Wednesday, 6/6

NYS 4:34
NYT 3:42
LAT 4:17
CS 3:01
Tausig tba
Onion tba

(updated 9 a.m. Wednesday)

Hmm, maybe Wednesday the Onion and Tausig puzzles will arrive. Ben T. is probably still off in Asia, so we can cut him a little slack for making us wait an extra day for these puzzles.

Just got back from a kid-free, husband-free dinner with friends at a new Thai tapas bistro in Lakeview, Sura. The decor is 1970-style ur-modern (the front area has crazy round swinging chairs and beanbag chairs), and the food? Yum. Would definitely go back! Those of you in Chicago, check it out.

Dinner was accompanied by yellow tail Riesling, so the blogging may be a tad unfocused. The Wednesday NYT by Richard Silvestri turns (some) I's into Y's in the theme entries, such that "taking a bite" becomes TAKING A BYTE. Some old-school fill, such as STERE and ATTAR and ENA, and some fresh clues. ARAB is clued as [Djellaba wearer] and Professor Google tells me it's a Moroccan garment. Here it is on some white folks. Favorite clue: [Don or Lena] for RIVER (both the Don and Lena are Russian rivers).

The Sun puzzle by Steven Kahn, who had the NYT puzzle earlier this week, is called "Gaming Names." The three theme entries in this 15x16 grid are enhanced by the addition of sparkling fill like BIOSPHERE, TSINGTAO beer, STACCATO, CASH BAR, and I NEED A HAND. I'm sorta falling asleep now, so I'll turn in and leave the crossword chat to the night owls and the early birds.

Updated:

Randall Hartman's CrosSynergy crossword, "Death of a Salesman," axes the REP from the theme entries, to good effect. My favorite crosswordese word is ORT, which gets play here in MINORITY ORT (dropping the first three letters from REPORT). Hannibal Lecter's proclivity to EAT OFFENDERS also amused me. Fun puzzle with a good vibe to it.

The LA Times puzzle by Bill Farris offers a quip that conveniently breaks down into three 15-letter chunks (THE VERY BUSY CHEF / OFTEN LEFT THINGS / ON THE BACK BURNER). Alas, as is often the case, the quip did not engage my sense of whimsy.