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Do Tell, Donatella
By Penny Pollack & Graham Meyer
Brik Layer
The well-loved West Rogers Park Italian spot La Cucina di Donatella closed in 2008, but the chef/owner, Donatella Majore, is back, this time with a partner, Paolo di Costanzo, for the upcoming Donatella Mediterranean Bistro (1512 Sherman Ave., Evanston; 847-328-7720), slated to open in May. The most popular dishes from La Cucina will... Read more
Most Desirable Tickets
Our top five picks for things to do this week: David Cromer does Streetcar … Craig Ferguson does funny … John Lydon does scalding … and more Read more
Pianist Laurence Hobgood Just One Great Jazz Act to Catch in May
By Mark Loehrke
The pianist Laurence Hobgood is perhaps best known as the long-time collaborator and accompanist of the singer Kurt Elling, in equal measure for his sterling keyboard work and ingenious small-group arrangements. Last year, Hobgood put out the tremendous solo/duo album, When the Heart Dances, with the legendary bassist Charlie Haden; but for this trip back to Chicago he'll lead a sextet of old local friends, including the saxophonists John Wojciechowski and Pat Mallinger... Read more
Plant a Tree in Your Living Room

If a tree fell on the Museum of Science and Industry’s campus, would anybody hear it? Yes, indeed they would—and did. Last year, an almost-120-year-old white oak tree originally planted for the World’s Fair went thud, and now it’s been reincarnated as a coffee table by Chicago sculptor and furniture maker Terrence Karpowicz. This lovely piece has just been installed at the museum’s Smart Home exhibit, replacing the prototype that was there before (the prototype shown above is now available for purchase through Karpowicz). Smart Home is open through January 9, 2011.

—GINA BAZER

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Chicago Cuts the Mustard
By Penny Pollack & Graham Meyer
Steaking Out Territory
Two steak-house veterans—David Flom (Rosebud) and Matty Moore (Rosebud, Smith & Wollensky)—think they’ve unearthed some angles that will wedge yet another steak house into River North. Loosely scheduled to open in... Read more
High Minded
By Lisa Bertagnoli
A rooftop garden in Wicker Park is a home (ever so slightly) away from home Read more
Run, Don't Walk to the 'TJ & Dave' Show. OK, You Can Walk.
By Graham Meyer
Until last Wednesday, I had never seen T. J. Jagodowski and Dave Pasquesi's famous iO show TJ & Dave. I'd seen each of them perform in other settings—at The Second City, in Jagodowski's many commercials for the Sonic fast-food chain, or at the Chicago Improv Festival—but never their two-man, one-hour show on Wednesday nights at 11 p.m., mainly because it conflicted with falling asleep on the couch and watching SportsCenter... Read more
A Perfect Pair: Paul Virant's Haute Farm Food and Craft Beer
By Nora O'Donnell
Hey, Chicago, did you hear? Craft beer in the Windy City is kind of big now. With last month's Stout Fest, last week's Craft Brewers Conference, and the opening of three breweries in the past two years (Metropolitan, Half Acre, and, most recently, Revolution in Logan Square), it's easy to feel a bit saturated—in suds... Read more