To the nightlife set, Black Wednesday has nothing to do with the British pound being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism back in September 1992. Instead, Black Wednesday—a.k.a. The Night Before Thanksgiving—means one thing: the biggest party of the year. Whether you're looking to unwind before stuffing yourself with turkey or need an evening off before stomaching those holiday-induced family spats, we've rounded up the best ways to spend November 21st...

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To the nightlife set, Black Wednesday has nothing to do with the British pound being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism back in September 1992. Instead, Black Wednesday—a.k.a. The Night Before Thanksgiving—means one thing: the biggest party of the year. Whether you're looking to unwind before stuffing yourself with turkey or need an evening off before stomaching those holiday-induced family spats, we've rounded up the best ways to spend November 21st...

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To the nightlife set, Black Wednesday has nothing to do with the British pound being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism back in September 1992. Instead, Black Wednesday—a.k.a. The Night Before Thanksgiving—means one thing: the biggest party of the year. Whether you're looking to unwind before stuffing yourself with turkey or need an evening off before stomaching those holiday-induced family spats, we've rounded up the best ways to spend November 21st...

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To the nightlife set, Black Wednesday has nothing to do with the British pound being forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism back in September 1992. Instead, Black Wednesday—a.k.a. The Night Before Thanksgiving—means one thing: the biggest party of the year. Whether you're looking to unwind before stuffing yourself with turkey or need an evening off before stomaching those holiday-induced family spats, we've rounded up the best ways to spend November 21st...

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List Price: $829,900

The Property: This two-story penthouse condo at the top of the 101-year-old Mentor Building (at 39 South State Street) has three bedrooms plus an office, a stylish kitchen, and striking views of the surrounding architecture. Windows in the condo’s lower floor look out between some of the columns that give the building’s upper reaches the look of a temple-in-the-sky. (The condo’s upper level, where the three bedrooms and two full baths are, is on a floor concealed from street-level view.) Views stretch north all the way to the new Trump building; what’s more, those views can never be blocked because...

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Truck Stop Gourmet
Jason Paskewitz (J.P. Chicago, Wave), who has been planning River North’s Jackson Park Bar and Grill for ages—now slated for mid-January—is also launching The 621 Diner (621 E. Roosevelt Rd.; Lombard), an old-fashioned Route 66 diner, on December 10th. “Just for fun, we are opening before Jackson Park,” he says. “It’ll be breakfast all day, like truck-stop blue-plate specials: burgers and milk shakes and patty melts and cakes that are like 18 inches high in a round rotating glass display. Just good roadside food.” Paskewitz won’t do the cooking at the 125-seat spot, but will...

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Here at Chicago magazine, we're trying something new. Consider it a little "experiment," if you will. We've decided to take a traditional story—a profile of the supercool DJ Colette, by the music writer Mark Guarino—and turn it into a short documentary film. Five years ago, this wasn't the business of magazines. But today, magazines have two audiences: one for the print version, and one of for the Web. And for you Web folks, every sort of storytelling device—from podcasts to short films to blogs—is fair game...

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Dennis Rodkin appears regularly on WGN's Spike O'Dell Radio Program sometimes discussing properties not mentioned in the Deal Estate blog. Check back here each week to find links and information for those listings.

From the November 14th show - Price cuts in the Chicago region:

AURORA
List Price Now: $575,000
Original List Price: $649,500
GURNEE
List Price Now: $389,000
Original List Price: $439,000
LAKEVIEW
List Price Now: $489,000
Original List Price: $570,000
PALOS HEIGHTS
List Price Now: $699,000
Original List Price: $759,000
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While releasing some downward-sliding sales figures last week, Robert Toll—the CEO of Toll Brothers, a national home-building company—gave an informal letter grade to each of several regional markets where it operates. Chicago got an F.

That’s not to say that the housing market here has tanked more than in other parts of the country. In fact, as I read it, that low grade suggests that buyers here might be more cautious or judicious than elsewhere. The F is Toll’s assessment of how each market is doing vis-à-vis his company’s sales performance. He reported 38.9 percent of people with contracts to...

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November 10, 2007- Hundreds of guests joined Eve Alfille at her Evanston gallery and studio to celebrate the gallery’s 20th anniversary and to check out Eve’s new “Umbel & Corymb” series. Guests enjoyed culinary treats from Donna Goodman and live guitar music performed by Carlo Basile. Read more
November 1, 2007- Jose Cuervo Platino, the new premium tequila from the Jose Cuervo family, co-hosted a Dia de los Muertos party at The Underground with Rockit Ranch Productions and Chicago magazine. Guests celebrate the Day of the Dead with Platino cocktails, hors d’eourves and dancing. Photos courtesy of Ken Carl. Read more
November 1, 2007- Chicago magazine, Dos Equis, and the Hard Rock Hotel Chicago hosted a “Hard Rock Life” reception for more than 100 guests at the Hard Rock Hotel. Partygoers enjoyed libations from Dos Equis and tasty cuisine courtesy of China Grill, while mixing and mingling on the outdoor terrace with a rockstar view of Michigan Avenue. Read more

Be Jeweled
Me & Ro (61 E. Oak St.; 312-957-8181), a jewelry line frequently seen in the pages of Vogue, has opened a Chicago store, only the fourth in the country. Prices for the silver and 10-karat gold line start at $150 for earrings, rings, and pendant necklaces, with precious jewelry running up to $40,000. Known for stackable rings and hammered metals, the line uses organic materials and precious, semi-precious, and rare stones in designs that reflect nature, so it’s appropriate that the graceful shop is decorated with dark wood and red Venetian glass walls and an in-store pond. Look for the set of three Lotus Dish stackable silver rings ($240) and a beautiful 18-karat gold rutilated quartz drop pendant ($845). Some pieces are carried exclusively in the Chicago store, such as the 18-karat gold...

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