Jimmy & the Blowfish

Mana Mia!

One of our top FODs checked out MANA Foodbar (1742 W. Division St.; 773-342-1742), Jill Barron and Susan Thompson’s (Sushi Wabi and De Cero) new vege-focused boîte in Wicker Park. Herein the report, verbatim: “Just had lunch at Mana. Very organic. Reminds me a little of the Momofuku Noodle Bar in NYC. Very small, like the portions. Blue cheese tart with caramelized onion was YUM!, but one bite full for $7. The spanakopita was more generous for $8—firm and very...

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Housing Bulletin—Behind the Fall in Round Lake

In most of the Chicago area, the number of home sales is down about 30 to 40 percent this year, according to MRED, the real-estate data service. In the Round Lake section of Lake County, it’s down 77.9 percent. That means only a little more than one-fifth as many houses have sold there in the past 12 months as did in the prior year. And some agents in town say...

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The Penguin and the Gold Coast

The March of the Penguin

Retro brand Original Penguin (901 N. Rush St.; 312-475-0792, originalpenguin.com), has revamped, updating its fan base by swapping out Bob Hope for Adam Brody, and opened a stand-alone store in the Gold Coast—a mid-century mod space with the requisite flat-screen televisions showing cult movies. The throwback sportswear includes polos ($59), cashmere sweaters, button-downs, T-shirts, and summer dresses such as...

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Stick a Pitchfork in It

Here you go: the best and worst of Pitchfork, which sits firmly atop my list of favorite local summer festivals (my other picks: the Hideout Block Party Sept. 20-21 and the African Festival of Arts over Labor Day weekend). If you didn't get to Union Park over the weekend, you missed a reunion of Public Enemy that people either loved or hated, some great up-and-coming musical talent, and a few Hobbesian moments in the mud—all of which I'll tell you about below. If you did make it to the fest, I'd love to hear your...

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Forget and Forgive

You know those couples who celebrate their relationship almost as often as they sneeze? I'm not just talking about married people. For these folks, nearly anything is a cause for celebration: the anniversary of a first date, a first kiss, a first joint trip to the grocery store. I find it irritating as hell. It's almost as annoying as some of my female friends who refer to their husbands as "my husband" rather than just using his name—as if I won't know whom they're talking about...

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Sale of the Week—Trading Up from the Park Tower

List Price: $1.4 million
Sale Price: $1.3 million
The Property: This two-bedroom condo on the 44th floor of the prestigious Park Tower at 800 N. Michigan Ave. was the “in-town” second home of a pair of Indiana physicians for seven years, until they traded up this year to a...

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The Parent Trap

Everyone Prefers Blondes
The camera loved her; men swooned for her; and ladies are still mimicking her iconic style. Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe traces the definitive blonde bombshell from Norma Jean to screen queen in an exhibition of 300 Marilyn-centric works by more than 80 artists and photographers, including...

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The It List

This Week's Nightlife Buzz

1. Crimson Lounge celebrates its one-year anniversary—a lifetime in bar years—tonight, Thursday the 17th, with an event called Grand Opening 2.0 (we don't quite get it either). Entertainment includes New York's DJ Kiss and Belmont Burlesque. The party runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; RSVP to crimson1year@zapwater.com.

2. It's always someone's anniversary somewhere: Also tonight...

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On The Market—Spacious Cape Cod in Wilmette

List Price: $1,099,000
The Property: Unlike ostentatious new houses that flaunt their thousands of square feet with soaring roofs and phallic turrets, this Cape Cod–style house in Wilmette is a classic 1950s exercise in self-restraint, with a taupe exterior and a sheltered porch. The broad, low-hanging roof suggests a modest house huddles beneath, but, in fact, there are...

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Burgers, Bagels, and Boasts

Quick Hit

Perennial (1800 N. Lincoln Ave.; 312-981-7070), the newest spot from Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz (Boka, Landmark), looks sharp. Natural organic touches dominate: birch trees, wood-grained tables, aqua-striped upholstered banquettes. The canvas flaps stretched across the ceiling seem a sly reference to Boka’s décor. But that was the beginning and end of any connection to the team’s other enjoyable restaurants. Wings and beer sounded like fun but the weird combo of...

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Housing Bulletin—The Money’s on Naperville, Again

City-lovers who refuse to venture west of Harlem Avenue may not get why a whole lot of other people have such affection for Naperville, but the town collected yet another laurel on Monday, when Money magazine released its 2008 list of the best places to live in the United States. Naperville was No. 3, after towns in Minnesota and...

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Animal Magnetism

Everyone knows that a child's early years are the most crucial developmentally of her whole life. This fact seems to scare the hell out of most new parents. We're constantly worrying that we've managed to screw up our child in some profound, irreversible way, the kind of issue that won't be pinpointed until the kid is on a therapist's couch in 25 years trying to make sense of what went wrong.

Therapist: What about your childhood?
Hannah: I don't know . . . My parents took me to...

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Indian Jewelry Store in Schaumburg

East Meets West

India’s largest jewelry store brand, Tanishq, has opened its first U.S. store in the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg (847-240-0166). The shop, from décor to its merchandise, has an organic, holistic philosophy. Unlike most jewelry stores that places a counter between the customer and the staff, the store is very open and inviting, with the jewelry displayed in windows along the...

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Tune in Thursday

LGS is off today. Check back later this week for the latest from the nightlife front.

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Sale(s) of the Week: Two $9-Million North Shore Sales in Two Days

The Properties: July started off with a bang on the North Shore, and that’s not a reference to the many fireworks displays hosted by towns and country clubs. Two separate lakefront mansions sold for stratospheric prices: on July 1st, a Kenilworth estate went for $9,710,913, and two days later, one in Wilmette went for...

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Francophone Call

It’s Quebec versus France in a battle royale of weekend whimsy: While Canada’s Cirque du Soleil continues to camp out in the parking lot of the United Center, Paris’s Compagnie Transe Express stakes out some prime lakefront airspace. In the latter’s free spectacle, Maudits Sonnants: Celestial Carillon, performers suspend themselves...

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