The 100 Best Bars in Chicago

From gritty holes in the wall to cutting-edge cocktail lounges, Chicago is a drinker’s dream. But what of the 1,200-plus spots are most worth a visit? Chicago magazine’s 11-reporter team...

By Carly Boers and Emmet Sullivan

Reboot Your Workout

Time to make good on your 2013 fitness resolution! Here’s how to solve four common exercise challenges—and pick the Chicago gym that’s best for you.

By Beth Janes, Alice Oglethorpe and Karen Springen

Can $86 Million Save a Neighborhood?

Fifteen years ago, Lands’ End founder Gary Comer embarked on a wildly ambitious project to improve the struggling South Side neighborhood where he grew up.

By Elly Fishman

Chicago’s Once-Grand Movie Palaces

Photographer Eric Holubow offers a rare glimpse inside five of Chicago's most grand movie palaces, and Roger Ebert shares one of his most unforgettable moviegoing experiences.

By Eric Holubow and Roger Ebert

Terry Adkins Imagines ‘Black Beethoven’

The multimedia artist’s new Block Museum exhibit ponders gaps in our memory of history

By Jason Foumberg

Inside the Mind of Andreas Mitisek

The general director of Chicago Opera Theater on his dream project, the last three pieces he listened to, and more

By Graham Meyer

February’s Best Books

Christine Sneed’s debut novel, a riveting tale of family secrets, and new short stories from Karen Russell

By Kevin Nance and Emmet Sullivan

Lady About Town

Pop juggernaut Lady Gaga has been spending plenty of time in the Windy City lately . . .

By Selena Fragassi

A Guide to Chicago’s Theatre Week

The inaugural entertainment version of Restaurant Week hits stages this February, and you can nab discounted tickets to 100-plus plays. Here are six recommendations.

By Catey Sullivan

Five Best Things to Do in February

Five musts from our February culture calendar

By Kristina Vragovic

Deal Estate: Home Sales, News, and Trends

A Frank Lloyd Wright short sale and other updates from the real estate front

By Dennis Rodkin

Review: Elizabeth Restaurant

It’s Chicago’s most original new restaurant; pity it’s been overrun by foodies.

By Jeff Ruby

The Hot List: 10 places everyone’s talking about and dining at in February in order of heat

Chicago’s most-buzzed-about restaurants this month

By Penny Pollack and Jeff Ruby

A Guide to Chinatown: Where to Eat, Shop, and Play

Celebrate the new year all over again on the South Side

By Emmet Sullivan

Six Heartwarming Unions We’d Pay to See on Valentine’s Day

Chicago’s most unlikely romances

By Paul Hornschemeier

Sales Check

Store openings and deals in February

By Lynn Okura Bey

Fringe Makes a Haute Return

From dresses to shoes to handbags, the raveled-edge look is hotter than ever

By Heiji Choy Black

10 Things Winifred Gundeck Loves

The rustic-chic jewelry designer on her vintage Plattner chair, her great-grandmother’s watch, and more

By Heiji Choy Black

What’s Cheap in Chicago Dining

This month: Local Root

By Joanne Trestrail

Four Questions for Jason Chan and B.K. Park of Juno

The veterans of Urban Union and Arami team up for their dream restaurant on Lincoln Avenue

By Penny Pollack

Best Hot Chocolate in Chicago

Here are five fabulous versions to seek out

By Amber Gibson

The Tater Tot Trend

Lately, the quickest way to the Midwestern heart in Chicago has been the Tater Tot

By Kristina Vragovic

The Legal Problems of Illinois’s Pensions

Why righting the state’s fiscal cliff is so complicated

By Whet Moser

Come Clean, Chicago: We Hate Winter

It’s our annual February fib—that we love the brutal winters here. Time to stop living a lie.

By Jeff Ruby

David Axelrod on His Move to the University of Chicago

David Axelrod, Team Obama’s winning strategist, on ditching the campaign trail for a friendlier milieu: the University of Chicago