124 Best Dishes
We scoured the city for the top offerings on Chicago’s world-class restaurant scene. From appetizer through dessert, from über haute pineapple rum soup to down-home juicy fried chicken, here’s your road map to the 124 yummiest dishes around.

How the CIA Enlisted the Chicago Mob to Put a Hit on Castro
by Bryan Smith
Take a look at perhaps the strangest plot in U.S. intelligence history. The CIA’s target: Cuba’s Fidel Castro. The mission: assassination. The killers for hire: Chicago’s Outfit

Aliens
by David Bernstein
Exotic animals and plants are crisscrossing the globe as never before. Many of these unwelcome species have found their way to the Chicago area and are wreaking havoc on our local ecosystem.

The New Vice President
by Kevin McKeough
In his new book, Peter Sagal, the smart and impish host of NPR’s Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me!, turns his attention to porn, gluttony, swingers’ clubs, and other forms of behavior that he’d never, ever have the nerve to undertake on his own.

Fashion: Starry Nights
by Stacey Jones
For great evenings out, the smart set takes a break from traditional gowns with unexpected looks that are sporty and sophisticated, bohemian and chic. Dare to be different with artfully assembled separates, chunky jewelry, and bold bags. 

Letters

Contributors

Arena
PAGE TWO The presidential Dream Team—Gore and Obama; could it happen? The Big Ten’s biggest losers ARTS & CULTURE The Blip does Thanksgiving; Ella incarnate; six degrees of Ken Vandermark; the high-school football maven; Homo sapiens barackus identified in its natural habitat; Ann Packer’s latest novel; new music; more SERVICE DESK The Art Institute’s underappreciated prints-and-drawings collection; unpacking the cost of airfares STYLE The Art Institute’s Zoë Ryan shares her flare for design; ring bling; our winter color forecast. Plus: hot handbags and the arrival of Nanette Lepore

Table
A Clark Street odyssey; the hottest restaurants right now; warm welcome in Fox River Valley; a cocktail fit for a carnivore

Cheers
by Sarah Preston
Logan Square practically doubles its nightlife; five robust beers for chilly fall nights

Books
by Debra Pickett
Chicago psychotherapist Dr. Richard Baer, author of a remarkable new book on a woman with multiple personality disorder, talks about his treatment of this astonishing case. 

Politics
by James L. Merriner
In his first interview since his indictment on corruption charges, Tony Rezko talks about his rise from humble immigrant to powerful political and financial player.

Books
edited by Nora O’Donnell and Jennifer Wehunt
See if your favorite made our list of great Chicago novels.

Deal Estate
by Dennis Rodkin
The Lake Forest home of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first love hits the market; condo news from Kenwood and Riverside

Classifieds

The Closer
by Jeff Ruby
Facebook faux pas are impossible to avoid—if you’re not 19.

Chicago Guide®
A selective handbook to what’s going on around town. This month: fire-twirling Hawaiians, one serious crochet project, maps to the stars, more

Restaurants
The definitive guide to Chicago’s top restaurants. Hotsy-totsy Mexican seafood in Mt. Prospect; Geneva’s down with cool and contempo