Features

Best New Restaurants
by Dennis Ray Wheaton and Anne Spiselman
Innovation prevails in new Chi-town kitchens: Chefs across the city and ‘burbs are taking chances with bold flavors and combos. Our critics have put their stomachs on the line to name the 27 best newcomers.

Everybody Knows Billy
by Marc Spiegler
As a force behind River North’s supertrendy Spago and soon-to-open Rainforest Café, former state senator William A. Marovitz has finally found his niche. There’s just one question: What in the world does he do?

The Coach on the Couch
by James McManus
A Chicago novelist discovers that, even with the playoffs looming, Bulls coach Phil Jackson has more on his mind than just basketball.

Joe’s Garden
by Tony Fitzpatrick
A portrait of the artist as an irreverent young man who learned all about hope in his neighbor’s garden

Buried Alive in the Blues
by Paul Engleman
When a white kid from Hyde Park started playing impassioned blues harmonica in the 1960s, the whole country tuned in. But ten years after his fatal drug overdose, the memory of Paul Butterfield is still on the skids.

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Frontlines
The Goods
by Jennifer Epstein
What’s cooking? Another cup of café ole and the toast of the town

Power Lines
by Marc Spiegler
Adding up the carnage at Leo Burnett; plus, Shedd’s shutout of the Sun-Times

Stage & Screen
by Penelope Mesic
With Streetcar, Steppenwolf takes on the unpredictable risks of desire.

Real Lives
by Marcia Froelke Coburn
Chris Mazza writes a novel about dogs and the people who love them too much.

Personal Injuries
by Jonathan Eig
The charges fly in the molestation case against former Senate hopeful Al Hofeld.

Reporter
by Jill Riddell
A rooftop garden is a backdrop for the cinematic antics of some lively insects.

First Person
by Paul Sagan
A young couple break the rules of life and go on to tell it on a mountain.

Going Places

by Jill Rohde
Door County holds myriad beaches, engaging shops, and culinary surprises.

Sullivan’s Travels
by Terry Sullivan
At Rosehill Cemetery, David Wendell knows where all the bodies are buried.