Attention design junkies who also happen to love good food: The just-opened steakhouse ZED451 at 739 N. Clark St. is architect and designer Chris Smith's (he’s done Nobu in New York, among others) first Chicago project. We love all the outside-in natural elements (wood, fire, rocks, plants), the two-story atrium that floods the space with natural light, the mix of dark/light hickory and maple floors, and, on one of many fireplaces (including one of the rooftop), the gun metal curved ceramic tile with rolled steel trim. Oh, and the fresh baby carrots, the ravioli, the chocolate tarts, and the baby lamb chops (the latter loved by my carnivorous husband).

—JAN PARR

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Attention design junkies who also happen to love good food: The just-opened steakhouse ZED451 at 739 N. Clark St. is architect and designer Chris Smith's (he’s done Nobu in New York, among others) first Chicago project. We love all the outside-in natural elements (wood, fire, rocks, plants), the two-story atrium that floods the space with natural light, the mix of dark/light hickory and maple floors, and, on one of many fireplaces (including one of the rooftop), the gun metal curved ceramic tile with rolled steel trim. Oh, and the fresh baby carrots, the ravioli, the chocolate tarts, and the baby lamb chops (the latter loved by my carnivorous husband).

—JAN PARR

" />

Attention design junkies who also happen to love good food: The just-opened steakhouse ZED451 at 739 N. Clark St. is architect and designer Chris Smith's (he’s done Nobu in New York, among others) first Chicago project. We love all the outside-in natural elements (wood, fire, rocks, plants), the two-story atrium that floods the space with natural light, the mix of dark/light hickory and maple floors, and, on one of many fireplaces (including one of the rooftop), the gun metal curved ceramic tile with rolled steel trim. Oh, and the fresh baby carrots, the ravioli, the chocolate tarts, and the baby lamb chops (the latter loved by my carnivorous husband).

—JAN PARR

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April 2008
ZED451


Attention design junkies who also happen to love good food: The just-opened steakhouse ZED451 at 739 N. Clark St. is architect and designer Chris Smith's (he’s done Nobu in New York, among others) first Chicago project. We love all the outside-in natural elements (wood, fire, rocks, plants), the two-story atrium that floods the space with natural light, the mix of dark/light hickory and maple floors, and, on one of many fireplaces (including one of the rooftop), the gun metal curved ceramic tile with rolled steel trim. Oh, and the fresh baby carrots, the ravioli, the chocolate tarts, and the baby lamb chops (the latter loved by my carnivorous husband).

—JAN PARR

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Art—or Not Art?

Art Chicago descends upon us this weekend, and, along with it, that age-old question of "What is Art?" For every awesome Jaume Plensa sculpture or Tony Oursler video, there is something raggedy, like a twisted old rope mounted in a canvas or an ugly naked lady holding a dead flower. You try to act polite and not stare and whisper to your friend, What the hell??? But then you drink too much Grolsch at the opening party and end up wearing a trucker hat and getting all vocal about things and the “shushing” starts and …

OK, enough about last night. Between beers, I managed to take some photos for a little game called Art—or Not Art?...

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Junk Food

Calorie-free Pop Tarts? Hostess cupcakes as big as your head? Sign us up. I was first turned on to Pamela Michelle Johnson’s huge and hip snacks series American Still Life amid the yummy home design finds at Zella Brown in Wicker Park. Get a gander of Jonhson’s work and first major exhibition of this series at The Artist Project at Artropolis this weekend. More than 300 soon-to-be-fabulously-more-famous-names will be showing on the 8th floor of the Merchandise Mart through Monday. To meet the girl behind the goodies and more than a few of her creative friends (don’t miss f2), grab a free pass.

—BARRI LEINER

 

POPTARTS / 52"x72" / oil on canvas / 2007
HOSTESS CUPCAKES / 64"x64" / oil on canvas / 2007

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24-Hour Party People
By Rebecca Little and Robert Baird

High Wattage

Hip Hop Live + Reel rolls into the Museum of Contemporary Art (220 E. Chicago Ave.; 312-397-4010) Friday the 25th with a full weekend lineup of performance and films. Friday highlights include Reggie Watts, whose show-stopping mash-up of political satire, improv, dance, and beatboxing has earned him comedy's Andy Kaufman Award. Also on the bill: Local theatre company Teatro Luna reprises Machos, featuring an all-female cast in drag; plus, local beatboxer Yuri Lane and screenings including Dave Chappelle's Block Party...

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Ralph Lauren, Part 2

Two posts in a row about Ralph. No, I'm not on his payroll, but I'm definitely fascinated by how a young man named Lifshitz who grew up in the Bronx could create such a deliciously WASP-y lifestyle empire. I bring this up because in the process of hunting down that sweater-style rug by Lauren that I wrote about two days ago (which, sadly, is no longer being made, according to Lauren's press department), I became ensnared by his online marketing vehicle Ralph Lauren Home. You can't shop on this Web site like you can on the regular Ralph Lauren Web site, but you are invited to learn how you, too, can live like Ralph in the "RL Style Guide." Clearly, their MO is to get you to buy their stuff: The SHOP NOW icon appears shamelessly below tips on topics such as "adding glamour to your home without a complete overhaul" and making your indoor space "feel like the outdoors." But the tips are pretty good and it's fun to look at the videos and pictures. The photos are super-styled and super-luxe and their campaigns really do inspire you to live the RL lifestyle, if only in your mind. See you at the club!

—GINA BAZER

Photography: Courtesy of Ralph Lauren Home

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On the Market—Lake View’s Painting Lady
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $1,850,000
The Property: The colorist behind this "painted lady"—a 120-year-old Queen Anne with 14 different hues of paint accentuating its intricately detailed exterior—is Tracy Hurst, Lake View's painting lady. Hurst, who has lived in the house since 1987 with her husband, Taylor, and their kids, painted the entire exterior herself over three summers in the late 1990s. She did a terrific job, bringing out the...

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Geno’s Fourth Comeback

His Ship Has Landed

Trattoria Valle d'Itria (581 Roger Williams Ave., Highland Park; 847-266-0600), a casual retreat that opened in the former Tapis Rouge space April 18th, utilizes the talents of three cousins. Chef Giovanni Chirulli is a Kendall College graduate who worked for the Pacific Princess cruise line—yes, The Love Boat—and studied in restaurants throughout Europe. MaryAnn Carioscia brings catering experience to the table. Maria Giallanza has a business management degree. Their menu covers familiar territory: veal marsala,...

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Branca’s New Store

Nothing like scooping your own publication. Our May/June issue, on newsstands May 1, reports that design doyenne Alessandra Branca (pictured here in her former shop, which was adjacent to her design offices; see our 2005 story about her here) is opening a new store at 17 E. Pearson St. on May 8. I was invited to a preview party on May 7 to see Branca’s furniture and one-of-a-kind accessories culled on her travels to Europe and India. We’ll keep you posted.

—Jan Parr

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Housing Bulletin—How Low Can You Go?
By Dennis Rodkin
The builders who completed a new 4,000-square-foot house on Pine Street in Winnetka last year had hopes of selling it for around $3.2 million. But the real-estate market fell progressively downward, until eventually the builders had no idea what the house was worth anymore. In March, they found out: It sold for $1,926,000, or 39 percent less than they had hoped.

The real-estate auction house Sheldon Good & Co. sold the property for the builders in an unusual way...

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A Simple Plan
By Christine Newman
Every move in this modern house has been calibrated to achieve a light, effortless minimalism, often with a punch of color and a flash of futurism or humor Read more