Animal Passion

Photos: Selena Salfen Top: Puppy love at the Fur Ball.Below: PAWS Chicago founder Paula Fasseas Animal Passion I’ve certainly dated more than my share of dogs, but I’ve never partied with pooches like I did at this year’s Fur Ball, thrown by the animal anticruelty group PAWS Chicago at the W Chicago City Center. More … Read more

Team of Two

’Tis the season for weddings. On Friday night, I attended yet another bachelorette party, this time for S. R., a founding member of Team Lush, who’s getting married at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego this coming weekend. About 10 girls got together to shower the bride-to-be with lingerie and advice before sending her off into matrimonial bliss. Of the 10, two are single; one is in a serious relationship; another has been married for a year; two are pregnant with their second children; and three have at least one kid each already. Conversation throughout the night hovered around husbands, pregnancy, children, grocery shopping, and sex. Only one of those topics I could personally relate to—OK, two, if you count grocery shopping for one.

Running on Fumes

Photography: Chris Guillen No waiting to exhale at Marshall McGearty’s Running on Fumes“I only smoke when I drink.” That quote can be attributed to more than half the quasi-smokers I know (including, sometimes, me). Nonetheless, the city’s new Clean Indoor Air Ordinance-prohibiting smoking in many public places, with the exception of bars, which will fall … Read more

Let’s Do Launch

Photography: Chris Guillen Roll out the product: companies are spending more on launch parties such as Heineken’s at Rockit (both above). Tyson Beckford at Rockit DJ Z-Trip (above) spins for appreciative fans at Motorola’s bash. It was a chilly Thursday in March, but Millennium Park was heating up as it made its transformation into Motorola … Read more

Table of Contents

Features The 2004 Dining Awards, by Dennis Ray Wheaton and Jeff Ruby Our critics combed the city to find the finest restaurants in town. They experienced spectacular rooms, pampering servers, and imaginative chefs offering everything from olive oil ice cream to prosciutto cotton candy. Our definitive top 20 list proves that Chicago restaurants are less … Read more