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

Jeff Zimmermann’s “you know what you should do” 

Jeff Zimmermann’s colorful public mural follows in the steps of the great Pop painter James Rosenquist, in a collage of portraits, products and politics. Partially commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency, the mural responds to the topic of Lake Michigan’s health.

“you know what you should do”
By Jeff Zimmerman
Oak Street Beach, 1000 North Lake Shore

Best of Chicago 2011

Chicago Chocolate Tours

Guided two-hour crawls lead as many tourists as locals through one of Chicago’s most notoriously vice-ridden underbellies: that of our sugary network of cupcakeries. “Cupcakes have been around long enough now that they are more than a trend; cupcakes are here to stay,” says Valerie Beck, president, founder and self-proclaimed “Chief Executive Chocolate Lover” of Chicago Chocolate Tours. The Downtown Loop Cupcake Route meets at the fountain at Macy’s on State Street and samples some of the more popular varieties at shops like Sarah’s Pastries and Candies (Black and White), Flirty Cupcakes (A Raspberry Stole My Heart) and at mySpa in the Fairmont Hotel. Beck’s Gold Coast Cupcake Route meets in the lobby at 900 North Michigan and tastes at spots like Swirlz Cupcakes (gluten-free pumpkin cream cheese), More (Bacon Maple; Feta Cranberry) and Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter. Beck says the current trend is salted caramel, a flavor evident in samples at tour spots like Loop-route stop Toni Patisserie (Salted Caramel Tarts). A nominee this year for the tenth annual Chicago Innovation awards, the six-year-old tour company has expanded to guide tours in Boston and Philadelphia.

Chicago Chocolate Tours
Downtown Loop Cupcake Route
Tuesdays at 3:45pm, meets at Macy’s, 111 North State
Gold Coast Cupcake Route
Thursdays at 4:45pm, meets at 900 North Michigan
(312)929-2939
chicagochocolatetours.com

Best of Chicago 2011

House made goat cheese sandwich at Café des Architectes in Hotel Sofitel Water Tower

Save for Champs Elysées sidewalk café classics croque madame or croque monsieur, putting cheese sandwiches on the menu at any formidable French restaurant could be considered by some a crime worthy of time in La Bastille. But at Café des Architectes in the Hotel Sofitel Water Tower, Executive Chef Greg Biggers (Tru; Fulton’s on the River) makes Gold Coast-worthy comfort food out of house made goat cheese and two hearty pieces of brioche. He accents the cheese sandwich with Japanese mustard greens (mizuna), shaved almonds and mint pesto, “pistou.” What would French cuisine traditionalist Julia Child likely say about this locavore-inspired French meal? She would undoubtedly sing its praises with her signature response to mouth-watering recipes: Bon Appetit!

Café des Architectes
20 East Chestnut
(312)324-4063
cafedesarchitectes.com

Best of Chicago 2011

International Museum of Surgical Science
We are fragile, mysterious, ridiculous instruments. We keep finding absurd ways to die. We look to the experts to keep thriving, and the experts keep experimenting—go ahead and giggle at Hippocrates’ board and ladder, but don’t think the current state of orthodontics won’t look silly in fifty years. He pokes two fingers through the hole in her jean leg. She whispers something primitive and unethical, and pushes him against a case of fake eyeballs. We swap ecosystems upon ecosystems. We kill the squeamish superstition within. We make fools of ourselves with no precise, objective definition for pain or pleasure.

1524 North Lake Shore
(312)6420-6502
imss.org

Best of Chicago 2010

Ria

We didn’t agree with many of the Michelin Guide’s new ratings, but the two stars they awarded to Ria were pretty spot on. Impeccable service, one of Chicago’s best sommeliers Dan Pilkey, and inspired dishes like lobster with a chestnut sabayon, fennel and orange make this the best Chicago restaurant opening since L20.

11 East Walton at the Elysian Hotel
(312)880-4400
riarestaurantchicago.com

Audience choice:

Girl and the Goat
809 West Randolph
(312)492-6262
girlandthegoat.com

Stax Café

We’ve probably had as many pancakes as Wilt Chamberlain had ladies and to pick amongst them is a disservice of sorts. For the Walker Bros. Pancake House in Wheeling’s Dutch Baby is just as solid as the Butterfinger-larded Bongo Room flapjack. It’s really just a matter of mood. No matter our temperament though, the light ricotta pancakes slathered with tart-sweet rhubarb strawberry compote at Stax Café always seem to fit the bill.

1401 West Taylor
(312)733-9871

Audience choice:

Bongo Room, Orange, Original Pancake House (TIE)

Bongo Room
1470 North Milwaukee
(773)489-0690

1152 South Wabash
(312)291-0100
thebongoroom.com

Orange
738 North Clark
(312)202-0600

730 West Grand
(312)942-0300

2011 West Roscoe
(773)248-0999

2413 North Clark
(773)549-7833
orangerestaurantchicago.com

Original Pancake House
2020 North Lincoln Park West
(773)929-8130

22 East Bellevue
(312)642-7917

1517 East Hyde Park
(773)288-2322
originalpancakehouse.com

Best of Chicago 2010

Teavana

If Lipton is as far as your tea knowledge goes, Teavana is the perfect place to discern your oolongs from your rooibos. If you’re ready to free yourself from your mom’s old-fashioned tea bag, the steeped boutique offers wall-to-wall displays of the most preserved leaves prime for tea time. The drinking potpourri comes in traditional black, green, white, oolong, herbal, rooibos and maté varieties but what really makes you feel like a kid in a candy shop is mixing flavors to create superblends that bring your mouth to a whole new state of bliss.

520 North Michigan
(312)527-3584

835 North Michigan, Water Tower Place
(312)335-9802
teavana.com

Audience choice:

Argo Tea
16 West Randolph
(312)553-1551

819 North Rush
(312)951-5302

958 West Armitage
(773)649-9644
argotea.com

Best of Chicago 2010

The Palm Court at The Drake Hotel

What would Hillary do? There are plenty of delightful spots to enjoy afternoon tea, but few could be more storied than The Drake’s Palm Court, where Princess Di, her one-time mother-in-law (each on separate occasions) and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have raised a teacup. The English tradition here is steeped in romance and set to live harp music. Arrive hungry since the tea menu reads more like a full meal: sandwiches, hearty scones and pastries.

140 East Walton
(312)787-2200
thedrakehotel.com

Best of Chicago 2010

The Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
The Sofitel nabbed our attention this year with their summer showing of the traveling Parisian photography exhibit, “Fashion Stills.” Featuring breathtaking photographs of couture designs, runway shows, fashion moguls and models, the already elegant lobby was made even more chic with the presence of French Polka Galerie’s art. The exhibit has since moved on, but the lobby remains the picture of class and sophistication: plush seating, unique architectural detail and a grand staircase all lend their airs to the famed hotel’s entrance.

20 East Chestnut
(312)324-4000
sofitel.com

Audience choice:
Palmer House
17 East Monroe
(312)726-7500
hilton.com/thepalmerhous

Best of Chicago 2010