With the help from the developer, these spacious two-bedroom condos are filled with sunshine Read more

Sneak Peek

Last Friday afternoon, a trusted FOD got tipped off that Graham Elliot (217 W. Huron St.; 312-624-9975)—still awaiting its liquor license at the time—was opening quietly that evening, and he had no trouble scoring a table. Considering the high profile Graham Elliot Bowles cuts on the dining scene, the début of the chef’s eagerly anticipated spot was relentlessly low profile. Then again, plenty of foodies must have heard the same...

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We canvassed friends and associates in search of Chicago’s top stylists and then sent anonymous “clients” of every hair type to test their skills. The stylists profiled here earned the best ratings. Read more

Need an Outlet?
The owners of Madison and Friends (43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403; 720 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, 847-236-4131) and The Denim Lounge (2004 W. Roscoe St., 773-935-2820; 43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403) have replaced the standalone Tween store in Lincoln Park with a new Madison and Friends Outlet (1963 N. Halsted St.; 312-943-0436). Co-owner David Shelist says out-of-town customers, who were less willing to make the trip up north, were disappointed that the tween...

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These days, Chicago's best barbecue comes from a legion of savvy new pit masters. Our man on the case digs in and gets his hands dirty. Read more

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...

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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...

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Late Arrival, Early
For a stage tucked away in the ’burbs, Northlight Theatre (9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie; 847-673-6300) consistently turns out must-see shows. The roster of talent behind the theatre’s Interplay series—particularly the latest show, Better Late, about a man who moves in with his ex and her new hubbyrivals any in New York. The play, written by Larry Gelbart (M.A.S.H., Tootsie) and Craig Wright (Six Feet Under, Dirty Sexy Money), doesn’t première until April, but you can get a sneak peek at a reading by John Mahoney (Frasier) and Mamet regular Mike Nussbaum at 7:30 p.m. Monday the 17th. Tickets are $15.

Best Bets for Things to Do This Week

Watch
• Hear the stories behind the vendors at the première of Streetwise: The Movie, a documentary by..

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