IM'ing Flight of the Conchords

The New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords landed at the Chicago Theatre Wednesday night for a sold-out show. Associate editor Nora O'Donnell and I tripped over ourselves to get tickets, then tripped over ourselves to rehash the show over IM today. Here's an excerpt from my chat with Nora, in which the main point of contention is a debate over Bret or Jermaine. Where do you side?

Cassie: What did you think of the show?
Nora: Awesome, with a small pang of disappointment when it came to the crowd.
Cassie: Yeah, I wanted to silence that one dude who kept shouting "Take Off Your Pants!" Although, admittedly, I wouldn't have minded if someone did...

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On The Market—Two-Bedroom Plus Library at the Palmolive

List Price: $2,495,000
The Property: This two-bedroom condo at the landmark Palmolive Building has been sumptuously finished with extensive millwork, gracious chandeliers, and a home automation system that controls everything from the indoor temperature to the blackout shades on the...

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Down By Foie

Foie’d Logic

Chicago’s city council repealed the infamous two-year-old foie gras ban on Wednesday by a vote of 37 to 6, thus ending one of the stranger episodes in local politics. Alderman Tom Tunney (44th ward), along with cosponsors Emma Mitts (37th) and Bernard Stone (50th), introduced the repeal with no debate, reportedly over the strenuous objections of Joe Moore (49th), who, according to the Sun-Times, said it would be “the first time in my 17 years on the city council that a matter was...

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Housing Bulletin— Melissa Bean and Mortgage-Aid Legislation

On May 8th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a mortgage rescue plan that, although threatened by a veto from President Bush, could help homeowners facing foreclosure stay in their homes with lower-cost loans.

Congresswoman Melissa Bean, who represents Illinois’ 8th District (Chicago’s north and northwest suburbs), authored three parts of the package that were expressly designed to keep the bill from rewarding irresponsible borrowers with government funds. “There’s an implication from opponents that this is somehow gifting taxpayer money to...

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A Game of Footy

This morning I was awakened by a kick in the nose from my daughter. On the continuum of Ways I Don't Want to Wake Up, this falls somewhere between uncontrollable bed-wetting and involuntary abscess removal. Hannah is obviously no longer sleeping in the tent on the floor; that experiment ended quickly. And even though she's only two feet tall, she has managed to take over our bed with a fury seen before only by Australian Rules Football—a game which the Australians, in their typical quaintness, refer to as "Footy." Footy would be a nice way of describing the dropkick beatdown wake-up call my kid gave me...

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Furniture Sample Sale at the Mart

On the Hunt

Browse furniture, fabrics, rugs, lighting, and home accents, many that are usually available only to the trade, at the Treasure Hunt Luxury Sample Sale at the Merchandise Mart (222 Merchandise Mart plaza, 7th floor; 312-527-4141) on May 17th and 18th. The selection—including samples, one-of-a-kinds, and new merchandise—is up to 75 percent off at participating showrooms such as Betty M (which marked down a chair and ottoman from $7,295 to $3,500), Filsinger, and Oriental Carpet Gallery. You can also bring in floor plans or questions for free...

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Sale of the Week—At a Loss in Wilmette

List Price: $1,199,900
Sale Price: $1,103,500
The Property: This large four-year-old house resides in a Wilmette neighborhood where new construction has replaced about one-third of the older ranch houses that still characterize the area. It has 13 rooms, five of them bedrooms (one is in the basement, where it would commonly be used for a nanny or guests), a pillared foyer, and a spacious kitchen lined with cherry cabinets. From the family room, French doors open onto a nice patio—but that’s about all there is to...

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Home Smart Home

Composting with worms is sooooooo outdated. That's but one of the conversational threads I picked up last night on a preview tour of the new Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry. I went in expecting to see the typical "eco" flourishes—bamboo flooring, energy efficient windows, dual-flush toilets—and I came out geeking over the interior design with my pal Heather Blaha, who edits Apartment Therapy Chicago...

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Tulip Time

Spring! Sunshine! Tulips! All three are so fleeting around these parts, so we take time to appreciate these two sweet photos that capture recent lovely moments in our downtown. Check out the vibrant colors in the shot by Flickr's kellyhafermann, and admire the amazing angle and lighting captured by jeanneg...

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Word to Your Mother

It's been two weeks since I had reconstructive knee surgery—two weeks spent holed up at my parents' house in the suburbs recovering. Having my ACL and meniscus repaired hasn't slowed the wedding arrangements down at all; not even crutches can affect this bride's ability to plan, plan, plan. If anything, being laid up has let me devote even more time and energy to the big day. The only thing scarier than a bride with too much time on her hands? A mother of the bride who's newly retired...

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To Infinity and Beyond

Pet Project

Like many people in September 2005, with Hurricane Katrina looming off the Gulf Coast, Tim Maddock packed up his car for a long drive—but unlike most, Maddock headed toward the disaster rather than away. The former Chicagoan’s experiences with the post-hurricane animal-rescue effort directly informed his new play, Because They Have No Words, which tackles the chaos, grief, and bureaucratic nightmare at the heart of...

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On The Market—Throwing Bucktown a Curve

List Price: $1.9 million
The Property: The architect John Hanna threw the rigidly rectilinear street grid in Bucktown a curve when he designed this contemporary home for a corner lot. The house appears impossibly slender when viewed from the west (looking at its front door), but then broadens in a sweeping, glassy curve as you walk around its north side.
Inside, the floor plan doesn’t feel pinched at the narrow ends because Hanna and the property’s developer, Chris Angelou, tucked balconies, closets, and bathrooms into those spaces. Stacked from the basement to the top floor within the house’s big bend are a...

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Cute Restaurant Alert

Go Now

Mixteco Grill (1601 W. Montrose Ave.; 773-868-1601), a 35-seat BYO restaurant named for a region of Oaxaca and the indigenous people who inhabit it, opened last week—and we’re smitten. “The food there is the only food that is 100 percent authentic Mexican,” says Raul Arreola, the chef/owner. “No influence of other food. No Mayan. No Spanish. No French.” Arreola, a Mexico City native, put in 11 years at Frontera Grill, and ascended to sous-chef at

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Housing Bulletin— Neighborhood Info @ Your Service

Two weeks ago, the Chicago real-estate agency @properties rolled out a cool tool for house hunters and sellers on its Web site. The @Report, as they call it, is built on the idea that real-estate markets are very, very local.

The eight-year-old agency has offices or agents working in 21 Chicago neighborhoods (most of the lakefront from Rogers Park to South Shore, plus a layer or two of inland neighborhoods for much of that stretch); this new tool puts the details on...

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Dish Flash—Achatz Update

Then and Now
A full Dish column is coming tomorrow, but first we wanted to direct you to two terrific stories from our upcoming June issue. One is Burned, a dramatic narrative by Jennifer Tanaka on Grant Achatz’s brave and frightening days since his diagnosis with oral cancer. The other is Dennis Ray Wheaton’s From There to Alinea, a thoughtful examination and comparison of Achatz’s current stunner with the place where he came of age years ago: Napa Valley’s legendary French Laundry.

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Waves of Fear

Right up there with Waikiki, Copacabana, and Venice, Bondi Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. Pronounced "BOND-Eye", this less-than-a-mile expanse in Sydney's eastern suburbs has a rich history as a hardbody hangout and a surfer's paradise. Though we are neither hardbodies nor surfers, for some reason we felt it necessary to check out Bondi...

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