Yolk

With restaurants featuring Raspberry Oreo Flapjacks (Bongo Room), Sunny Side Duck Egg Hash (Longman & Eagle) and, of course, Frushi (that’s fruit sushi for the uninitiated, at Orange), there are certainly no shortages of destinations in Chicago for the gastro-brunch crowd. When you’re nursing a hangover though, good ol’ fashioned bacon and eggs might sound a little more palatable than, say, Lemon Ricotta pancakes. If that’s the case, might we suggest Yolk—they do all the basics to perfection, with just enough twists (Pot Roast Benedict, Cinnamon Roll French Toast, Nutella Crepes) to keep things a little more interesting than a trip to Golden Nugget. Oh, and keep the Metropolis coffee coming, would you please? It’s been a rough morning.

Yolk
1120 South Michigan
(312)789-9655
747 North Wells
(312)787-2277
355 East Ohio
(312)822-9655
yolk-online.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Journy at 120 Ultra Lounge

“Hamina-hamina-hamina-hamina...”—Ralph Kramden on “The Honeymooners.”

120 Ultra Lounge
580 East Illinois
(312)955-0719
120ultralounge.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Brian Atwood at Saks

As if any woman with a pulse needed another reason to shop for shoes, designer extraordinaire and heartthrob Brian Atwood himself stopped by Saks Fifth Avenue Chicago to help cut the ribbon of their brand new shoe salon, 10022-SHOE. Debuting in September and named for the New York Saks shoe salon, which is so large it was given its own zip code, the local version is nothing to sneeze at: 3,300 square feet of pure shoe heaven. Stocking brands such as 3.1 Phillip Lim, Michael Kors and of course, Mr. Atwood, it’s quickly become a shoe-lover’s go-to. Can you say “Happy Feet?”

Saks Fifth Avenue
700 North Michigan
(312)944-6500
saksfifthavenue.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Columbia Yacht Club
Chicago’s harbors boast several fine waterfront clubs, some more exclusive than others but all of which offer copious dock space, storage facilities and eateries. Columbia, established in 1892, sets itself apart with its noteworthy location, pleasant atmosphere and cooperative community. Non-members can enjoy the perks with a member-friend and the sailing school is open to anyone who hears Lake Michigan calling forth a passion for tying knots and rigging sails. Though membership fees are steeper than competitors in the northern and southern harbors, Columbia brings expert and novice sailors together on personal vessels and on the club’s floating home, a 372-foot Canadian icebreaker and ferryboat with a killer view of the city.

111 North Lake Shore
(312)938-3625
columbiayachtclub.com

Audience choice:
Chicago Yacht Club
400 East Monroe
(312)861-7777
300 West Belmont
(773)477-7575
chicagoyachtclub.org

Best of Chicago 2010

Fox & Obel

City Provisions deserves an honorable mention for its local and fresh-cured product offerings, but the one place we always go when we need to satisfy a group of jaded foodies over the holidays is Fox & Obel. From fat lobes of foie gras to glistening jamon iberico to spicy saucisson sec to rare caviar, they have the perfect edible gift for the hungry Gold Coast resident who has everything else. Also, this is one of the few non-online places you can score a single cut of dry-aged prime beef on quick notice if you want to cook up a steakhouse dinner.

401 East Illinois
(312)410-7301
fox-obel.com

Audience choice:

Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen
1141 South Jefferson
(312)939-2855
mannysdeli.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 LEGO Store

Getting caught in the crowd of tweeters, techies and tourists oozing from the Apple store can cause a headache, especially when you need serious Genius support. (Yeah, sweatpant kid checking your Facebook, not everyone goes for the free wifi.) If you’ve got time to kill, give Apple a break and skip through Lego-land instead. It’s plastic, build-your-own fun on Michigan Avenue, where adults can relive their childhoods and children can live out their shopping-with-Mom fantasies.

835 North Michigan
(312)494-0760
stores.lego.com

Best of Chicago 2010

“Touch and Go: Ray Yoshida and his Spheres of Influence” at the Sullivan Galleries

Ray Yoshida forged a distinctly mid-century Chicago style and this retrospective proves it. Curators John Corbett and Jim Dempsey once again tapped their deep knowledge of Chicago art history by including Yoshida’s circle of influences and peers within the exhibition. What emerges is not only a comprehensive survey of how Yoshida developed Imagism, but also how it stuck in the works of his friends and became a new milieu that artists still learn from today.

33 South State, 7th floor
(312)629-6635
saic.edu/exhibitions

Audience choice:

“Alexander Calder and Contemporary Art: Form, Balance, Joy”
220 East Chicago
(312)280-2660
mcachicago.org

Best of Chicago 2010

The Music Box

How can Wrigleyville’s 1927-built movie boite be considered mainstream? In a world where our media as well as our heads are in the clouds, where Netflix Instant puts indies, classics and foreign films at the press of “return,” the real mainstream may be the mix of matinees and midnight shows, world cinema and indie ambition on Southport Avenue. (The theater’s even made room of late for the occasional “move-overs” of popular movies from AMC or Regal locations further afield.)

3733 North Southport
(773)871-6604
musicboxtheatre.com

Audience choice:

River East 21
322 East Illinois
(312)596-0333
amctheatres.com/RiverEast

Ben Russell

This year marked the MCA’s one-hundredth 12×12 exhibition, the museum’s showcase for emerging artists based in Chicago. These coveted shows grant artists exposure to a broad audience, which is why Ben Russell, who is well liked in experimental film circles and by visitors to his Pilsen apartment gallery, was this year’s best; he is deserving of greater exposure.

Ben Russell
1716 South Morgan
dimeshow.com

Museum of Contemporary Art
220 East Chicago
mcachicago.org