{"id":2446389,"date":"2026-06-05T14:50:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2446389"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:50:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:50:57","slug":"a-real-estate-thriller-a-new-ice-cream-shop-and-what-to-drink-right-now-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/a-real-estate-thriller-a-new-ice-cream-shop-and-what-to-drink-right-now-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"A real estate thriller, a new ice cream shop and what to drink right now | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Editor’s note: Below is the Thursday, June 4 edition of the Food & Culture newsletter. If you want to receive it in your email inbox every Thursday (it’s free!), subscribe at\u00a0captimes.com\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Books in the running brooks\u00a0\ud83d\udcda<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Lindsay Christians<\/a>, Food and culture editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stones, and good in everything.\u201d \u2014 \u201cAs You Like It,\u201d Act II, Scene 1<\/p>\n

One of Casey Hoekstra\u2019s most memorable moments onstage at American Players Theatre<\/a> was a night when the rhyming comedy \u201cThe Liar\u201d got rained out. Phoebe Gonz\u00e1lez was playing Clarice, Hoekstra\u2019s love interest, and in a \u201cvery fraught\u201d moment, \u201cshe yelled at me and disowned me and left the stage,\u201d Hoekstra said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that moment the rain poured down,\u201d Hoekstra said. \u201cI was wearing a huge wig. It was matted over my face, and the rain is pouring down, and I just stood there and watched her. The audience started to laugh \u2026 this last moment that we had was perfect for this character.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In “The Liar” at American Players Theatre in 2023, the wigs were ample. (From left, Casey Hoekstra and Daniel Jos\u00e9 Molina.)<\/p>\n

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\n LIZ LAUREN<\/span>
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Ashley Rodriguez and I spent the better part of a day on the American Players Theatre campus last month, popping into rehearsals and sitting down with three of the core acting company\u2019s newest members. The summer season opens in previews June 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSome young actors take a view of, \u2018When we\u2019re doing a comedy, we\u2019ll wait for previews and find out where the laughs are,\u2019\u201d Triney Sandoval told me. \u201cI come from a school of, \u2018No, you tell the audience how long to laugh, and when to laugh.\u2019 It gets wacky.\u201d I can\u2019t wait.*\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m headed home for a few days this weekend and then on a much-needed vacation, so Ashley will be taking over for me in the short term.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the meantime, read how to celebrate Pride around Madison<\/a> with bike rides, plays and drag brunches. Kick off a summer of food festivals<\/a> at Mad Gluten Free Fest. Maybe visit a new food cart<\/a> or catch this stunning photography show<\/a> from Amadou Kromah at the library. I\u2019ll be watching the Tony Awards on Sunday (go Carrie Coon<\/a>!). And if you\u2019d like to pet a cow, they\u2019re hanging out downtown at Cows on the Concourse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cheers, friends! \u2014 Lindsay<\/em><\/p>\n

* PS Today on City Cast<\/a>, I\u2019m talking about what to eat, what to wear and what to see at American Players Theatre.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The cast of “As You Like It” at American Players Theatre rehearses a dance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ<\/span>
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What we\u2019re reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\n CELADON BOOKS<\/span>
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Claire Oshetsky sets their pulpy novel \u201cEvil Genius<\/strong>\u201d in the Bay Area in 1974. Celia, a 19-year-old telephone operator, spends her days dealing with frustrated customers and tells herself she loves her husband, a manbaby with rage issues. When a woman from the phone company is murdered in a crime of passion, the wheels in Celia\u2019s head start turning. I was cheering her on as she started shaking off the demands of \u201cher Drew,\u201d buying a knife to slip into her boot and beginning to liberate herself, one cocktail hour with the girls at a time. I read this in a day. \u2014 Lindsay<\/em><\/p>\n

Apparently \u201cpotboiler\u201d doesn\u2019t mean turning up the heat in a novel like a frog in a pot until all of a sudden things are boiling and you barely noticed the change. It should mean that, because that\u2019s what I want to call \u201cBest Offer Wins<\/strong>,\u201d the entertaining debut novel from Marisa Kashino. Main character Margo is pathologically driven to buy her \u201cdream house\u201d in D.C., even if it kills her \u2014 or someone else. I couldn\u2019t put this down. \u2014 Lindsay<\/em><\/p>\n\n

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\n COURTESY OF TI GAUGER<\/span>
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Restaurant news<\/strong><\/p>\n

Asteria Ice Cream<\/strong> is getting ready to open at 111 W. Main St. in Sun Prairie. According to a recent piece in Madison Magazine<\/a>, owners Ti and Jeff Gauger also operate two locations of Beans n Cream Coffee. Expect \u201crotating ice cream flavors and sundaes\u201d as well as \u201cdirty sodas\u201d with syrup and cold foam. The business is waiting on a final building inspection, so the current plan is to host patio pop-up hours from 4-8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and move the grand opening events to next weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new South Asian Market called Apne<\/strong> has posted on social media<\/a> that it\u2019s \u201copening soon\u201d at 6704 Watts Road, promising \u201cvegetarian-focused\u201d spices, produce and pantry items.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

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Distill America 2026 was held at Breese Stevens Field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n LINDSAY CHRISTIANS<\/span>
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Scenes from Distill America<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Distill America,<\/strong> held each May at Breese Stevens Field, introduces new spirits into the market every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This past Saturday, I went on the hunt for a new favorite rye or gin, fruit-infused liqueurs and dupes made in the Midwest for French herbal liqueurs that are expensive and hard to find. Here were a few of my faves, all of which should be available in the Madison area (Woodman\u2019s is a particularly good source). Prices are estimates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cooper & Kings American apple brandy<\/strong> ($22 at Woodman\u2019s, usually $25) \u2014 This would be a gorgeous ice cream float with apple cider, or made into a glaze for doughnuts or apple cake.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3 Floyds Wight VVitch gin<\/strong> ($30 at Woodman\u2019s, $33) \u2014 This is a very particular gin from a very particular craft brewery, with powerful notes of lemongrass, fresh ginger, pink peppercorn and lime peel. Skip the tonic; put this in a bloody mary. (The rum and bourbon at this booth were so smooth as to be dangerous.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Koval Thresh & Winnow 10-year rye<\/strong> ($100) \u2014 This ultra-aged 100% rye is SPICY in the best ways, with a hint of bitterness. I\u2019d put it in my fanciest Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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A representative from Journeyman Distillery in Michigan mans a booth at Distill America.<\/p>\n

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\n MAGGIE CHRISTIANS<\/span>
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Lucky Guys The Green Monk<\/strong> ($29-$35) \u2014 So I really hate that these guys are using AI for their label art. But I did like this herbal liquor, which is a version of green chartreuse made in Hudson near Minneapolis. I also liked their pre-batched black walnut old fashioned. Muddle some green apple in it for a little tartness to mellow the bitter walnut tannins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Awildan apple brandy<\/strong> ($40? note unclear)\u2014 The APPLES in this brandy! It\u2019s like that Thomas Keller pea soup in \u201cThe French Laundry Cookbook\u201d that\u2019s the most intense essence of pea flavor, but for booze and apples. Jeff Olson\u2019s distillery in Sun Prairie<\/a> is always one of the most fun at the fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Journeyman Field rye<\/strong> ($58) \u2014 We thought we\u2019d turn this lovely brown sugar-rich rye into an Old Fashioned with muddled dried figs instead of cherries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Honorable mentions:<\/strong> The spicy, cucumber-y milk punch at TenHead Spirits. State Line Distillery\u2019s coffee liqueur, which I brought down to the tasting attendant at St. George Spirits (she wanted to know why everyone was saying it was better than theirs, which it is). The St. George Valley gin, infused with fresh orange aromatics. And Dancing Goat\u2019s Maized & Confused, a 100% corn whiskey finished in cherry bitters barrels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My sister-in-law and tasting companion Maggie texted me a pic of that last one, saying \u201cBuy this for me.\u201d (Locals should be able to find it at the distillery in Cambridge.)<\/p>\n

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A child decorates her own donut with sprinkles at Drift in Arena. Read more about the excellent pizza and creative doughnut flavors in this week’s newsletter exclusive $20 Dining feature. (Sign up here<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n VICTORIA DAVIS<\/span>
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