Features

The Best of Chicago
A budget brunch with a touch of exotica; a suburban library with drive-through service; a tenor sax man who leavens his manic intensity with a sense of humor – these are just a few of our 100-plus favorite things as Chicago puts its best foot forward.

Designing Man
by Christine Newman
Interior designer Bruce Gregga is nationally known for his elite list of clients, his elegant eclecticism, and his inexhaustible energy. He’s also a quick quip artist, a tease, a leg puller. And, as he likes to say, he has never met an unlimited budget he can’t exceed.

Can a Middle-Aged, Midlevel Tennis Player Beat the Best Ten-Year-Old in Chicago?
by Richard Babcock
The author endeavors to test his creaky back, trick knee, and vulnerable backhand against local tennis stars one-fifth his age. The ensuing battle between creeping mortality and flowering youth yields some surprising moments – and an inevitable conclusion.

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Frontlines
Taking it off for Playboy; swingin’ with Tony Ocean; life at Ida B. Wells; more

Power Lines
by Marc Spiegler
A once exiled Daley operative rejoins the fold; plus, McDonald’s fries Crain’s.

Stage & Screen
by Penelope Mesic
A cabby’s wild ride moves from the stage to the screen.

Real Lives
by Marcia Froelke Coburn
At Printworks Gallery, 54 artists place bets on a game of chance.

Traders on the Storm
by Scott McMurray
Chicago’s futures exchanges seem to be on a roll. But are they headed for the pits?

Going Places

by Jeanne Rattenbury
Oak Brook’s flourishing malls and stores beckon a clientele from beyond its borders.

Dining Out
by Dennis Ray Wheaton
From pillar to post to River North, two chefs have set down modern American roots.

Sullivan’s Travels
by Terry Sullivan
In a rare flirtation with quietude and sobriety, our man communes with monks.