Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia picked Chicagos very own Michigan Avenue for its tricked-out flagship store. It was the first in the United States and second in the world, behind Moscow.
The Nokia flagship store offers a few cutting-edge phones before they can be found elsewhere. Of course, calling these mobile devices phones doesnt do them justice. Phones today can do a lot more than just call friends; they can take pictures, surf the Internet, and send text messages. In fact, you can send a text message from one of the demo phones that will display on a giant computer screen inside the tech shop. Within one minute, your message not only shows up on the wall inside the Chicago store, but also in the flagship store in New York City!
While Chicago and New York stores are now open in the United States, flagships have opened (and/or are set to open) in 18 cities worldwide. The stores feel just as hip and modern as the products on display. The lights and music make them feel more like dance clubs than a phone store, and the glass cases reserved for specialty items in the rear are reminiscent of a high-end jewelry boutique. The ultra-high-end Vertu phones in the back of the Chicago location start at $5000! Handmade in the UK, no plastic whatsoever is used in their construction, and the face is made of sapphire crystal, making it nearly impossible to scratch. Finally, a $59,000 model that was in the store during my last visit featured 940 diamonds, adding up to 6.6 karats.
The sleek Apple store is just a couple blocks down the street and is another place where you can check out the latest in technology. This high-tech two-story emporium on the Magnificent Mile opened in the summer of 2003 and continues to attract the famously loyal Apple fanatics devotees for workshops, classes, or the latest Mac or iPod. This interactive mecca allows customers to touch and explore to their hearts content. Theres even an internet caf where shoppers can relax and check their e-mail. (A word of advice: Remember to always be careful about what kind of information you are sharing on a public computer. Also, make sure you are completely logged out of any e-mail services or networking sites you visit. You wouldnt want the next user to have access to your personal information!)
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Recently, the CTA has been asking the opinions of Mystery Commuters to tell them all that is good and bad about Chicagos buses and trains. The Chicago Sun-Times decided to take matters into their own hands and ride all 242 miles (389 km) of subway and eL tracks. They made a list of 10 bests and worsts.
The Scariest Platform goes to the State/Lake station right in the heart of downtown. The intersection of State and Lake is the hub of the Chicago transportation as dozens of buses travel through it or within a couple blocks. The Red Line runs underground, while the five Lines that comprise the Loop (Brown, Purple, Green, Pink, and Orange) all stop at this station. As you can imagine, there is a lot of pedestrian traffic and a lot of riders crowding onto the platform. And yet, at most, it only provides a width of 8 feet (2 m) for all those people to stand on. Depending on where youre standing, this could definitely be a very scary platform.
While some commuters may have complaints or make jokes about how the stations (and some of the passengers) smell, the Sun-Times gave its Best-Smelling award to the Red Line Argyle station. This is due to all the Asian restaurants in the north side neighborhood, offering delicious fragrances to waiting riders. The Pink Line Western stop, serving the citys Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods, enjoys the aromas of nearby Mexican eateries and deserves an honorable mention.
My own Best and Worst? Well, one of the worst bus/train transfers has to be the Red Line Garfield station. In order to make my way from the train station to the eastbound bus (or vice versa), I had to cross ten lanes of traffic. Ten! There is currently a stoplight there that is supposed to help with traffic, but that doesnt help you when youre trying to catch that bus that just pulled up to the stop across the street. And the bus driver cant hear or see you waving from ten lanes away! To make matters worse, theres no seating or shelter available. I know there are quite a few similar stations which require unfortunate commuters to trek across several lanes of traffic, sometimes without a stoplight.
As far as Best, I think the Red and Blue Line stops at Jackson are very interesting for a couple of reasons. The two stations look a lot cleaner and more modern after the city spent an extensive amount of time and money renovating them. Theres always some kind of street performer, though I cant guarantee how talented he or she will be. The crowd is a fascinating mix of urban teens, tourists with shopping bags, blue-collar workers, and Blackberry-wielding businessmen, making it a perfect people-watching spot. Finally, even though both stations are underground, a block-long tunnel that is even deeper underground connects the two stations, a feature that is unique to these two eL stops.
You can find the article and the complete Sun-Times list here. Do you have any eL recommendations of your own?
When youre craving soul food, many would tell you that you have to head down to the South Side to find the best of the best. But for many folks, the best is on Chicagos West Side at MacArthurs.
Best start loosening your belts now because MacArthurs doesnt mess around. The owners niece does most of the cooking here, offering classic Southern-style dishes in a cafeteria-style setting. The ambience of the green-walled dining room may be lacking, but the food (and the portions!) more than make up for that.
Lines can get pretty long during the dinner hour and on Sunday afternoons (after religious ceremonies), but most of the customers get their hearty meals to go, leaving plenty of tables and booths where you can enjoy an incredible array of soul food. The menu changes daily, but mainstays include fried chicken, baked chicken, baked catfish, smothered pork chops, meatloaf, pork spare ribs, and beef short ribs. There are more sides than you could hope to imagine: mac & cheese, collard greens, sweet corn, baked beans, mixed veggies, potato salad, black-eyed peas, coleslaw, and so much more. Dinner, which includes a meat selection and two sides, ranges from $7 to $9. Portions are about the size of your head, but if you somehow manage to have room for dessert, you have to try the peach cobbler or banana pudding.
Several celebrities have been through here, including Shaq, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Kanye West. Barack Obama wrote about MacArthurs in his book, The Audacity of Hope. However, the food is definitely the biggest star here. And I mean big.
This season of the Bravo Networks Top Chef was filmed here in Chicago, exposing competing chefs from all over the country to all the culinary treats the Windy City has to offer.
This weeks Quickfire Challenge divided the contestants into two teams of four and pitted them against each other in a mis en place relay race. (Mis en place is a French phrase literally meaning put in place and refers to the process of preparing ingredients usually before the restaurant opens for the day.) Each team had to supreme oranges (remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds), prepare artichokes, fillet monkfish, and make mayonnaise from scratch.
Combine racing and great food at Chicagos 16th annual Race to Taste next month. Featuring a 5K run and 2-mile (3 km) walk through Grant Park, this race is held in conjunction with the 28th annual Taste of Chicago. Registration includes a T-shirt and a strip of food/drink tickets.
For the Elimination Challenge, the two teams catered a 250-guest wedding buffet-style, each team responsible for half the guests. The chefs had only 14 hours to prepare, making it necessary for them to stay awake through the night.
Romance shouldnt end at the wedding. Take that special someone out for some romantic wining and dining:
If youve never heard of or seen this building, you arent alone. And it really is a shame because 181 West Madison is 50 stories of great design and architecture (kitty-corner from Madison Plaza). Completed in 1990, the structure stands 680 feet (207 m) tall, making it one of the top 20 tallest buildings in Chicago. Viewers eyes are drawn higher and higher, and the finials are coated with shining nickel. The crown and corners are illuminated white during the evening hours, but other colors have been featured depending on the holiday. Perhaps most stunning of all, the building was completed four months early and 5% under budget! Thats definitely not something Chicago experiences often.
While Chicago and New York stores are now open in the United States, 
As far as Best, I think the Red and Blue Line stops at 
