Eat. I’m watching. Do it. — Texas meets Middle East barbecue, a trip to Dublin, plus ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 3 – Chicago Tribune

It’s Thursday, Chicago.

Have you chosen your green outfit yet? We hope so, we don’t want you to get pinched! Since St. Patrick’s Day is officially tomorrow, you might be ready to munch on a corned beef sandwich. We’ve rounded up 26 of Chicagoland’s best to help you out. Or, if you’ve got your sights set on a trip to the Emerald Isle, a self-guided walking tour around Dublin might inspire you to take a walk on the edge of a cliff.

Although the skies have been gray lately, brighter days are ahead. Some exciting summer lineups have just been announced, including Chi-Soul Fest at Navy Pier and headliners at Ravinia Festival. Meanwhile, we’ve got reviews for Ted Lasso, now back for Season 3, generational drama Layalina on stage at the Goodman Theater this month, and more to enjoy indoors.

Enjoy your weekend, see you back here next week.

— Lorin Azu, Deputy Senior Editor

North Chicago’s biggest summer festival is back — with Boyz II Men and The Isley Brothers together in concert, performances by John Legend, Santana and Lauryn Hill and a spotlight on women composers at Ravinia’s Breaking Barriers Classical Music Festival. Read more here.

Texas-style barbecue isn’t just catching on in the US, it’s even big in the Middle East. Meat Moot Smoking, a turkey chain that recently opened its first U.S. location in suburban Burbank, shows the global influence of Texas barbecue. The restaurant is halal certified, the meats come with a unique blend of spices, and the chefs prepare the meat with the dramatic flair of Salt Bae, Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe. Read Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger’s impressions here.

Coming off the buzz of the blockbuster “Creed III,” Tribune critic Michael Phillips takes a look at boxing movies of the past, including a little-known and hard-to-find 1950 Tribune-produced film, The Golden Gloves Story.” Read more here.

From Irish American pubs to new school delis to black-owned businesses, Chicago is a city that takes its beef sandwich seriously. But the almost unimaginable happened when beef quietly disappeared for nearly a year at Steingold’s in Wrigleyville. Tribune critic Louisa Chu interviewed Steingold’s owners about how they brought back the iconic St. Paddy’s and lists 25 more of the best in the area.

Apple TV+’s enjoyable comedy Ted Lasso is back for its third season and this time with longer episodes. Still, “the curve of pacing and the show’s signature tonal confidence seem out of balance,” writes Tribune critic Nina Metz. Read more of her review of part of the new season here.

Lucy’s BBQ serves Texas-style barbecue at Brewfest, a bar in northwest Indiana. If you go, “every order should include luscious slices of pepper-crusted brisket so absurdly tender and juicy you can tear the meat apart with the slightest stretch of your fingers,” writes Tribune critic Nick Kindelsperger. Owner Nick Kleuch, like many other Texas-style barbecue joints in Chicagoland, was inspired by the pit masters he encountered in the Lone Star State. Read about his barbecue journey here.

“Layalina” is a multigenerational immigrant family drama by Martin Youssef Zebari, now at the Goodman Theatre. The first act takes place in Baghdad in March 2003, the second act takes place in 2020 on Church Street in Skokie. The show has “a rich sense of the closest families, whether they’re in Baghdad or Skokie,” wrote Tribune critic Chris Jones. But while the first half is strong, the second needs more structure and clarity in its narrative arc. Read his full review of the play here.

Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. last saw his cousin Emmett Till the night he was kidnapped. In his new memoir, A Troubled Few Days: Revelations on the Road to Justice for My Cousin and Best Friend, Emmett Till, Parker explores the legacy of the crime that changed his life. Read his discussion with Tribune reporter Chris Borrelli here.

Once the gray and cold weather is out, all the fun and excitement of summer in Chicago will officially begin. The biggest change this year is that Taste of Chicago will have three pre-events in Chicago neighborhoods over the summer, then take place in Grant Park on September 8-10. Also on the lineup is the Chicago Blues Festival at Millennium Park in June, the Chicago Air and Water Show August 19-20 and the Chicago Jazz Festival in late summer. Read more here.

The sleepy Irish village of Howth, about half an hour from Dublin, is such an all-encompassing landscape that it can wash your troubles away. Depending on the route you take, the cliff climb into the village can take an hour or three, but you’ll find a windy and chaotic release along the way. Read how to get to Howth and what to do in the village here.