Dmitry Samarov on the gregarious artist he picked up in his cab four years ago: "Life around Tony was rarely dull.... I've never known anyone better suited to being the center of attention." Read more
October 11, 2011--Chicago Home + Garden readers received free, in-person advice from interior design professionals when Chicago Home + Garden and the American Society of Interior Designers presented Picture This! Attendees brought pictures of their latest design dilemmas and received complimentary consultations from ASID designers while enjoying cocktails and great food at The Chopping Block. Read more
A study of female public-housing residents who moved to low-poverty neighborhoods—based on a HUD experiment that arose out of Chicago's famous Gautreaux project—finds that the women were less likely to suffer from obesity and diabetes than the control group. Read more
How long does it take for a bar top to feel gluey to the touch, the smell of stale beer to override the scent of fresh paint, and the bartenders to become a little surly? I wondered this after The Creative Director and I blew threw the door on a 50-mile-an-hour breeze and later sat waiting for a pizza to be delivered to the Norse Bar, a spanking new spot in Edgewater that doesn’t serve food but offers an interesting beer list... Read more
Given what a big city Chicago is—and what a big country China is—there are very few Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatown or the Argyle Street area worth their salt (or soy sauce). The restaurateurs behind a project under way at the corner of Hubbard and La Salle Streets aim to change that. Red Violet (121 W. Hubbard St.; no phone yet), an upscale 200-seat restaurant and lounge, is scheduled to open by the end of November, serving the food of Beijing, Sichuan, and Shanghai... Read more