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School
Lucky Cat Lounge
245 Grand St., between Driggs and Roebling, Brooklyn | 718-782-0437
Everything old is new again; case in point, Sweetwater. Once a no-holds-barred bar for all things punk rock in the good ole, golden days of counter-culture Williamsburg, Sweetwater has transformed itself into a gastronomic destination. While the stained tin ceilings (from too many cigarettes, no doubt) and long wood bar still remain, the varied wine list and nouveau American menu with nods to the French, Italians and Spanish add a freshness to the Williamsburg dining scene that was sorely needed (as tasty as it is, do we really need another Thai restaurant on Bedford?). Recommended: Spinach, sweet potato and ricotta stuffed cannelloni in a light butter, almond & lemon sage sauce. Cash only.
Sweetwater
105 North 6th St., between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn | 718-963-0608
For generations, Army and Lou's has been a South Side institution for southern-style comfort food. Load up on fried chicken, catfish, baby back ribs and more. The restaurant is packed on Sundays for its after-church buffet, where $17 gets you all you can eat. (Save room for that peach or blackberry cobbler!)
Army and Lou's
422 E. 75th St., Chicago | 773-483-3100
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