Published on 07/07/2023 at 01:00 PM
In the early 2010s, when the word “wanderlust” entered our everyday vocabulary and “take my hand” travel photos became all the rage, nothing fueled our desire to travel quite like the infinity pool. The boundaryless feat of structural engineering was a social media status symbol, a hot spot for influencers in pursuit of that perfect shot: Back to the camera, eyes on the horizon, a lone swimmer in a blue body of water at one with the sky.
On a recent visit to a boutique hotel, when the front desk informed me-with a playful wink-that an infinity pool graced the premises, I let out an automatic “oooh,” before falling into a deep line of questioning: Does the posh piscine gracing luxury hotels everywhere still have the power to inspire awe? Is it worth waiting around until everyone’s done splashing for that miraculously empty shot? And if that vanishing edge is a bit passé, where do we go from infinity?
“With social media driving so many of our travel choices, I do believe infinity pools still carry a lot of value and drive [hotel] bookings,” says Brooke Saward, the blogger behind World of Wanderlust. She’s been traveling solo for over 10 years, living in different hotels around the world. Her favorite infinity pool? The one at Singita Pamushana Lodge in Zimbabwe, a sparkling example overlooking the serene Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve.David Knowles, CEO and creative director of hotel consulting company Artelier, shares Saward’s sentiments. “The infinity pool will always provide shock value for its ability to remind individuals of luxury and exclusivity, areas unattainable to the general public,” he says. “To create an illusion with water merging into the horizon will always be a trompe-l’oeil, because the result shows a successful collaboration between man-made structures and natural elements.”
The infinity pool’s design hinges on a trick of the eye-what Knowles describes as a trompe-l’oeil-in which a hidden portion of the pool’s far wall is removed, allowing water to overflow into a catch basin built into the wall’s exterior. The concept dates back to the 1950s, when one-time Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice John Lautner introduced an early version of the infinity pool into the construction of Silvertop, a futuristic Los Angeles home commissioned by engineer Kenneth Reiner. The cantilevered swimming pool’s dramatic design aimed to visually merge Reiner’s property with the Silver Lake Reservoir below.
Fast forward a couple decades, and the Lautner-designed infinity pool featured in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever helped to spread the architectural optical illusion’s gospel. It eventually made its way into celebrity culture, refreshing the homes of Beyoncé and the Kardashians. But there was a darker side, too. Perhaps due to its sanitized, fit-for-one appearance, the infinity pool exuded a certain level of creepiness. Case in point: Infinity Pool, Brandon Cronenberg’s recent science-fiction thriller where the eponymous pool’s trippy design is the source of some dark mayhem.Nevertheless, hoteliers have long understood how the infinity pool could provide the ultimate Instagram flex. It’s a form of art within a public sphere, and as Instagrammers snap photos, they become a part of the immersive experience. Yet as TikTok’s emergence complicates the very notion of travel influencing, the luxury-laden trope has started to wear away.
“We’ve noticed a change in the demand for infinity pools,” Knowles says. “The biophilic style is a great alternative-the same thing, but natural. Think rock pools or hot springs, integrating nature into design elements that aren’t so artificial looking. That way, individuals receive a holistic experience that’s not so out of touch with the natural world.”Given the rise of sustainable hospitality and eco-conscious eating, this shift toward a pool style that integrates the natural environment rather than attempting to visually defy it makes sense. On the residential front, a similar architectural trend involves building swimming pools into the very fabric of a home. It’s especially popular in warmer climates, where open-air living spaces are the norm. Design magazine Dezeen highlights Mexico’s Casa Xótol, where a wading pool flows through a walled courtyard, and Villa Cava, which features a rooftop pool that you can view from below through a circular skylight, as leading examples.
Knowles also points to his clients’ increasing demand for public art installations that challenge the assumed functions of a public space. “We recently finished a project in Dubai where [the] grass was replaced with shallow pools of water and linear paths of stone,” he says. “And we commissioned a local artist to create Modernist sculptures to be placed within the pools.”
While landscape designers are certainly getting more experimental, there’s no denying that the infinity pool forever shaped modern architecture by setting a precedent for the structural interplay between natural elements and man-made construction. And if you’re under the impression that the zero-edge Instagram cliche will soon be a permanent fixture of the past, think again. As Saward adds, “Now that so many five-star hotels have infinity pools, I can see how the wow factor might have diluted to some extent, but I don’t think that takes away from those picture-perfect moments that people travel far and wide for.”Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Jessica Sulima is a staff writer on the Travel team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Published on 30/06/2023 at 05:47
When The Bear returned for a second season last week, it was a return, not just to one of the best depictions of a kitchen ever made for television, but a return to the city it’s set in, creator and showrunner Christopher Storer’s native Chicago. The show was a summer hit in 2022, but it was also a lightning rod for authenticity-mad Chicagoans who strongly felt “their” Chicago was being misrepresented. Critics complained that there were inaccurate representations of specific neighborhoods, that just geographically it was confusing, and that the entire premise of the show-that a fine dining chef would come to work at one of their beloved Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich shops and try to impose a brigade system-was unrealistic.
The second season appears to both run toward this criticism, and far away from it. There is one episode set in Copenhagen. There is one episode set in the confines of an imaginary, absurdly high-end fine-dining restaurant, the original shop itself is literally demolished and reimagined as its own slightly more casual fine-dining restaurant (while retaining a sandwich window for takeaway). That eponymous restaurant seems to be embracing a “Chaos Menu,” with nods to the city but seems more interested in the specific perspective of its menu-designing chefs Marcus, Sydney, and Carmen.
But there are plenty of local nods throughout, from the bars the chefs drink in to the dumpling spots and pizza parlors they hit up for inspiration, to the grocery stores they go to for ingredients to start making their ideas and inspirations real. So here is a brief guide to the Chicago spots featured in the show in season two, should you want to follow in their footsteps, and eat and drink like the chefs.
Avondale
Alice’s is a beloved 40-year-old karaoke bar famous for staying open till 4 or even 5 am. During her season-long arc in culinary school, Tina transforms from a steely, stand-offish, hardass cook to a linchpin and leader on the line. The key beat in that evolution can be seen in episode five, when she joins her peers for after-school drinks at this dingey karaoke bar in Avondale. Karaoke requires a willingness to perform, and a degree of vulnerability we would’ve thought Tina incapable of in season one. When she crushes a rendition of “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” by Freddy Fender, we see her growing into the head cook the restaurant will need her to be.
River North
During her whirlwind food tour Sydney meets with restaurateur Donnie Madia at his oldest restaurant, Avec, which serves Mediterranean via Midwest cuisine including classics like their truffled focaccia and bacon-wrapped, chorizo-stuffed dates. Sydney gets to hang out for a menu rundown with chef Dylan Patel, and futilely attempts to poach some staff off Madia.
West Loop
Chef David Posey’s Danish-influenced new American restaurant that features a regularly changing menu (and separate regularly changing tasting menu) Elske served as the refurbished eponymous restaurant in season two. It’s also where Ayo Edibiri trained and prepped for season one.
West Loop
In episode seven, Richie goes to a fictional fine dining temple (run by “Chef Terry,” played by Olivia Coleman) to learn the meaning of hospitality. The actual restaurant is Ever, a two Michelin-starred tasting menu establishment run by Chef Chris Duffy and his longtime collaborator Michael Muser.
Ukrainian Village
Sydney goes on an epic food tour of Chicago trying to eat her way to inspiration working through a dish of marinated radicchio, burnt grapefruit, and chili. Her first stop is at this hit Filipino bakery/restaurant where she orders their famous breakfast sandwich with longaniza and a hash brown, with mushroom adobo and a mango tart (and a matcha latte). Kasama was an obvious reference for the show because chef/owner Tim Florence is one of the only people who have managed to update and refine the Italian beef sandwich in an additive, innovative way (a question Chicago chefs have long struggled with). There’s a great Spielbergian close up on Sydney as the kitchen puts her order together, watching with wide eyes, and thinking.
Ukrainian Village
A hit BYOB Northern Chinese shop owned by brothers Daniel and Eric Wat Sydney goes to town on during the episode three food tour. They’re famous for their in-house, freshly made noodles and dumplings, and liberal use of chili oil.
Bucktown
The titular “Sundae” of the third episode, we see Sydney going in on a towering Jackson Pollack of Whipped cream, ice cream, maraschino cherries, nut crumble, and liquid fudge. Margie’s is a candy store/creamery over 90 years old, famous for their monster sundaes.
River North
The inspiration for season one, and still the dressed up storefront/edifice of the show, as well as where the entire pilot was shot. If it wasn’t for this institution of Chicago Italian beef sandwiches, The Bear might not exist.
Lincoln Park
During Richie’s week staging for Chef Terry in episode seven, a guest requests deep dish pizza, sending Richie running out to this spot known for its platonic rendition of Chicago’s famous, and infamous style pie (which won the Tribune’s 2022 poll for “Best Chicago Style Pizza”). It’s a reflection of the restaurant’s over-the-top, do anything philosophy of hospitality.
Logan Square
Sydney goes for a slice of roni cup topped pizza from Lobo, a New York-style pizzeria that is famous for a slice featuring pepperoni and Calabrian hot honey. It’s a burgeoning chain with clubby design and eclectic toppings.
West Loop
Sydney gets an anatomy of beef and the exact location of the short rib, and a cautionary tale, from chef/butcher Rob Levitt during the episode three montage. Publican Quality Meats is an artisanal butcher that makes charcuterie in house, offers sandwiches, does pop-up dinners and offers to go packages for holidays.
Garfield Ridge
When Richie’s daughter, Eva, recounts celebrating his ex-wife’s promotion in episode three, the gut punch is they got “the good cake from Weber’s,” possibly referring to the nearly century-old bakery’s famous buttermilk pound cake.
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Abe Beame is a Thrillist contributor.
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