Officials took a victory lap Tuesday to celebrate low COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after a long, two-year battle with the virus.

• But recent data suggests we may be facing trouble ahead.

Driving the news: New wastewater surveillance data from the CDC shows rising COVID levels in Cook County.

• Two recent wastewater samples from the city and northwest suburbs showed a 1,000% increase in the presence of the virus over two weeks.

Yes, but: University of Illinois at Chicago wastewater researchers tempered concern in an interview with ABC-7, noting that the exponential rise started with very low virus levels.

• And at a Tuesday press conference, health commissioner Allison Arwady said the wastewater program is still "in its infancy" but noted, "we are watching [data] closely."

Zoom out: Several large metro areas are seeing similar increases in wastewater.

Variant watch: New city data also shows a one-week rise of local BA.2 variant infections from 13% to 23% of cases.

• Data suggests the BA.2 is more transmissible than the previous strains of Omicron and has been associated with new infection surges in Europe and China.
• Arwady noted Tuesday, though, that early studies suggest previous Omicron infection can provide strong protection against BA.2.

The big picture: Arwady says she won't be surprised to see local cases rise with the recent relaxation of mask and vaccine mandates.

• But she does not expect to reimpose mask mandates unless the Chicago area returns to the high (or "red") category based on recent CDC metrics.

What's next: Arwady will do a deep dive on variants during her virtual briefing today at 11am.

Chicago will be well-represented at this year's James Beard Foundation awards. Nine local chefs and restaurants are among the nominees for the 2022 awards.

Why it matters: The James Beards are the Oscars of the food world, and the awards ceremony will be back in Chicago after going virtual during the pandemic.

🍽 Driving the news: The local nominees for national categories:

• Outstanding Chef: Jason Vincent (Giant)
• Outstanding Restaurant: Parachute
• Outstanding Baker: Maya-Camille Broussard (Justice of the Pies)
• Outstanding Bar Program: Nobody’s Darling
• Best New Restaurant: Kasama

What they're saying: "It's very flattering but I would trade it for this [Ukraine] not happening and COVID not happening," chef Jason Vincent told Axios at the Chicago Chefs Cook for Ukraine event last night.

Beverly Kim, chef/co-owner of Parachute agrees.

• "We're stunned and emotionally right on the edge with this and the pandemic and Ukraine."

🧑‍🍳 Zoom in: Chicago chefs also dominate the "Best Chef: Great Lakes" category, with four of the five nominees:

• Jason Hammel of Lula Cafe.
• Noah Sandoval of Oriole.
• John Shields and Karen Urie Shields of Smyth.
• Erick Williams of Virtue Restaurant & Bar.

What's next: Chicago has hosted the James Beard Awards since 2015. This year's ceremony takes place June 13 at the Civic Opera House.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Though the big celebrations took place last weekend, today is the official holiday.

🍀 St. Patrick's Day has always been a big deal in Chicago, and a new study looking at Irish ancestry and heritage in the U.S. helps explain why.

• The percentages of populations that have Irish ancestry in our area:
• Will County: 7.1%
• McHenry County: 6.4%
• DuPage County: 5.5%
• Cook County: 3.5%
• Lake County: 3.5%

Of note: The largest percentage of Irish ancestry in the state is DeWitt County in central Illinois at 16.1%.

😷 The state labor board denied the CTU's request to immediately block the new mask-optional policy at CPS. (CBS 2)

💄Marilyn "Cosmetics Queen" Miglin died this week at 83. The former Home Shopping Network host was married to slain real estate magnate Lee Miglin. She was played by Judith Light in the FX hit "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story." (Sun-Times)

📺 Legendary Chicago broadcaster Merri Dee died at the age of 85. The WGN-TV star was on-air in the '70s and '80s. She also survived a kidnapping in 1971. (ABC 7)

🏀 DePaul's women's basketball team last night lost 88-57 to Dayton. They have been eliminated from the NCAA tournament. (ESPN)

🪞 Reflect on your future with our Local Job Board.

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2. Director, Sales Enablement at Axios.
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After engaging in a lot of Food Fights over meat, we wanted to shift the conversation to meatless options around town — specifically meat-like burgers.

🍔 Monica's pick: I'd heard great things about the meatless ranch cheeseburger at Upton's Breakroom, but it was sold out the day I went. Womp, womp.

• So I opted for the Impossible Burger ($10.95) from Lucy's in Humboldt Park. Sure, the place is best known for chicken, but don't miss their fake burger.
• Served on a soft brioche bun with bold condiments, this rich, juicy patty with a slightly meaty chew both delighted me and fooled my BF into thinking I gave him cow flesh.

🍔 Justin's pick: I enjoyed this Food Fight. I tried a few different plant-based burgers, including the Beyond Burger at Epic Burger, but landed on the Impossible Burger from Maillard Tavern.

• Owned by the folks at Piccolo Sogno, Maillard Tavern dresses up this plant-based burger with mushrooms, chipotle mayo, swiss cheese, and an interesting addition, cilantro.
• It's pricey ($16) but worth it.

📬 Reply with your favorite meatless burger in the area for a list we'll release next week.

The 2022 NCAA Tournament begins today. Although the local teams play tomorrow, today will still be a must-watch for sports fans.

• If you can't sneak away from work to watch some of the games, this is for you. Here's a quick look at some of Chicago's best moments from past NCAA tournaments: