Sex & Love

Even if romance doesn’t quite top food, clothing, or shelter on the hierarchy of needs for most Chicagoans, it’s a good bet that it tops the list of wants for many. In the following pages, we...

The Big Party

FROM JULY 2009: After launching the Playboy empire here in the 1950s, Hugh Hefner turned Chicago into a frontline of the sexual revolution, acting out his sybaritic fantasy life behind the walls of...

Bryan Smith

Singles 2009

Unlike most superheroes, our top 20 singles don't need alter egos. We think their real-life personas are pretty extraordinary.

Noah Isackson, Nora O’Donnell, and Jennifer Wehunt

Table of Contents

Contributors

July 2009: Shane Tritsch, Jennifer Wehunt, Jeff Ruby, J. C. Gabel, Lisa Predko

Graham Meyer

Feedback

In July’s letters: Criticisms of our top veterinarians article and sharp opinions on Bill Ayers

Last Action Hero

Chicago could sure use a colorful sports star

Jeff Ruby

5 Books to Browse For …

among the 110,000 volumes on offer at the Newberry sale

Going Digital

Brad Spirrison

Senator Chuckles

5 Guy-Friendly Drinks

Kate Schwartz Seamons

Air Heads

Kate Schwartz Seamons

Power Conversion

A live wire of a new club plugs into a familiar River North address

Kate Schwartz Seamons

Tonight, Let's Go West

A guide to the burgeoning West Side

J.C. Gabel

Expert Ears

Four musical insiders handicap the summer music calendar

Patrick Sisson

The Insider

Five picks for the Pitchfork Music Festival (July 17-19, Union Park, pitchforkmusicfestival.com) from Mark Richardson,...

A Fast Fete

We wanted to throw an impromptu summer bash, so we kept the to-do list simple: takeout food, local beer, and a quirky theme—a “Taste of Chicago” at home

Barri Leiner, Megan Lovejoy, Bridget Maiellaro, and Cassie Walker

Like It’s 1989…

In July, two concerts for a Chicago music enthusiast’s memory book

Kevin McKeough

A Man with a Gun

Just in time for the Chicago-filmed movie Public Enemies, out July 1st, here’s a primer on the real life of John Dillinger, according to his biographer Bryan Burrough and other historians

Robert Loerzel

Shopper: Neapolitan Men

New to Winnetka: a one-stop shop for the sartorial man

Rebecca Little

Sales Check

A roundup of July’s sales, store openings, and shopping news

Bridget Maiellaro

Review: What’s In a Name

Wilco (the album)

Kevin McKeough

Defined: “Modern-Day Thoreau”

Critically acclaimed author Wade Rouse returns with his third memoir

You Should Know ... Julia Sweeney

It’s Pat!—with a new husband, a new North Shore address, and a new comedy series at the Lakeshore Theater

Bradley Lincoln

First Class

High on our summer to-do list: Attend a concert by the 15-year-old classical music prodigy Conrad Tao

Cassie Walker

The Food Desert

Major swaths of Chicago lack access to healthful food. This simple truth hides a thicket of related problems that researchers, activists, and public officials are struggling to resolve

Jennifer Wehunt

“You’re Sold!”

Trump Tower “apprentice” sells his three-bedroom graystone

Dennis Rodkin

Wet Blanket

Nearly 25 percent of all local mortgages are “under water,” website reports

Dennis Rodkin

A Tudor Wedding Gift

Some 100 years ago, a Chicago industrialist and Kenwood landowner presented this three-story residence to his newly married daughter

Dennis Rodkin

City Code Is No Setback

Design requirement created lots more room for windows

Dennis Rodkin

Inner Beauty

Apartments reborn as condos were gutted “down to the walls”

Dennis Rodkin

Eye Opener

Quiet architect and developer makes a statement

Dennis Rodkin

Dining Out: Greek Revival

A Wicker Park spot breathes new life into an old cuisine; the Ravinia crowd finally gets a good dining option

Dennis Ray Wheaton

Dining Tidbits

Singled Out: Whole Foods

Jeff Ruby

Odyssey: Forget The Players—The Food Is on Steroids

Super-sized food has invaded our stadiums. Will monster pretzels and two-foot meatball sandwiches win over the baseball junkies?

Rod O’Connor

Pour: 2007 Santa Rita Carménère Reserva

Round smoothness envelops black cherry fruit and soft cinnamon spice

Dennis Ray Wheaton

Gluten-Free Zones

Awesome gluten-free fried chicken in the West Loop. PLUS: Restaurants, bakeries, and Web sites with gluten-free menus and products

Penny Pollack