Of Prime Interest

Here are the 20 best steak houses in the Chicago area. Call them manly. Call them indulgent. Call them politically out of step. Then call them for reservations.

By Dennis Ray Wheaton

The Breakaway: Chicago Blackhawks Owner Rocky Wirtz

By the time Bill Wirtz died last fall, his once-proud Chicago Blackhawks had turned into perennial losers playing before dwindling crowds. His son Rocky took over and quickly opened a new era for...

By Bryan Smith

November 2008 Table of Contents

Contributors

Debra Pickett, Robert Buscemi, K. Tighe, Cornelia Maude Spelman, John Kenzie

By Graham Meyer

Feedback

In November letters: readers vs. Daley vs. Daley and a South Side view

Outside Influence

The money funding Illinois candidates for the U.S. House doesn't all come from Illinois

By Esther Kang

A Bar Grows in West Town

Reformed scenesters put down roots with Old Oak Tap

By Sarah Preston

How About "Triple Threat"?

We huddle with Dan Schwab of Avenue M for the 411 on his upcoming new sports bar.

By Sarah Preston

The Five

If "free jazz" sounds more like an activist's cry than a music genre, check out the third annual Umbrella Music Festival. Here are our five picks.

By Mark Loehrke

The Annotated: Barbatuques

Performers in this true body band use themselves as instruments.

By Lucia Mauro

Bunny Hop

Roving homeowner downsizes from Playboy condo.

By Dennis Rodkin

Heat Sensor

Site tracks communities where sellers get biggest chunk of asking price.

By Dennis Rodkin

Out of Their Shell

Members of Turtle Wax family sell Indian Hill Club mansion.

By Dennis Rodkin

Cater Corner

Tower offers perks from nearby Talbott hotel.

By Dennis Rodkin

Court-esy Call

Developers revive courtyard building with modern finishes.

By Dennis Rodkin

What's in Store?

Shopping options improve with Roosevelt Collection.

By Dennis Rodkin

The Obama Bounce

Will Obama create a coattail effect for the rest of the Democratic ticket in Illinois?

Love, Bill

When the Evanston writer Cornelia Maude Spelman tried to unlock the mystery of her mother's melancholy, she turned to one of her parents' long-ago college pals—William Maxwell, the famed fiction...

By Cornelia Maude Spelman

Cookbook

A demanding book of recipes from a chef that commands our attention

By Penny Pollack

Dining Tidbits

November features Province, Cafecito, Breijo, and Martial Noguier

By Joanne Trestrail, Joanne Trestrail, Jeff Ruby, and Penny Pollack

Pour

Michel Tête Juliénas Domaine du Clos du Fief

By Dennis Ray Wheaton

The Sweet Spot

Barry Callebaut brings "chocolate academies" to the West Loop.

By Jeff Ruby

Odyssey: Tru Life

One man's plunge into extreme food-delivery etiquette.

By Mark Byrne

Front Burner: Jimmy Sneed

November 2008: Pan-Crusted Scallops with Lobster Coral Butter Sauce

The Adventures of Steak Man

Who can protect us from substandard meat? Steak Man!

By Jeff Ruby & John Kenzie

Gag Order

Need a laugh? Check out these 12 fresh comic talents—the best of the scene right now

By Robert Buscemi

At Your Service

Holiday party season is nearly upon us. We assembled four tablescapes so stylish, they risk upstaging the turkey.

By Barri Leiner

Don’t Choose an Auto Body Shop by Accident

Car banged up? Here are 28 of the best body shops in the Chicago area

By Robert Krughoff

Shopper: Caste

A Western Style furniture boutique with an elegant twist

By Rebecca Little

Cakewalk

Fifteen years after a gut-busting debut at Lounge Ax, The Sea and Cake continue to engineer a new rock sound

By Mark Guarino

Critical Mass - November 2008

Noteworthy new releases for November

By Cassie Walker

Lucky Strike

A cross-country stunt teaches an unintended lesson

By Edward Mcclelland

Girl Talk

What real girls have to say about American Girls

By K. Tighe with Chrissy Mahlmeister

Urban Artifact

A city relic, unearthed

By Robert Loerzel

Sales Check

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

By Rebecca Little

Hope Eternal

Mavis Staples, the voice of the civil rights era, is putting out a blistering new album on election day.

By Craig Keller

Raising the Roof

A critic's pick for some post-Thanksgiving Day fun

By Neil Tesser

Derrick Rose's Leap from Inner-City Baller to the NBA

THE AIR UP THERE: His story starts in Englewood, one of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods, where, as an athletic prodigy, he was shielded from harm

By Noah Isackson

The Blip - November 2008

Bright spots on November’s cultural radar