All Season Farm

Fall is here, and even the Windy City is noticing a chill in the air. If you’re like me, you’re scrambling around trying to get outside and enjoy the last few weeks of above-frostbite temps. Apple-picking is one fall-inspired activity that will not only get you outside, but it will get you out [...]

West Town Tavern, West Town

Fan Si Pan

If you visit Fan Si Pan you must order the honeydew limeade not so much for the drink itself (although it is terribly tasty with kefir lime, ginger and lemongrass), but more for the straw that accompanies the drink. The straw is approximately three times larger than straws typically found in sodas and iced lattes [...]

Bistrot Zinc

When I was a girl my mom would let me skip school once in awhile to take what we called an “urban holiday.” Together we disregarded our daily duties and embraced the leisurely life. We would make waffles, catch a matinee, linger over a late lunch, shop, get pedicures, and whatever else struck our fancy [...]

Vosges Haut-Chocolat

There is an interesting phenomenon that sometimes occurs in long-term love relationships. It happens after several years, after you and your loved one have been through it all–giddy courtships, awkward getting-to-know-you moments, ridiculous quarrels, passionate apologies–when you finally feel at ease together. You and your partner are committed and walk together in a lyrical simpatico. [...]

Red Hen Bread

While the smell of a fresh-baked baguette may send Atkins devotees fleeing to the nearest butcher shop, for others this same aroma is cause for celebration. I, without question, fall into the latter group. I always have room in my belly for a baked good–for a fluffy butter croissant, a warm blueberry muffin, a trusty [...]