Best New Restaurants 2007

Meet this year's crop of promising rookies. They run the gamut from high-voltage openings to hidden treasures. Whether glitzy or unassuming, all 21 spots have one thing in common—night in and...

Dennis Ray Wheaton and Joanne Trestrail

Terms of Endowment

Dr. Sheldon Burman was a pioneer in the practice of phalloplasty—surgery to enlarge the penis. He says he was simply giving patients what they wanted. But some of them say he left them scarred...

Dennis Rodkin

Inside Mr. Interior

Nate Berkus has parlayed a taste for simple elegance (and a blessing from Oprah) into a booming design business, and he's done it without losing his sunny charm. Just don't rearrange his t-shirts.

Marcia Froelke Coburn

Bull Buster

Scott Skiles was the ideal coach to pull the Chicago Bulls out of their post-Jordan abyss. A hard-nosed taskmaster, he molded a collection of raw underachievers into a unit that, much like Skiles...

Bryan Smith

Reel Chicago

Founded 100 years ago, Chicago's Essanay studio launched the movie careers of Gloria Swanson and Wallace Beery and helped a cockney comic named Charlie Chaplin rocket to fame.

Robert Loerzel

Fashion: In Full Flower

This spring, the bloom is on—dresses are everywhere, and they’re light and lovely, seductive and flirty. Go ahead and enjoy being a come-hither woman, an Eve in a garden of good.

By Stacey Jones

Marquee

News, reviews, and hot tips for May

One Last Bite

Planning your final meal is efficient (if macabre), but you don't always get what you want. A survey of last suppers of the famous, from Elvis to Ernest

Jeff Ruby

See Spot Run...Up a Bill

Dog ownership that costs an arm and a leg—make that a paw and a hind leg

Sandra Swanson

The View from My Window

Lyric Opera’s general director William Mason presents the view from his office window, which overlooks some newer architectural gems

Corina Quinn

What You are Watching

What Chicagoans are watching on TV. Hint: Simon, Paula, and Randy

Graham Meyer

Lava's New Flow

Dormant no longer, Lava returns to the scene with a bang. PLUS: Good things come in threes for the Goodbar team.

Sarah Preston

Style Sheet

Tattooed loot that leaves a marked impression

Barri Leiner

Liquid Gold

This spring, a seventh Argo Tea location opens in the South Loop

You Should Know...Jeff Mills and Yoko Uozumi

The renowned DJ and his wife set up shop on Division Street.

Jennifer Wehunt

North Shore Knockout - Sales Check

Chicago favorite Jake moved to the burbs earlier this year, and the venerable North Shore boutique Neapolitan doubled in size and added a shoe salon. Could Winnetka be giving Oak Street a run for...

Rebecca Little

Destination: Beverly

It’s the perfect destination for a Saturday stroll. Make a night of it: stay for dinner and a show.

Margaret Littman

Writers on the Record - Arthur Phillips

Victoria Lautman chats with Arthur Phillips. PLUS: From Our Contributors

The Ideal Hotel Room For...

Your sister and her hyperactive kids, your Cubs-loving brother, your college drinking buddies. They’re all coming to town this summer. And they all need a place to stay.

Kelly Aiglon

Making a Scene

by Carrie Napolilli

The Short List

The Tao of Common; Opera Idol; Humboldt Park decadence; a great massage deal; and more for May

Tipping Pointe

Meet dancer Britta Lazenga, the Joffrey's rising star.

Cassie Walker

Dance Dance Revolution

We talk to DJs Flosstradamus and Bad Boy Bill, take a peek inside their record collections, and find out whether it's true that DJs save lives.

by David Jakubiak

Skokie's Big Idea

Trying to wake its sleepy town center, Skokie has bypassed upscale retail in favor of luring science and technology companies. But will the suburb's $750-million plan pay off?

by Robert Reed

Deal Estate

May 2007

Dennis Rodkin

Deal Estate Condos

Condo news from Streeterville, Bridgeport, and Logan Square for May 2007.

Chefs on the Grill with Michael Nagrant - Barry Sorkin

This month, Nagrant sat down with Skokie native Barry Sorkin, a partner at Old Irving Park’s barbecue sensation, Smoque (3800 N. Pulaski Rd.; 773-545-7427).

Michael Nagrant

Recipe File

Alan Pirhofer's Apple Crostata is featured for May 2007.