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Geese is the Word

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Poetry in Motion
Steve Schwartz, the owner of Campagnola (815 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 847-475-6100), is almost set to open Wild Geese (1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston), an eclectic restaurant with a huge bar. . “We had a guy come from Vermont who built the wood-burning oven,” Schwartz says. “It’s absolutely beautiful.” Pizzas and small plates will be on the menu, but Schwartz is reluctant to pigeonhole the restaurant, which shares a common performance/party space with a neighboring recording studio. And Wild Geese may sound like a random name for a pizzeria, but it comes from a poem of the same name by Mary Oliver: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting . . . ”

Out Lao’d
They say you should never open a restaurant in January, and Tony Hu didn’t. He opened two…

Best of 2007: Reader Comments

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In the spirit of year-end lists—and not taking myself too seriously—I’ve compiled some of the best (and snarkiest) responses to Last Girl Standing, culled from comments posted to the blog throughout 2007. Here’s to even more banter in 2008.

In response to: Weekend Update
You said: “We have the privilege to read about the chronicles of a Chicago woman who is quickly approaching middle age. She flirts with randoms, gets wasted on expensive martinis, and spends time text messaging bar owners to try to get the ‘in.’ She is the epitome of the Old Man in the Window. If the Old Man had a column ten years ago, it’d be very similar. Last Girl Standing now, Alone Girl Sitting later.”
I say: That’s a great name for a blog! I’ll consider it for Last Girl Standing 2.0. But let’s get one thing clear…

Last-minute NYE Options

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Unless your idea of a good New Year’s Eve involves aimless bar-hopping when cabs are scarce and clubs are overcrowded, stop dragging your feet and make your plans already. The events below still had tickets available as of late last week, and folks continue to post New Year’s Eve updates to the comments section of this blog. Get to it, people. And happy 2008…

Matzo Ball Menu

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For Jewish singles, Christmas Eve is one serious party night. Revelry and romance! No work the next day and no family obligations! (One drawback: It’s also a night of dodging exes you met on JDate and thought you’d never see again. Good luck with that.) Whether: a) you’re looking to meet a nice Jewish boy or girl; b) you aren’t into the whole Christmas thing; or c) you just need a night off before all of the family togetherness the following day, one of these December 24th bashes, aka “matzo balls,” should suit your party needs. ‘Tis the season for schmoozing—and possibly meeting someone new to spend New Year’s with…

Techno Tapas, No Más Mas

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Way to Go, Grant
Dish adds its best wishes to the growing chorus of food critics and journalists sounding the happy news that, following numerous rounds of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation protocols, the life-threatening cancer faced by Grant Achatz (Alinea, 1723 N. Halsted St.; 312-867-0110) is in remission.

Eat the Macarena
According to John Borras, chef/owner of the three-month-old Macarena Tapas (618 S. Route 59, Naperville; 630-420-8995), Ferran Adrià, father of the techno-chef revolution, accepts exactly 48 participants from the more than 300,000 applications he receives for his annual culinary seminar in Barcelona. Borras was one of…

Celebrity Beat: Duran Duran, Lauren Conrad, Brody Jenner

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Delays, refusals, and artful evasions: it’s pretty much the theme of this past weekend’s celebrity beat. Fortunately, a true LGS takes it all in stride—and still manages to turn up a few celebrity morsels. On Friday night, I chatted up Nick Rhodes and John Taylor of the seminal eighties new-wave band Duran Duran before the group’s concert at the Chicago Theatre… PLUS: Lauren and Brody in town