Firecat Projects

Formerly the studio of artist Tony Fitzpatrick, Firecat is now a gallery founded by Fitzpatrick and Stan Klein, and recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. In addition to giving one-person shows to deserving local and emerging artists, Firecat has a rare business model in that the gallery takes no commission from sales.

Firecat Projects
2124 North Damen
(773)342-5381
firecatprojects.com

Audience choice:
Western Exhibitions
119 North Peoria
(312)480-8390
westernexhibitions.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Photo: Kristine Sherred

CorePower Yoga

Regardless of whatever misgivings you might have about supporting a corporate yoga company, there’s no denying the advantage of having seven—soon-to-be-eight—studios located throughout the city, each with almost a dozen classes each day. Regardless of where you plan to get your next drink, there’s somewhere nearby that gets you a yoga high and yoga bod beforehand—no excuses. But the CorePower mecca is the South Loop studio: As you search for a drishti (gazing point) in tree pose, you can choose to focus on an element of Chicago’s downtown skyline, which the fifth-floor studio showcases through its large windows.

CorePower Yoga
12 West Maple, (312)266-9642
1704 North Milwaukee, (773)227-9642
945 West George, (773)862-9642
corepoweryoga.com

 Audience choice: (tie)
Bikram Yoga Chicago
47 West Polk, (312)922-9642
1344 North Milwaukee, (773)395-9150
2736A North Clark, (773)348-9642
105f.com
and
CorePower Yoga

Best of Chicago 2011

Genesis Art Supplies

Art supply stores were meant to be savored and explored, full of packed shelves of sketch pads and paper, paint tubes and brushes to touch, gaze at and muse upon. If the store is too orderly, mere efficiency pushes out the daydreaming. And if the place is too cluttered, the frustration of trying to find something soon pushes out all inspiration. Genesis is the perfect balance of chaos and order, abundance and reasonable possibility. Clearly a place owned and staffed by people with artistic sensibilities, it is more than just a place to buy supplies: It is a place to gather ideas and make those preliminary mental sketches for future projects.

Genesis Art Supplies
2417 North Western
(773)292-2990
genesisartsupplies.com

Audience choice:
Blick Art Materials
42 South State, (312)920-0300
280 South Columbus, (312)443-3923
1574 North Kingsbury, (312)573-0110
1755 Maple, Evanston, (847)425-9100
dickblick.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Lillie’s Q Carolina Gold

We have no idea what’s in it, but we’re not embarrassed to say we tipped this bottle of mustard-based sauce over and started pumping a steady stream into our mouth when no one was looking.

1856 West North
(773)772-5500
lilliesq.com

Best of Chicago 2010

Photo: Kristine Sherred

Remember that one night at college when you and your newfound besties knocked back shots of Smirnoff chased with sweet tea before heading to the main building’s multipurpose room for the weekly eighties dance party? Remember the crush of the crowd, the lip-syncing, the ambiguous sexual tension? Well, now you can reprise that treasured experience at Bucktown mainstay Danny’s “Smiths Night” dance party, rocking the New Wave the fourth Tuesday of every month.

1951 West Dickens
(773) 489-6457

Best of Chicago 2010

Gallery Cabaret

For local bands taking their first tentative steps to indie stardom and besotted crooners alike, Gallery Cabaret’s biweekly open mic events have become something of an institution in Bucktown. While you will most likely have to stand and watch the show from the closed-circuit monitor above the bar, who can resist $5 pitchers of Leinenkugel, free appetizers and free music? Not us.

2020 North Oakley
(773)489-5471
gallerycabaret.com

Best of Chicago 2010

Odd Obsession

Want to have a discussion about the early work of Paul Verhoeven, the personal quirks of Werner Herzog or the best of American schlock movies from the eighties? The clerks at Odd Obsession, let’s face it, were probably the kind of kids with Coke-bottle glasses and prominent retainers who regularly got creamed by the jocks in high school. The fruit of all that torment, however, is a collective filmic knowledge that borders on the encyclopedic. So whether you’re interested in underground film, or just looking to impress that very special indie chick in your life, Odd Obsession is the place to go.

1822 North Milwaukee
(773)276-0894
oddobsession.com

Best of Chicago 2010

Holstein Park

The city sports an array of indoor and outdoor swimming facilities, but nothing compares to Holstein Park’s commodious pool. The deep end hits twelve feet, there’s a separate pool for the kids and the pool is wide and long enough for everyone to keep to themselves. It seriously puts East Bank Club’s members-only rooftop pool to shame. Conveniently located in Bucktown’s residential quarters, Holstein’s pool attracts young professionals and families, and eschews some of the riffraff of other pools. If only diving boards were allowed.

2200 North Oakley
(312)742-7554

Best of Chicago 2009

Takashi

Chef Takashi Yagihashi wrote the book (literally—“Takashi’s Noodles”) on silky soba and ridiculously rich ramen. But, why make it at home when you can score sweet somen and the ultimate udon at Yagihashi’s Sunday brunch.

1952 North Damen
(773)772-6170
takashichicago.com

Audience choice:
Urban Belly
3053 North California
(773)583-0500
urbanbellychicago.com

Best of Chicago 2009

Cafecito

Owner Philip Ghantous, who with his shaved head and youthful gaze looks a bit like actor Billy Zane, roasts the meat for his Cubano in-house and marinates it in a garlic-and-citrus-flavored mojo sauce. The whole package here features the perfect amount of tangy pickles and mustard and proper ratio of ham, roast pork and Swiss cheese to crusty, grilled bread.

26 E. Congress
(312)922-2233
cafecitochicago.com
Audience choice:

Cafe La Guardia
2111 W. Armitage
(773)862-5996

Best of Chicago 2008