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January 2008
Don’t Miss: Art from the Heart
By Ann Wiens
New Zealand/Australian artist/scholar Ruth Watson makes art using salt, images of her own tongue, and other unconventional media. Hear her discuss her work. Read more
Week 32: eBay City Rollers

As the belly broadens, so does the complaining. She's itchy. She's tired. She's hungry. She's sick. She's all of the above, or some combination thereof. I'm trying my best to empathize with every single complaint, but it's hard when they're coming one on top of the other. I was working on my laptop last night when Sarah started mumbling something about how these hiccups were driving her crazy.

I didn't see why it was such a big deal. "You've got the hiccups?"

"No," she said firmly. "Babu has the hiccups...

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The Circus, Canadians Come to Town
By Rebecca Little

Outlook: Sketchy
The presents have been exchanged; the Champagne has been drained; all that remains on your holiday to-do list is embarking on those lofty New Year’s resolutions—to which we say, let the procrastination commence! One handy time filler: the seventh annual Chicago Sketch Comedy Festival. Featuring 125 sketch-comedy acts from across North America, Sketchfest gives you plenty of excuses to put off until tomorrow what you could do today. Highlights include a musical bit, Sex, Cubs & Rock ’n’ Roll, from local pH productions, Friday the 4th at 8 p.m., and the no-holds-barred festival closers, Suspicious Clowns, Sunday the 13th at 7 p.m. Performances take place at Theatre Building Chicago (1225 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-327-5252); ticket prices vary, though most shows run about $12. Visit chicagosketchfest.com for...

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Geese is the Word
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby with Sarah Desprat

Poetry in Motion
Steve Schwartz, the owner of Campagnola (815 Chicago Ave., Evanston; 847-475-6100), is almost set to open Wild Geese (1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston), an eclectic restaurant with a huge bar. . “We had a guy come from Vermont who built the wood-burning oven,” Schwartz says. “It’s absolutely beautiful.” Pizzas and small plates will be on the menu, but Schwartz is reluctant to pigeonhole the restaurant, which shares a common performance/party space with a neighboring recording studio. And Wild Geese may sound like a random name for a pizzeria, but it comes from a poem of the same name by Mary Oliver: “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting . . . ”

Out Lao’d
They say you should never open a restaurant in January, and Tony Hu didn’t. He opened two...

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Best of 2007: Reader Comments

In the spirit of year-end lists—and not taking myself too seriously—I've compiled some of the best (and snarkiest) responses to Last Girl Standing, culled from comments posted to the blog throughout 2007. Here's to even more banter in 2008.

In response to: Weekend Update
You said: "We have the privilege to read about the chronicles of a Chicago woman who is quickly approaching middle age. She flirts with randoms, gets wasted on expensive martinis, and spends time text messaging bar owners to try to get the 'in.' She is the epitome of the Old Man in the Window. If the Old Man had a column ten years ago, it'd be very similar. Last Girl Standing now, Alone Girl Sitting later."
I say: That's a great name for a blog! I'll consider it for Last Girl Standing 2.0. But let's get one thing clear...

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Raising the Bar (Bill)
By Sarah Preston
The U.S. economy may be sputtering, but the current trend on the club scene features markups worthy of the dot-com boom. Read more
Powerhouse
By Sarah Desprat
After working with Grant Achatz at Trio and Alinea, chef John Peters plans to carve his own niche at Powerhouse. Read more
On the Market—Georgian on my Mind
By Dennis Rodkin

List Price: $3,625,000

The Property: This Georgian townhouse on Chicago’s Astor Street feels as if it were made for ambassadorial entertaining. The glass-fronted entry door opens onto an entry hall with a marble and ebony floor; from there, a broad staircase leads to a pillared gallery hall that sets the stage for a handsome living room with a trio of Palladian windows and Juliet balconies.

Built in the 1890s—possibly as a Victorian, its selling agent says, and reworked sometime later—the house has 11 rooms and four-plus baths on four stories, as well as a rooftop deck. Two of the four bedrooms...

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