We went to check out this new reclaimed furniture store in Barrington for WGN Morning News. Among all of the interesting items they had there was this HUGE, centuries-old armoire from France. We’ll be featuring this store later on this week on WGN – the story behind it is just as amazing as the items for sale.
It’s almost time for Capannari Ice Cream….
The awesome team at Capannari Ice Cream came into WGN to compete in our “Battle Of The Burbs,” and thankfully, they left behind a few pints of their fantastic ice cream. If you’ve never been, make it a priority to visit the family-run spot in Mount Prospect as soon as they open this March. That’s their Cake Batter ice cream above – so rich and creamy, the way God intended ice cream to be!
Check them out at http://www.capannaris.com/
#PaczkiDay 2015: The best paczki in town….
It’s a Chicago-area tradition – celebrating Fat Tuesday with Paczki Day. Basically, they are balls of fried dough stuffed with all kinds of fillings (DON’T CALL THEM A DONUT). Paczki is pronouced poonch-key, depending on who you ask. The idea is to eat these on Fat Tuesday before Lent kicks off. It’s a Polish tradition, and as I’m sure you are aware, Chicago has a huge Polish population.
This will be my 10th year working in Chicago TV, which has taken me to all kinds of locations on Paczki Day. This year, I hit the kitchen of the Zawaski family in Evergreen Park – in-laws to WGN reporter Patrick Elwood. Fran and Joanell Zawaski wake up at about midnight and start work on the 1,600+ paczki they will be making from scratch that morning. Those who are lucky enough to get on their list (mostly family and friends), pick up their order of paczki starting at 6:15am.
And they do it all for free.
It’s simply a family tradition – everybody gets together and chips in on the fun.
It is a #PaczkiDay party. We are LIVE in Evergreen Park with @PatrickElwood‘s amazing fam. pic.twitter.com/4RFGTKj6Mj
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) February 17, 2015
They were nice enough to host us all morning on the WGN Morning News. The entertainment was spectacular and the paczki were quite simply the best I have ever had.
Now if I could only get on that list…..
Fried gnocchi explode, chef can’t stop laughing (VIDEO)
Never, ever deep-fry gnocchi.
That is the lesson of this video. It was posted to YouTube back in 2010 by the Webstaurant Store but recently found life on Reddit. This guy Steve was wondering if you could fry a gnocchi, so he decided to put a bunch of them into a fryer and see what would happen.
He probably should have brought a shield. Watch the video and wait for the fried gnocchi action to happen….
IF I DIE ON MARS: Meet the people who want to colonize the red planet
It’s an amazing opportunity. You would be the first human being to travel to another planet, starting something new, paving the way for future generations to potentially colonize the universe. But there’s one problem.
Once you go, you can never come back.
A new short film IF I DIE ON MARS introduces us to three people who want to take up this challenge. The Mars One project hopes to set up a human settlement on the planet by 2025. More than 200,000 people have applied to go, and the group has been narrowed down to 660.
Mashable spoke with the film’s director about the project and what lies ahead when it comes to our exploration on Mars. Watch the full 10-minute movie below….
GRAMMYS: Kanye West says Beck “should have given his award to Beyonce”
Most people watch the Grammys for the performances, but there are a few people out there who still get wrapped up in who wins the awards.
Kanye West appears to be one of them.
After Beck won Album Of The Year, Kanye followed him on stage in what looked like a playful send up of his Taylor Swift moment where he told the world Beyonce had the greatest video OF ALL TIME. But all thoughts that he was kidding have evaporated after he voiced his opinion to E! after the show.
Here are his comments in full….
I understand that Kanye feels Beyonce should have won the Grammy. I love his passion and how vocal he is about his love for Beyonce’s work. But how does Beck winning a Grammy diminish art? Does he really think Beck isn’t an artist? I wish he could just praise Beyonce, even say she should have won, without making it seem like Beck is a jerk for accepting an award that was given to him.
What do you think?
POLTERGEIST Trailer: Is this remake clean?
For the most part I hate remakes. Especially when it comes to iconic movies.
POLTERGEIST is one of those movies.
I remember being really young seeing the original for the first time. Yes, it freaked me out. I still get a little creeped out by clowns thanks to that bedroom scene. Same goes for fried chicken and new construction.
But more so, POLTERGEIST was one of those movies that made me fall in love with the horror genre. There is such a great buildup of tension, and when the crazy hits, it’s like one big, long exhale.
I have very little expectation for this remake. In a way, POLTERGEIST has already been remade countless times. Other filmmakers have tried to capture its charm and surprises in their own haunted house projects, some have had success while most have failed. But we live in a world where Hollywood is building new homes on top of hallowed ground, hoping that the ghosts of the past won’t reach up and stop the new neighborhood from flourishing.
The POLTERGEIST trailer is great. Let’s hope Sam Raimi, Gil Kenan and crew are able to construct something that makes a new generation of moviegoers fall in love with the genre the same way I did. Video below…
The Exercise Coach: High-tech workout comes to Chicago
On today’s WGN Morning News, I went to check out The Exercise Coach. The fitness program has been around the Chicago area since the early 2000s. They now have 30 locations across the country, and last month, they opened their first spot in the city. Here is our story with more below….
The company says they can get your fit with just two 20 minute workouts per week. The secret is in the technology, they say – their workout machines are hooked to computers that analyze all of your movements, and they use robotics to apply all of the tension based on your physical strength.
After testing out a few of the machines, I can say it’s like nothing I’ve felt before. You can really feel the machine fighting back and resisting as you are both pushing and pulling. Having the real-time target on the computer screen really pushes you to make sure you are getting what you need out of each rep.
As for the cost? It will set you back more than $300 per month, but they do offer free consultations if you want to try it out before you commit. Here are the details…
The Exercise Coach | 1015 W. Webster | 872-802-4464 | Vist exercisecoach.com to find other locations