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April 2010
Stephanie Izard on Girl & the Goat, "Top Chef," and more
By Cassie Walker
STEPHANIE IZARD, INC.: In the two years since the curly-haired Chicago chef won a TV reality show, she has managed to turn her 15 minutes of fame into the launching pad for a celebrity brand. Her $1.5-million, 130-seat restaurant in the West Loop is racing to open next month. Will the crowds come? Read more
James Houlihan interested in run for mayor
By Carol Felsenthal
The Cook County Assessor has his eyes on the office—whether or not Daley runs

On Wednesday, I met with outgoing Cook County Assessor James Houlihan at his spacious downtown County Building office. The last time I interviewed him was in July 2006, when I was writing about Bill Clinton’s post-presidency. (The two men are golfing buddies.) Houlihan is a big man with an open face and manner—a great talker who has the natural gift of remembering... Read more
Your Friends, Kids, and Coworkers—Onstage at Second City
By Gina Bazer
"I don't feel that nervous until the theatre starts to fill up . . . and then I start to panic," said my friend, who wrote two of the sketches in "Wait, It Gets Better," a show that recently played at Donny's Skybox Theater, one of the venues for Second City's Training Center. I saw the show a couple Fridays ago, and, watching him greet friends in the ticket line, I felt his pain... Read more
Chicago magazine Goes Green on Earth Day
April 22, 2010—In celebration of both Chicago magazine’s and Earth Day’s 40th anniversaries this year, Chicago announced the launch of digital versions of Chicago magazine, Chicago Home + Garden, and Chicago FASHION through Zinio, an interactive publishing company. Chicago magazine partnered with Recycle Tech Solutions to co-host an electronic donation site at the Tribune Tower on Earth Day, April 22, 2010. Recycle Tech Solutions’ “DreamGreen” program seeks to inform and educate working professionals on the harmful effects of e-waste (electronic devices) on our environment. Through this program, Recycle Tech Solutions diverts millions of pounds of environmentally harmful electronics away from landfills. Operating in Chicago for the last 20 years, Recycle Tech Solutions looks forward to being on the forefront of environmental awareness in the workplace. Read more
Plant a Tree in Your Living Room

If a tree fell on the Museum of Science and Industry’s campus, would anybody hear it? Yes, indeed they would—and did. Last year, an almost-120-year-old white oak tree originally planted for the World’s Fair went thud, and now it’s been reincarnated as a coffee table by Chicago sculptor and furniture maker Terrence Karpowicz. This lovely piece has just been installed at the museum’s Smart Home exhibit, replacing the prototype that was there before (the prototype shown above is now available for purchase through Karpowicz). Smart Home is open through January 9, 2011.

—GINA BAZER

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Not Home, Yet Alone: The Chaser Kicks It Solo for a Hot Minute
By Amalie Drury
There's an art to sitting at a bar alone, and I'm still mastering it. (Mom: "Sweetie, if I were you, I wouldn't spend too much time in bars alone. So unhealthy.") I don't know if women can pull it off as easily as men, who always have the option of hunching over some huge beer while staring with laser focus at a hockey game on the nearest flat-screen. But... Read more
The Brightest of Seven "Sisters" on North Center's Riverfront
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $1.390 million
The Property: In 2004, a builder put up seven new cedar-sided houses and a mini-riverwalk on the former site of a boat storage yard on the North Branch of the Chicago River a few blocks north of Irving Park Road. Each of the homes has views of the water and of Horner Park. Read more