Working The Streets
Sure, high fashion influences hair trends. But, according to Sine Qua Non Salon, so does your address. Chicago neighborhoods inspire the salon’s second annual hair and fashion show on June 11th at Elbo Room (2871 N. Lincoln Ave.; open to the public. For information call 773-871-2280). Our early pick for most stereotypical: “Gold Coast,” a look that recalls Paris Hilton, with flashy clothes and flowing blond hair.

Illustration: Christoph Hitz

Sudoku Anonymous
“Sudoku is the new solitaire-only even more addictive,” says David Tucker, an admitted gamer (for two years now) and director of the 32-city Sudoku Champions Tournament, which kicks off its qualifying rounds in Chicago on June 10th and 11th at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. Register at www.sudokuchampions.com ($29.99).

The surest path to chick lit queendom?
Join the bar. Ponder the résumés of Emily Giffin, a Naperville North High School alum who practiced law for four years before penning a book, and Laura Caldwell, an author and adjunct law professor at Loyola. This month, Giffin, 34, releases Baby Proof (St. Martin’s Press; $23.95), while Caldwell, 38, publishes The Rome Affair (Mira Books; $6.99). “It’s not a coincidence that a lot of attorneys become writers,” says Giffin, who now lives in New York. “I knew on my first day at [a law firm] that I wasn’t going to be happy doing that long term.”

Fork Courtesy Of Fulton’s On The River

Stop, Thief!
The quickest way to steam a seafood chef: steal his silverware. Mark Mavrantonis, executive chef at Fulton’s on the River (315 N. LaSalle St.; 312-822-0100), searched long and hard to find unique oyster forks (which he special ordered from World Tableware, a restaurant supplier), only to have the new cutlery swim away in diners’ pockets. Says Mavrantonis: “I’m at the point where when I serve oysters, I almost want to have a chain on the forks like they have on pens at the bank.” Fact: The forks cost more than the restaurant’s steak knives.

Photo: Dan Boczarski

Oh, That Cul-De-Sac Melancholy
“Chicago and the suburbs right now are what Seattle was a few years ago. It’s where people are looking for new talent,” says Bob Morris, 21, guitarist of The Hush Sound, yet another band poised to rise from the emo hotbed that is the suburbs. Now that the band’s pianist, Greta Salpeter, has graduated from Benet Academy in Lisle (Class of 2006), the foursome, which recently signed to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz’s label Decaydance, embarks on a cross-country tour, stopping June 4th at Metro.

Millennium Plot
Loyola history professor Timothy Gilfoyle captures all the soaring architectural drama, petty human squabbling, and commendable leadership behind the city’s newest civic jewel in Millennium Park (University of Chicago Press; $45), out this month. Right on time: The park celebrates its second anniversary in July.