A month after speculation over an Apple store at Block 37 was the center of a lawsuit filed by another Block 37 tenant, Apple itself announced the location for its newest Chicago store: North & Clybourn. The new store will go up on the site of an old gas station where North, Clybourn, and Halsted all intersect. According to Crain's: more ›

This week's listings kick off this evening at Merchandise Mart with "Chill: an International Wine & Culinary Event" sponsored by Luxehome and Wine Spectator. Proceeds from the event benefit the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The event runs from 5 - 8 p.m. Chicago Professionals for Youth is committed to improving the lives of local underprivileged youth through literacy and mentoring programs, college preparation, job training and career skills assistance. Saturday they're hosting... more ›

Monica Eng at the Trib must be helping Chicago win its title of "most caffeinated" city; she tried 32 different coffees for a story in today's paper about which coffees taste the best. Coming out on top are cups of coffee from Metropolis, Intelligentsia, Coffee Beanery Ltd., Whole Foods, Cafe Colao, Illy, Peet's Coffee (our personal favorite), and Julius Meinl. She also recommends picking up the banana cream tart at Fox & Obel to... more ›

Today marks a new beginning at 620 N. State St. At Pizzeria via Stato, chef David DeGregorio streamlines the menu focus of Osteria via Stato to Roman-style thin crust pizzas featuring artisanal ingredients, small plates, an all-Italian wine list, an emphasis on seasonality, a smoke-free environment and casual seating (read: no reservations). To complement the new menu, wine director Adam Seger has crafted some inventive cocktails, including a "honeycrisp apple-sage-black pepper gastrotail" martini using his... more ›

We hope some of you got a chance to go to something at the Chicago Book Festival last week, but if not, here’s your chance. Our take on the second week: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst, discusses and signs his newest book The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, and maybe adds a few pointers for broke Chicagoists. Monday, Oct. 8, 6 p.m., Harold Washington Library, 400 S. State St., Cindy... more ›

Now that the Cubs are in the playoffs, want to convert? Or maybe you've been a Cubs fan but need to brush up on your trivia skills? Tonight, authors Glenn Stout, of the Best American Sports series, and Richard A. Johnson, the curator of the New England Sports Museum, present their latest collaboration, The Cubs: The Complete Story of Chicago Cubs Baseball, at Harold Washington Library. The Cubs details Cubs history covering such items as... more ›

To celebrate the new TV season, TV Guide is sponsoring free coffee at a bevy of area independent coffee shops. We aren't quite sure what connection TV Guide is trying to make here (You need caffeine to stay awake while reading this magazine? If you watched all of last night's shows you might need a little extra boost this morning?), but free coffee is free coffee, so we aren't going to think too hard about... more ›

The debate over the Chicago Children's Museum plan to relocate to Grant Park has escalated since Monday’s neighborhood meeting at Daley Bicentennial Plaza. There, museum officials introduced plans for a more sunken, environmentally friendly design adjacent to the Plaza. The Museum’s growth has been remarkable. Founded in 1982 in two Chicago Public Library hallways, it’s since moved three times, most recently to Navy Pier in 1995. Twelve years later, they’ve apparently outgrown that tourist magnet.... more ›

A funny thing happened to Chicagoist during cooking classes at Macy’s Culinary Studio: We discovered we are sorely lacking in the patience department. Here we thought we were simply going to improve our culinary skills, and then we ended up with a little self-discovery lesson along the way. Blame it on the heat coming from the two stoves or the wine we sipped between chopping, either way, we learned fairly quickly that a watched pot... more ›

In our experience, Angelina Jolie is pretty much on everyone's if-I-meet-this-person-in-real-life-I-have-a-free-pass-to-hit-it list, and is even the most popular person we've heard women say they'd "cross over" for. As in, "I'm not gay, but if I had the chance I'd be all over Angelina." Where are we going with this? The Chicago Film Office has provided information about a ton of streets being closed because Angelina Jolie's new movie Wanted is in town, and we're trying... more ›

Where to go Prom Dress Shopping? more ›

As if the gorgeous weather wasn't enough reason to call out sick for the week, Columbia College give you another with its 11th annual Story Week: Cities of Words. Sunday kicked off the week of words with an alumni reading, and Monday's reading by Anchee Min about Maoist China was tender, raw and funny. With fifteen events over five days, you can't go to everything, but here's where Chicagoist will be: Tuesday: the Graduate Student... more ›

It’s that time of year -- leaves are falling, radiators are clunking, and the Chicago Humanities Festival is raring to go. We love the fest, we really do. Chicagoist even worked for them for a few years. We don't want to look in gift horses' mouths, but we can't help wishing they would un-stuffy it up a little bit. Maybe book some more fun guests and authors. (Neil Gaiman sold out in minutes a few... more ›

In what may be another effect of the softening housing market we discussed yesterday, the Falor Corporation, an aggressive condo conversion company, pulled the plug on Nicky Hilton’s much-discussed condo-hotel project at 500 S. Dearborn St. Paris’ little sis was to help Falor convert the Printers Row’s Hotel Blake into a “calmer version” of her South Beach prototype. Condo-hotels, in which investors buy individual hotel rooms to use as a residential condo, and then allow... more ›

These are days of rage for Tribune architecture critics and their readers. Today, Blair Kamen and Patrick T. Reardon released their list of candidates for Ugliest Building in Chicagoland (Outside the Loop) and have asked readers to vote for the region’s all-out fugliest. They admit the list is unscientific and there’s much more bad design to go around. Thanks to masses of commuters, the rickety Roosevelt Road Metra station seemed destined to be the reader... more ›

And not in a good way. Chicagoist, along with hundreds of other people, were forced to walk home tonight because of a fire on the rear car of a Blue Line train. No trains were running in either direction between Washington in the Loop and Damen Avenue. The alternate route is the #56 bus that runs up Milwaukee Avenue, but that was so packed that the drivers were not even stopping at the stops.... more ›

This weekend, soccer legends like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer will be in Berlin to see the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final featuring France vs. Italy. On Monday, Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer will be on the big screen for the Chicago premiere of Miramax's documentary, "Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos." FireWorks for Kids Foundation, the Chicago Fire's charitable arm is hosting the event at 6:30pm at AMC River... more ›

Remember the time when one of the most valuable pieces of property in downtown Chicago sat empty for more than 15 years? You know, the one flanked on all sides by some of the most important business, governmental, theater and shopping districts in the city? Well, we decided the place will never, ever be developed because it is obviously cursed. That may seem dramatic, but, seriously? The latest construction, which started in November, isn't looking... more ›

We discovered from last week's Iron Chef post that some of you are very opinionated about the series and the chefs mentioned; to the extent that you might be considered- gasp- foodies!!! We'll let that sink in a moment for you. Breathe. It's alright. It's not a bad word. Ostentatious as all get-out, yes. But not bad. Take a sip from your smoothie. There you go. Feel better? For those of you who don't know... more ›

• Natarus and Gold Coast residents are still rallying to shut up street performers. Ironically, a Trib poll reveals that 56% of us say street performers don't bug us.
• A dozen people who recently bought heroin along the same stretch of South State St. have died. Police think that the drug is tainted or that they were sold fentanyl, which is many times stronger than morphine, instead of heroine.
• Scott Okun, the head of I-PASS, has been suspended without pay for job-related misconduct.

Call it a case of Joni Mitchell’s Disease. Imagine you’re a folkie singer-songwriter from the 60s. In your genre, Bob Dylan is the standard-bearer and is the first name spoken when discussing those who’ve left their mark on it. But you’ve made great contributions too and can hear the influence of your work even today. After 30 years of waiting to be recognized and lauded for your contributions, what do you do? You do it... more ›

If you're not too hung over from your Thanksgiving Eve festivities ("yay! no work for four days, lets get wasted!" or more like "holy shit, i have to spend the next 48 with my family, lets get wasted!"), head over to State Street tomorrow for the 72nd annual State Street Thanksgiving Parade. Over 350,000 people are expected to show up with 1.5 million watching at home. The parade features huge-ass helium balloons, marching bands, shitting... more ›

Is it just us or is the comic book world becoming more Chicago-centric? We started noticing the trend back in March with the release of Countdown to Infinite Crisis, DC’s harbinger of things to come in their Infinite Crisis miniseries that launched this week.* Some of the events in that book took place in none other than Chicago and suburban Highland Park. Then we got ahold of a preview copy of The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles at... more ›

Just noticed the Trib has a breaking news story - In the fall of next year, all Marshall Field's stores will convert to Macy's. This includes all 62 locations in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Indiana, Ohio and SD. So.. Marshall Fields on State St. becomes Macy's on State. Federated, who bought the May chain that Marshall Field's is a part of, says that they respect the legacy and traditions of Field's and that... more ›

For some Chicagoans, today’s World Music Festival Chicago 2005 kickoff validates our town's role as ambassador of global culture. For many more of us, this week will serve as an introduction to a glut of inventive musical stylings prompting a pledge to continue broadening our musical horizons. The most adventurous music fans can see dozens of performers from five continents at venues spanning every corner of Chicago. If you'd like a low-risk introduction, check out... more ›

When Chicagoist first heard about the Picador 10th anniversary event occurring next Thursday evening at the Harold Washington Library, we were excited. Okay, we first had to google Picador to find out that they're the paperback imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux (and Henry Holt and St. Martin's). And who are FSG? Publishers of some sweet, sweet books, that's who. We hope to pass our excitement on to you, dear readers, with a little... more ›

Along with everyone else, Chicagoist has been watching as Katrina formed, advanced, and finally plowed over New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Our hearts go out to everyone who was there and who lost family and friends, their homes and possessions. In some ways, this storm was reminiscent of Hurricane Andrew, a Category 4 hurricane that immobilized Miami-Dade County (and one Chicagoist staffer) in 1992. Both storms crept slowly towards their target, leaving Miami and... more ›

Own a business or live downtown? Want pretty parks to make your life more pleasurable? Daley says if your answer is "yes" to both questions then you should put your money where your mouth is. The City is considering a special taxing zone downtown to pay for landscaping, transportation upgrades, beautification of the central business district and operating Millennium Park. If the "Downtown Special Service Area" wins approval, property owners downtown will be hit with... more ›

Last month, Eric Zorn debuted a new Month in Review feature on his blog. He invited local bloggers and journalists to join him in discussing the month's hottest state and local news stories. This month Monsieur Zorn asked Chicagoist to participate. Below are our picks for July. Check Zorn's site tomorrow for his Monthly round up. Biggest Loser: Mayor Daley With the Feds coming in and busting up Chicago's political "boys club," Mayor Daley's approval... more ›

Chicagoist might pretend to come off jaded and too cool for school but even we like a good fireworks display. We were part of the over one million people expected to view the city's pre-Independence Day celebration. Of course, we snuck down there about 9:15, ooh'ed and ahh'ed, and were back on our barstools before 10. So we had it a lot better than all the suburbanites and other folks who just can't resist... more ›