What's New

Where to Stay

The James Hotel, 55 E. Ontario St. (tel. 877/JAMES-55 or 312/337-1000), attracts a stylish, design-conscious clientele with its sleek, contemporary look. Located just off bustling Michigan Avenue, its J Bar has already become a top see-and-be-seen spot for trendy young Chicagoans; it's also home to David Burke's Primehouse, a modern interpretation of the traditional steakhouse. Rooms feature dark wood platform beds, contemporary artwork, and the usual high-tech amenities (plasma-screen TVs, iPod docks, etc.). With guest rooms averaging $300 and up, you'd expect no less.

The former House of Blues Hotel has been transformed into the Hotel Sax (tel. 877/569-3742 or 312/245-0333), which bills itself as "bohemian boutique." That means eclectic room decor (such as snakeskin-covered chairs) and a cool lobby lounge, done up in a vaguely Arabian Nights theme. What hasn't changed is the hotel's great location, steps from the Chicago River and some of the city's best restaurants and nightlife.

Where to Dine

Attention smokers! By order of the Chicago City Council, smoking is banned in all restaurant dining rooms. Restaurants with a separate bar area can choose to allow smoking there, but only if they install an air filtration system. If you want to light up when you go out, call first to see if there's a bar where smoking is permitted.

The restaurant drawing the most attention lately is De La Costa, in the River East Arts Center, 465 E. Illinois St. (tel. 312/464-1700), the first Chicago restaurant from Chef Douglas Rodriguez (who got raves for his Latin cuisine at restaurants such as Patria in New York and Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia). The sprawling, dramatic space does not disappoint: with everything from a DJ booth to a ceviche bar (a Latin take on the sushi bar), the loftlike setting oozes urban cool. The must-order drink: the "Poptails," which come with mini (alcoholic) popsicles. The menu offers a minitour of Latin America and Spain, with everything from tapas to Uruguayan steaks.

A few blocks away, hidden inside a high-rise condo building, Copperblue, 580 E. Illinois St. (tel. 312/527-1200), draws diners with a creative take on Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Michael Tsonton has a whimsical sense of humor (Pacific snapper comes with a "mustard spice and everything nice" butter broth), but it never upstages the flavorful food. Feeling adventurous? Try the "Fifth Quarter" tasting menu to sample meat cuts that normally don't get cooked in fine restaurants, let alone eaten.

Exploring Chicago

Michigan Avenue added another example of eye-catching architecture with the opening of the new Spertus Museum, 610 S. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/322-1747), in fall 2007. Unlike the museum's previous, undistinguished-looking home next door, the new building is airy and inviting. It also has space for expanded exhibits, an interactive learning center for children, and a kosher cafe run by Wolfgang Puck's catering company.

In other museum news, the National Museum of Mexican Art, formerly the Mexican Fine Arts Museum, 1852 W. 19th St. (tel. 312/738-1503), was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 2007. It's the first -- and so far, the only -- Latino museum in the country to receive accreditation. As part of the museum's outreach program, the name was changed to better reflect its mission.

Before visiting any Chicago museum, it pays to check out the museum's website first; more and more cultural institutions now offer downloadable tours and interactive trip planners. For example, the website for the Field Museum of Natural History (www.fieldmuseum.org) has mp3 audiotours of the museum's permanent collection; you can also print out a Family Adventure Tour, which sends kids on a scavenger hunt throughout the museum. The Millennium Park mp3 audiotour (available at www.millenniumpark.org) includes interviews with the artists who created the park's eye-catching artwork.

Shopping

To find out what's new on the Chicago shopping scene, head to West Division street, where trendy new boutiques continue to spring up on the blocks between Milwaukee and Damen avenues. Emblematic of Division Street's focus on modern style is the ecofriendly baby boutique Grow, 1943 W. Division St. (tel. 773/489-0009). The bright, open space showcases streamlined kids' furniture, as well as clothing made of organic fabrics.

This is a great time to visit Chicago if you've got a sweet tooth, now that outposts of Ethel's Chocolate Lounge seem to be opening up around town. (The most convenient locations for visitors are inside Westfield North Bridge mall, 520 N. Michigan Ave. (tel. 312/464-9330), and inside the 900 N. Michigan Avenue mall (tel. 312/440-9747). A celebration of all things chocolate, these bright, candy-colored cafes have a distinctly feminine vibe and offer a mouth-watering array of tasty (if pricey) candies; flavors range from espresso-flavored truffles to the "Etheltini" (a dark chocolate square spiked with vodka and dry vermouth). Ethel's also has a location along the Armitage Avenue shopping strip, 819 W. Armitage Ave. (tel. 773/281-0029).

Need to stock up on supplies for a lakefront picnic lunch? A new upscale deli, Goddess & Grocer, 25 E. Delaware St. (tel. 312/896-2600), stocks everything from specialty sandwiches to chicken and pasta dishes to freshly baked cookies and brownies. The prepared foods are a few notches above the standard takeout spot (wild Alaskan salmon, wild mushroom risotto), and the staff can put together meals for any occasion (including "to go" meals for you to take on your next flight out of O'Hare airport).

Chicago After Dark

At Chicago's upscale lounges, the drinks keep getting more expensive and the bottle service trend shows no signs of slowing down. In Lincoln Park, a neighborhood filled mostly with sports bars, Krem, 1750 N. Clark St. (tel. 312/932-1750), attracts scenesters with its 33-foot "bed" and white furniture that glows under the blue light. You can order off a small-plates menu, or simply pose with everyone else.

Still, the Chicago nightlife scene isn't all about attitude. At the new West Loop hot spot Lumen, 839 W. Fulton Market (tel. 312/733-2222), there's no VIP section and no list to get in. Instead, all eyes turn toward the massive LED light display, which runs along the ceiling and changes color throughout the night. Otherwise, the look at this bar is sleek and spare, with concrete walls and low-slung, minimalist banquette seating.

The environmentally friendly Butterfly Social Club, 722 W. Grand Ave. (tel. 312/666-1695), features treehouselike nooks, organic juices in drinks, and is smoke-free (fittingly, it opened on Earth Day in 2007). It uses solar power for some of its electrical needs and incorporates recycled and natural materials into its design, such as "trees" made from mud, sand, clay, and straw. DJs spin upbeat world music that thumps through speakers made of recycled wood.