In recent years, Chicago’s very own Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises has become rather smitten—some might say spellbound—by the great state of California. In some ways, that’s not exactly shocking. When…
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A Chip Off The Old Steakhouse
Some places—if you’ll forgive my unpolished Chicago patois—just got it. They have so much pure, unadulterated restaurant magnetism that they seem to suck up diners with the gravitational pull of…
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Home is Where the Prairies Are
Let’s face it: If you’re in the mood for Italian this weekend, you’ve got options. There are more Italian chefs cooking in the greater Chicago area than Christmas trees in…
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Teen Titan
We were assured, by more than one waiter, that there is no hidden symbolism lurking behind the name that owners Ziggy Blaha and Marty Gula have chosen for their impressive…
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The Great Gatto’s
There is a photo—a single priceless black-and-white snapshot—hanging from the walls at Gatto’s in Downers Grove that captures just about everything you need to know about the place. It’s an…
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Capital Grille Lombard
At most steakhouses, we are firm proponents of ordering our steaks the same way we order our whiskeys. Keep it simple. Let that beef speak for itself. Salt and pepper….
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Eat And Be Murray
Well, they did it. You can debate till the “holy cows” come home whether Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse fully captured the “live it up, the meter’s running” spirit of its…
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Cooper’s Hawk
Forget six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Should you want to pose a question—during these undoubtedly divisive teams—that will bind together almost everyone in the Chicago area in one giant web…
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French Lessons
There are certain givens in life. Death and taxes immediately come to mind, as well as the inevitability that at least one string of holiday lights will always burn out…
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A Star Is Born
True glamour, as any Hollywood starlet will tell you, is the chief by-product of one and one thing only: damn good lighting. It’s all about choreographing the light, crisscrossing a…
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