To Infinity and Beyond
Pet Project
Like many people in September 2005, with Hurricane Katrina looming off the Gulf Coast, Tim Maddock packed up his car for a long drive—but unlike most, Maddock headed toward the disaster rather than away. The former Chicagoan’s experiences with the post-hurricane animal-rescue effort directly informed his new play, Because They Have No Words, which tackles the chaos, grief, and bureaucratic nightmare at the heart of...
On The Market—Throwing Bucktown a Curve
List Price: $1.9 million
The Property: The architect John Hanna threw the rigidly rectilinear street grid in Bucktown a curve when he designed this contemporary home for a corner lot. The house appears impossibly slender when viewed from the west (looking at its front door), but then broadens in a sweeping, glassy curve as you walk around its north side.
Inside, the floor plan doesn’t feel pinched at the narrow ends because Hanna and the property’s developer, Chris Angelou, tucked balconies, closets, and bathrooms into those spaces. Stacked from the basement to the top floor within the house’s big bend are a...
Cute Restaurant Alert
Go Now
Mixteco Grill (1601 W. Montrose Ave.; 773-868-1601), a 35-seat BYO restaurant named for a region of Oaxaca and the indigenous people who inhabit it, opened last week—and we’re smitten. “The food there is the only food that is 100 percent authentic Mexican,” says Raul Arreola, the chef/owner. “No influence of other food. No Mayan. No Spanish. No French.” Arreola, a Mexico City native, put in 11 years at Frontera Grill, and ascended to sous-chef at
Housing Bulletin— Neighborhood Info @ Your Service
Two weeks ago, the Chicago real-estate agency @properties rolled out a cool tool for house hunters and sellers on its Web site. The @Report, as they call it, is built on the idea that real-estate markets are very, very local.
The eight-year-old agency has offices or agents working in 21 Chicago neighborhoods (most of the lakefront from Rogers Park to South Shore, plus a layer or two of inland neighborhoods for much of that stretch); this new tool puts the details on...
Dish Flash—Achatz Update
Then and Now
A full Dish column is coming tomorrow, but first we wanted to direct you to two terrific stories from our upcoming June issue. One is Burned, a dramatic narrative by Jennifer Tanaka on Grant Achatz’s brave and frightening days since his diagnosis with oral cancer. The other is Dennis Ray Wheaton’s From There to Alinea, a thoughtful examination and comparison of Achatz’s current stunner with the place where he came of age years ago: Napa Valley’s legendary French Laundry.
Waves of Fear
Right up there with Waikiki, Copacabana, and Venice, Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. Pronounced "BOND-Eye", this less-than-a-mile expanse in Sydney's eastern suburbs has a rich history as a hardbody hangout and a surfer's paradise. Though we are neither hardbodies nor surfers, for some reason we felt it necessary to check out Bondi...
Earth-Friendly Baby Gear in Andersonville
Kids Need Their Greens
Get ‘em started while they’re young and green your baby at the new Andersonville shop Green Genes (5111 N. Clark St.; 773-944-9250, green-genes.com), a baby store that compiles style and eco-friendliness with its selection of baby clothes, toys, diapers, bottles, and other items. The baby clothes, for example, are made of organic cotton, including a onesie emblazoned with “V is for Vegetables” from WonderToast Organics ($30) or canvas pants for toddlers ($23). You’ll also find PVC-free diaper bags from Kalencom, such as the olive green with an orange design ($85), and other practical items, such as SIGG water bottles, bamboo bowls, and Erbaviva baby soaps, lotions, and...
Sale of the Week—Breaking the Mold in Glen Ellyn
List price: $600,000
Sale Price: $545,000
The Property: When a homeowner owes more than a house is worth, that’s called being “under water.” In the case of this house, the term took on a double meaning.
The sellers of this house had bought the place in July 2006 for $800,000. The next year they moved to New York before they were able to sell the home, says their agent, RE/Max’s Christopher Kouros. Eventually the sellers, whose names do not appear in public records, dropped their asking price to...
Midnight’s Children
Do we know how to pick them or what? In our May issue, on stands now, senior editor Cassie Walker tipped readers off to a trio of young, ambitious playwrights, including Laura Jacqmin. Since then, the 25-year-old wunderkind has received the coveted Wasserstein Prize, which recognizes under-the-radar up-and-coming playwrights. See what all the fuss is about when...
On The Market—A Tudor Manor in Highland Park
List Price: $2.9 million
The Property: This grand old home 75 yards from the Lake Michigan blufftop in Highland Park evokes the early 20th-century age of big North Shore country houses. With its peacock fan of gable beams above a cozy inglenook entry, it would have been a happy place to arrive after a long...
Zweiban Goes Indie
Get Provincial
Randy Zweiban, the longtime exec chef/partner of Nacional 27 (325 W. Huron St.; 312-664-2727), steps down on April 30th to open Province (161 N. Jefferson St.), a 140-seat spot in the West Loop. “It’s modern American cuisine influenced by the flavors of South America and Spain,” Zweiban says. “It will be a bit broader than what I’ve done here at Nacional.” A few dishes he’s got nailed down for the menu: Tasmanian salmon carpaccio with preserved Meyer lemon and salsa; spice-rubbed grilled ahi tuna taco with chipotle tartar salsa; prawn and...
Housing Bulletin— City Condos Provide a Little Good News—for Now
Numbers out last week from the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) showed a big drop-off in home sales for Illinois in March from the same month in 2007. But Chicago stood out in two ways. The number of sales here dropped by a far smaller percentage than in the rest of the state. What’s more, the median sale price was up in Chicago, although it was down in...
How to Duck a Suckah
Sometimes, something so perfect crosses my desk, that I feel compelled to stop, inhale ... and immediately put it on my blog. This press release from Simon & Schuster is one of these.
"Recently, I sent you a copy of HOW TO DUCK A SUCKAH: A Guide to Living a Drama-Free Life (February 2008) by Big Boom, author of the Essence bestselling book, If You Want Closure in Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs (2007). . . In HOW TO DUCK A SUCKAH, Boom explains his controversial past and why he has decided to take a stand against suckahs by guiding women out of the 'sitting duck syndrome.' Big Boom was once a player/pimp/hustler and...
Slime and Punishment
I tried Vegemite with my toast and tea this morning. Guess I never really knew what it was, but I assumed since it was a national tradition and a cultural icon that it would be, I don't know, edible. Turns out it's a bilious thick brown spread made of leftover brewer's yeast extract. The Australian girl in the youth hostel kitchen snickered when she saw me spread it on my bread nice and thick, because she's seen a million Dumb Americans do this for the first time. They usually spit it out. I swallowed, because I knew she was watching, and because I told Sarah I would eat anything once, but...
Jewelry Boutique in Highland Park
Something Old, Something New
In four short years, Jil Alberts’s jewelry pieces have graced the pages of style magazines and become a favorite of celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Heidi Klum. Although she sells around the world and domestically at places such as Bergdorf Goodman, she has opened her own studio on the North Shore—Jill Alberts Jewelry (469 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park; 847-681-1630, jillalberts.com)—to offer Chicagoans a chance to see her creations in one space. The store is a mash-up of new pieces, untouched vintage and estate jewelry, but her signature design gesture is turning flea market finds into modern pieces. For instance...
Dish Flash—Death by Degrees
Fahrenheit (1890 W. Main St., St. Charles), a new 130-seat stunner that was going to be a boon to the far west suburban dining scene, has closed. The restaurant, led by Spiaggia veteran Pete Balodimas, quickly earned two stars in the Tribune and in Chicago magazine. Heck, we even put it in our Best New Restaurants issue (May 2008). So why did the place pull the plug after only...
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