Features

Guilty Pleasures
Keeping constantly to the straight and narrow can turn life into a dreary prison. To provide an escape, our confessional correspondents reveal their sinful secrets, forbidden fantasies, hedonistic hideaways, and diet-damning indulgences-everything from a luxurious lunchtime spa visit to a wild night of WhirlyBall to some sexy lingerie and eye-opening erotica. What’s your pleasure?

Was Ed Paschke the Greatest Chicago Artist Ever?, by Jeff Huebner
The late Ed Paschke was Chicago’s most famous artist, forging a style that reached beyond the abstract-based work of 1960s New York. But was he a great artist? We asked the experts to examine the historical legacy of this well-loved local legend.

An Empire of Flowers, by Christine Newman
In 1973, Marion Parry opened a plant store in Old Town and proceeded to turn A New Leaf into a multishop institution known for being ahead of the curve. Through the years, this mentor to many has remained a mystery.

Singular Sensations
In a city full of beautiful, ambitious, and bright singles it’s nearly impossible to narrow down a category like this one. But long hours of grueling research have yielded a list of 20 of Chicago’s most eligible men and women.

Fling Theory, by Sarah Preston
Meet the new commitment phobe: a 31-year-old single gal having too much fun to settle down. Plus: A ex-bachelor praises marriage. by Jeff Ruby

Departments

Letters

Contributors

Arena
Josephine Lee challenges stereotypes about classical music conductors; four Chicago podcasters step up to the mike; a fast-moving women’s rowing team takes on an East Coast tradition; a commission to retouch a portrait of Adolph Hitler takes art conservator Barry Bauman on a ride through history; the shopping secrets of the White Sox’s Tadahito Iguchi; more. Plus: Style Sheet, The Shopper and Sales Check

How We Spend, by Clare La Plante
The Midwest may have Wisconsin’s Dells, but somehow that isn’t enough to get folks from the heartland to shell out the big bucks for their summer vacations. PLUS: How does Chicagoans’ credit stack up?

Business | The Revivalist, by Robert Reed
A Chicago-based real-estate planning consultant has become a force in using TIFs (tax increment financing) to help clients revive rundown neighborhoods and business districts. But not everyone is happy with the results.

Technology | Tech Support, by Dennis Rodkin
Straightforward answers to six frequently asked questions simplify the myriad choices for cell phone, TV, and Internet services. PLUS: Tips for in-home IT help and a look at where the tech craze may be headed next

Deal Estate, by Dennis Rodkin
Three real-estate agents weigh in with hypothetical bids on an Edward Dart house in Highland Park. PLUS: A French chateau for Western Springs; new plans for the old Sears property in Lawndale; other housing and condo news

Nightspotting, by Sarah Preston
Fifteen years after making a splash with the dance club Shelter, the restaurateur Jerry Kleiner is back on the nightlife scene with his visually stunning new Victor Hotel. PLUS: Is Castaways Bar and Grill North Avenue Beach’s Club Med?

Classifieds

The Closer, by Jeff Ruby
Dining establishments survive in many different ways, but their demise is always the same. Introducing the Seven Stages of Restaurant Death

On the Town

Events

Calendar
During July: East meets West when the Grant Park Music Festival offers a salute to Chinese culture. The gifted husband-and-wife team of Betti Xiang and Yang Wei-both Chicagoans-join the Grant Park Orchestra for a concert of Chinese folk songs and selections from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The twain meet July 6th in Millennium Park.
Marquee: A preview of coming attractions

Food & Drink

Dining Out | Grill Power, by Dennis Ray Wheaton
Two New York-based companies take their best shot at replicating a pair of high-profile Gotham spots-with rather mixed results

Restaurants
The city’s definitive guide to Chicago’s top restaurants| This month: Four new and updated listings, including JP Chicago and Wishbone.
Dish: The ten hottest restaurants right now; Q&A with a big-name comeback kid chef; openings, closings, gossip, and more