Jessie Mueller has had a good year. This past June, the 2001 ETHS grad scored the 2014 Tony Award for “Best Lead Actress in a Musical” for her brilliant performance as Carole King in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.” Actually, it was more of a transformation than a performance, as Mueller’s complete lack of artifice […]
House 406, named for the area code of Montana (although I never quite figured out why), has noble intentions. They feature a seasonal menu and promote the sourcing of ingredients from local purveyors and farms. That’s all good. And certainly the sprawling suburb of Northbrook could always use another date-night restaurant. But whereas North Shore […]
In its day, Gabriel’s was a haven of civility and fine dining. PM Prime, which now occupies that space, aspires to the same, and they are well on their way. The restaurant is dark and clubby, with spotless white table linens, substantial silverware and serious stemware alerting you that they mean business here, both literally […]
Josh Gilbert was an architect by trade, but as an earnest homebrewer, what he really wanted to do was open a craft brewery in his hometown. It was Josh’s wife, Carey Bartell, who came up with the perfect name for an Evanston brewery, given Evanston’s history as hub of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement in […]
I love coconut at any time of year, but Passover really seems like the perfect time for this gluten-free treat. And when you talk about macaroons, you have to go to the source: Dan Cohen, author of “The Macaroon Bible” and owner of Danny Macaroons, who makes some of the most scrumptious and inventive macaroons around. […]
Superstar chef Rick Bayless and Lookingglass Theatre are restaging “Cascabel” (now officially known as “Rick Bayless in Cascabel”) this month at The Owen Theatre at Goodman. Rather than review the show again—news flash: it’s still great—I had the opportunity to sit down with Rick himself at Frontera Grill to talk about the show, the creative […]
I went to the opening of the über hip-and-happening Soho House Chicago (113-135 N. Green St., Chicago, 312-521-8000) last week. Aside from the not-very-surprising realization that I am, in fact, a middle-aged suburban mom, I was duly impressed with the whole operation. The six-story hotel/private members’ club—one of 12 worldwide, including U.S. outposts in LA […]
Meet Mike Smylie, amiable Winnetka native, ex-commodities broker, oldest of five boys, lover of craft beers, brewing and barbecue. He has rebuilt and repurposed the old Oak Street Market/Social Security Office space in downtown Evanston, and along with Head Brewer Brad Pulver and Executive Chef Grant Carey, opened Smylie Brothers Brewing Co., an enormous bar/restaurant/brewery […]
Glenview’s popular Valley Lodge Tavern has opened an outpost in downtown Wilmette in the space abandoned by Big Black Dog Tavern, and it seems to be agreeing with the locals. Families thronged the place on both weekday visits. They’ve made some agreeable changes in décor, including opening up the space from a series of smaller […]
The voters have spoken! Thousands of readers took the time to tell us what they find best about the North Shore and Chicago. This year, over 90,000 verified votes were cast in over 11 categories in our annual Best of 2014 awards, and we couldn’t be prouder you responded in such numbers. Here are our […]
