1 The World’s Most Peculiar Company

How does catalog-loving retailer Hammacher Schlemmer, famous for such eccentric and extravagant products as the Navigable Water Park, continue to survive in the age of Amazon?

2 The Chicago Skyline in 2023

A once-in-a-lifetime construction boom is reshaping downtown. We illustrate the residential towers that will soon rank among the city’s 13 tallest buildings.

3 Best New Restaurants

This year’s top spots are attracting neighborhood crowds with audacious cuisine that used to be the domain of posh prix fixe temples.

4 Ope! The All-Purpose Expression of Midwestern Politeness

Trying to flag down a waiter? Almost run into someone? Feel the first drops of rain? There’s only one way to say it all.

5 Top Doctors

How do you find the best medical care? You ask for a recommendation, of course. Here, we do the legwork for you, rounding up physicians endorsed by their peers as the best in the six-county metro area.

6 The End of an Epidemic

The number of people with food allergies has exploded in recent years. A dream team of Chicago researchers and scientists may have figured out why.

7 The 50 Best Restaurants

From a special newsstand-only issue: Chicago’s essential dining destinations, from haute tasting menus to inventive street food

8 24 Phrases You’ll Only Hear in Chicago

To be read in the frunchroom of your three flat.

9 How Chicago’s Dining Scene Lost Its Mojo

Chicago’s once-vaunted dining scene has lost its luster. Our food writer offers an unsparing five-point manifesto that explains why — and how we can fix it.

10 Best Public Schools

We crunched the latest performance data for more than 2,000 elementary, middle, and high schools in the city and suburbs. The top finishers are some of the most innovative and academically rigorous places you’ll find anywhere.