This one is going to be popular with wine lovers and space nerds alike: Lovell's of Lake Forest is hosting a Fattoria Viticcio Wine Dinner this Friday. If the name Lovell sounds familiar, that's because the restaurant is owned by astronaut James Lovell (who is, of course, Tom Hanks' character in the 1995 film Apollo 13). The restaurant displays artifacts from Lovell's time at NASA and from the filming of Apollo 13. It gets even better - the executive chef is Jay Lovell, James Lovell's son. more ›

Chicagoist's Tim State spotted this unique street sign near the intersection of E. Westminster Rd and Oakwood Ave. in Lake Forest, not too far from Lake Forest College. Malibu Stacy was not available for comment. more ›

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It's all gray and misty out, and today's essentially just a waiting day until vacation time, plus people are on edge about traveling and family and blahblahblah, we know what we need to do. Brace yourself. Get ready. Gird your loins. Did you? Time for some things that are awesome! This weird old TV from the 50s! It costs $500, which puts it out of our price range, but still, the TV itself is... more ›

Five observations about The Siddhartha Project, Collaboraction’s premiere adaptation of Herman Hesse’s coming-of-age classic, reinterpreted by 5 writers in 5 acts. 1 Staging Hesse’s tale of a gifted boy's self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment in Lumen, a fun, not terribly pretentious nightclub and creative space, seems stranger than locating said club down the block from a meatpacking plant. Commissioning five writers to reinterpret the tale in five eras is as risky as it is ambitious, as... more ›

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher seems to have a history of questionable taste in the women he gets involved with. Now one, a former exotic dancer with whom he has a two-year old son, is causing problems for the superstar. more ›

Once in a great while, Chicagoist has one of those moments of social and moral awareness that we like to call “maturity,” when we take a quick glance outside of ourselves and think about how our lives could be different under less auspicious circumstances. Not to get too existential on your asses this fine Friday morning, but there’s a big world out there, and sometimes it’s not a bad idea to take a peek. Luckily you can do it from the comfort of a neighborhood bar, thanks to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ GOAt (Globally Occupied Attention) series. more ›

The great thing about having old theatres still around is that they do funky stuff. It’s always amusing to see what the Music Box Theatre brings back, and even better, the crowd that turns out. Last time I was in the Music Box, they were showing Deep Throat. We showed up for the midnight viewing after a disco nap, hearing it was a naughty, dirty film. The audience was filled with groups of giggling people too young to know any sexual revolution first-hand. And sprinkled throughout, old men in trench coats. In trench coats, we kid you not. more ›

"hailclouds" via curve my flight. more ›

After months upon months of nothing but terrible to mediocre information, there's good news for public transportation users! more ›

Platteville, WI is planning a Chicago Bears training-camp museum. Thanks to a $200,000 grant from the NFL Grassroots field program, the grass football field at Lane Tech will be replaced with a synthetic playing service. People are loving this idea: For $150 you can get a customized South Side Irish St. Patrick's day parade street banner. They're green and have shamrocks and white lettering and you can put family names and memorial tributes on... more ›

When artists trade Chicago’s energy for a few weeks of peace and quiet in nature, are their careers better off? Or are residencies just cleverly disguised vacations? Not surprisingly, the panel of six artists and administrators representing four institutions at last week’s “Residencies and Other R&R” panel at the Chicago Cultural Center believe they’re serious stuff. Each panelist appreciated the type of focus that comes when you’re not distracted by cell phones, the dishes languishing... more ›

Despondent over not being able to afford your mortgage? Flummoxed at how your rent always seems to be going up? Outraged at how condos are changing the make-up of our neighborhoods? Then you're probably not going to want to hear about the latest trend in the housing market: ginormous mansions formulated for the stinkin' rich. Today's Tribune Magazine gives a rundown of some spectacular houses under construction in Lincoln Park. Sara Crown Star's new house... more ›

With all the potential candidates now known, the Cubs' list to fill Dusty Baker's vacancy seems to be: Lou Piniella, Joe Girardi, Bob Brenley and maybe even Buck Showalter -- the last of the managerial casualties. Braves third base coach Fredi Gonzalez had been on early wish lists, but the Florida Marlins snatched him up within hours of dumping Girardi. more ›

Damen Bridge via margaretlyons more ›

Chicagoist is not at all shocked that Lake Forest's own Vince Vaughn has been named by People Magazine as one of the sexiest men alive. We here at Chicagoist have wanted to tap that ass for months now and we knew it wouldn't be long before the rest of the world came to Jesus on the matter. He may not be sexiest, but just you wait: it's only a matter of time before he's high, buck-naked and playing the bongos in his River North condo and then World Sexy Domination shall be his. more ›

Chicagoist has been pretty clear that were we stand on the Cedric Benson holdout. His holdout has now reached 32 days, he's missed 3 preseason games and he hasn't even spoken to the Bears in 11 days. Late this afternoon, news broke that Benson had come to Chicago and met with Bears GM Jerry Angelo. Talks ended with no progress, however. The fact that Benson has put his new Lake Forest home on the market... more ›

Anyone that's lived through a summer in Chicago knows that, from time to time, choice lakefront beaches may be temporarily closed due to high levels of E. Coli in the water. Yeah, it's gross, but you deal with it and just look forward to going back to the beach (like Frankie and Annette) when things settle down... but who knew that the sand at the beach can be just as toxic as the water? Researchers... more ›

Four major film productions are lensing in Chicago this summer, including The Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston and Lake Forest’s own Vince Vaughn. With six more projects set to begin production in Illinois this year, you’d think that the folks in the Illinois and Chicago film offices could sit back and congratulate themselves on a job well done. Yet other state film offices are on the chopping block due to budget shortfalls. Also, the tax credits... more ›

The Starbucks at 71st and Stony Island celebrated its July opening yesterday, and Magic Johnson, Mayor Daley, and Alderman Leslie Hairston (5th) were on hand for the ceremony. The tone wasn't all smiles and caffeine though, as Daley, of course, unleashed some haterade. more ›

Way to go, us. Norquist praised the organization, or lack thereof, of Wicker Park, which mixes stores, homes, offices, and trendy salons, where yuppies and hipsters exist in peace. Ah, home sweet home. more ›