Features

Inside the Red Cross Pipeline
by Alfredo S. Lanier
Why a venerable institution lost its status as the most privileged charity in town

Searching for Ben Hect
by Jack Star
Where does a young woman go to become a reporter? All she knew was that nine weeks at the City News Bureau can make an old woman out of you.

Give Me that Old-Time Politics
by Len O’Connor
A veteran commentator recalls some colorful characters from Chicago’s rollicking past. An excerpt from the book A Reporter in Sweet Chicago

A Movable Feast
by Brenda Shapiro
Celebrating 150 years of Chicago furniture: Producing tables and chairs for the few and the many – and always doing it well

France’s Golden Triangle
by John Fink
Sampling the good life from Champagne to Calvados country

Irish Myths Dispelled
by Connie Fletcher
Surprises on the byways of a much-misunderstood land

London Close Up
by David Schonauer
Taking the time to say hi to the Princess of Wales

Southern Sojourn
by Steven Gittelson
Soaking up Mexico’s sunshine – and the perfect hotel, with beach

Deep Woods and Silence
by Don Stap
Camping in a Canadian wilderness, where all that matters is the Milky Way

Departments

Letters

Upfront
by Henry Hanson
Sales up  in Miller, Mamet plays here; landmarks fight for space in crowded painting; cookbook reveals way to celebrity hearts

On the Aisle: Our Stage and Stars, Lyric and Otherwise
by Claudia Cassidy
Crimes of the Heart, Kabuki Medea, War and Peace, Callas and a word about Mr. Brynner

Wine: The Civilized Barberian
by Patrick W. Fegan

You may think of Italian Barbera as plebeian, but if you need a last-minute cool-weather red dinner wine, trust it.

Audio: Unraveling the Mysteries of Tape
by Rich Warren
A new era in home recording offers several new systems, but which one is best?
Books: A Balancing Act
One in politics by Harold Washington, another in print by his first biographer
Chicago as it Was: Solly’s Folly
by Perry R. Duis
Solomon Van Praag had the First Ward sewed up until he crossed the new boys on the block – Kinky Dink and the Bathhouse John.
Movies: Putting Magic in its Place
by Dave Kehr
Blame It on Rio – or blame it on an impossibly nubile daughter,

City: Good Rumors Never Die
by Dan Rottenberg
Marshall Field, Jr., was killed by a prostitute in a bordello…wasn’t he?

The Goods
by Jamie Gilson
If he or she is pining for a valentine, think creatively: a barrel organ, a baroque cherub for a lady’s lapel, a quaint birdhouse, a box of chocolate twigs.

Roger Simon: Thinking Thin
The City of the Big Shoulders learns to shed those Big Hips.

Dining on a Budget: Winter Warm-Up
by Jill and Ron Rohde
You’ve heard of Tex-Mex. Well, have you sampled New Mex-Mex?

Dining on the Town: New Haunts on Halsted
by Carla and Allen Kelson
Could an old pro give a few pointers to a flashy young upstart?

The Best of Chicago: Body Shop
by Michael Kiefer
The aces, pains, and sprains of top-performance athletes need more than Band-Aid cures.

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