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May 2008
All Aflutter
By Rebecca Little

Eighth Wonder of Chicago

Chicago’s globe-trotting, Grammy-winning sextet Eighth Blackbird wraps up a much-lauded tour, including an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall, back on home turf, 7:30 p.m. Thursday the 29th at the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph Dr.; 312-334-7777). The night’s program, The Only Moving Thing, plays out like a who’s who of cutting-edge composers (Steve Reich, David Lang, Michael Gordon, and Julia Wolfe, plus the seminal choreographer Susan Marshall), all of whom contributed new commissions for the ’Birds. Tickets are $30, but entering the code...

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Trumped

After spending more than a month recuperating from knee surgery, I finally kicked the couch last weekend and hobbled back onto the scene—and I couldn't have picked a better spot to remind me just how much I love nightlife in Chicago: Rebar. You might have heard of it. It's that little joint from Trump and his kids in a building they're putting up along the river. Opened last month, the bar—whose name nods toward the more than 50,000 tons of rebar, or reinforced steel, used in the tower's construction—is gilded and sceney, with an over-the-top drink menu. In short, it's everything we want a Trump bar to be...

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On The Market—A Goldberg House in Flossmoor
By Dennis Rodkin
List Price: $587,500
The Property: Today, everybody loves Bertrand. But in 1957, before the iconic corncob towers of Marina City made Bertrand Goldberg a beloved Chicago architect, he had to revamp his plans for this house in Flossmoor twice because village officials didn’t like his...

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Art Director to the Rescue

So, I mentioned on an earlier blog that I got a house. And here it is! Yay! The windows, though charming, are super-old and we are replacing them with new vinyl windows (I know, not ideal, but the place has 33 windows and we are on a budget!). I’ve been mulling over getting aluminum mullions put on these ho-hum newbies to preserve the original 1920s look, but when I mentioned this to our art director (and general in-house maven about everything that looks and doesn’t look good!) she told me that we must consider our options in Photoshop. What a beautiful thing! She got rid of the mullions to show me what the windows would look like with nothing, and I’m so relieved. I don’t need to order these fakey embellishments. The place looks better without them. Now she’s on another mission. Helping me decide whether to go with white windows or dark brown, given that I will eventually want to re-stucco the house in a different color. I will keep you posted. Anyone else have opinions on this? Please share!

—Gina Bazer

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French Kiss
By Penny Pollack & Jeff Ruby

From BB’s to Brigitte Bardot

The owners of BB’s (22 E. Hubbard St.), a pub that lasted less than two years, are in the process of reconcepting their River North space into Madame Tartine, a 1960s-style French brasserie. “French food is too serious in Chicago,” says Donnie Kruse, a partner. “We are going to have a lot of fun. Hubbard Street will become the Côtes d’Azur.” Kruse describes the décor as “feminine and realistic European,” and the food from chef Jon Foster (Savarin, Le Passage) as “approachable, honest, hearty French food.” (Think escargots, steak tartare, and plenty of rosé.) ETA: late June, says Kruse. “We’re just waiting for our trunks to get...

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Hunting Season


Ladies and gentlemen. Straight from the farms of Sterling, Illinois, starring center stage in their first-ever appearance at Randolph Street Market Festival (formerly Chicago Antique Market): Rick and Linda Gibson of Henhouse Furniture and Antiques. We dig their one-of-a-kind pieces as well as their “yeah, we can make that from old wood for you” offerings (they’ll make you a killer kitchen island, like the one shown here). Stellar craftsmanship and sweet people to boot. If you’ve never been to the Chicago Antique Market, season five promises to be a hit. New name, same game. Go early. Go often. And look for us (we’ll be there opening day for a special feature we’re doing called “On the Spot,” designing a room with pieces we find at the market that day). Opening weekend Saturday, May 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, May 25, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

—BARRI LEINER

Photos:
Randolph Street Market Festival by Keith Portman
custom kitchen island from Henhouse Furniture & Antiques

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Housing Bulletin— Chicago’s Condo Market: Sheltered from the Fallout
By Dennis Rodkin

The latest report from Appraisal Research Counselors (ARC), whose finger is always on the pulse of Chicago’s downtown condominium market, indicates that even if the shine is gone from condos as investment vehicles, the overwhelming majority of people who bought a few years ago in buildings now being finished are sticking with their contracts.

Why is that news? Well, a spike in the number of buyers opting to back out of their deals—leaving their upfront cash deposits in the hands of...

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The Coolest Island on Earth

Take a look at a map of Australia. The country is big and solid and resembles some kind of tubby beast, grunting and straining and drawn into itself. Tasmania is the reason it is grunting. It looks like a very small dropping out the back end of the beast—the sad, unsatisfactory result of much intestinal exertion.

Though it appears you could get a running start at Victoria and jump there, Tasmania is actually 150 miles from the mainland...

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