Features

Best New Restaurants, by Dennis Ray Wheaton and Jeff Ruby
Our critics waded through the past year’s rush of restaurant newcomers-some swank, others neighborly-and tabbed 20 of them as the city’s best.

Owning a Piece of Jonathan, by Lucinda Hahn
When their son was born with a fatal genetic disorder, the Greenbergs urged a doctor to find the gene that caused the disease. He found it-but then patented it. Appalled, the Greenbergs are suing.

Give till It’s Gone, by Diane Granat
The Sears, Roebuck executive Julius Rosenwald donated millions of dollars to his favorite causes in Chicago and across the nation. So why, 71 years after his death, are those philanthropic endeavors largely forgotten?

When the Buzz Fades, by Deborah Wilk
For 20 years, Chicago was the red-hot center of the U.S. art market, but rival expositions have emerged recently, the latest in Miami’s sunny South Beach. Is Art Chicago going through a cyclical dip in stature, or has the caravan of dealers and collectors moved on to other high-energy destinations?

Mountain Do, by Stacey Jones
The grand, the simple, the sleek-dressing for success in Aspen, a second home and cultural capital for smart set Chicagoans.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Frontlines
Trainspotting‘s Irvine Welsh; a hot sushi spot imported from Manhattan; good karma at The Ruby Room; more

Style Sheet, by Stacy Wallace-Albert
Look on the bright side-accessories with pizzazz and all that jazz.

Arts Beat
Cheri Coons pens lyrics for a musical about The New Yorker; TimeLine Theatre looks at the affair between a philosopher and his student; young musicians play Music in the Loft; moviegoers ignore high ticket prices.

How We Spend | Creature Comforts, by Clare La Plante
With Americans shelling out $15 billion a year on pets, experts suggest ways to budget for all those vet visits and puppy spa treatments.

Reporter | Silent Knight, by Lauren Cowen
As a noise engineer, the aptly named Tom Thunder strives to quell the clamor of modern life.

Books | Augie’s March, by Bill Beuttler
Fifty years ago, Saul Bellows’s The Adventures of Augie March introduced a brilliant new literary voice. Its publication also may have culminated the quest for the Great American Novel.

Deal Estate, by Dennis Rodkin
Million-dollar sales recall Kenwood’s glory days; an environmentally aware developer shows why it’s easy being green; Chicago’s big balconies resemble backyards in the sky; and in economic hard times, a record number of people turn to the real estate biz.

Nightspotting, by Sarah Preston
Celeb hang out Whiskey Sky boast beautiful people and spectacular views of the city; Lake View gets a laid-back lounge.

The Closer, by Jeff Ruby
Those magazine rankings of good places to live never take into account the really important things in life, like doughnuts.