Sixteen

In a move bound to please gun-rights advocates and appall critics, Kutztown University has altered a policy to allow weapons to be carried in certain areas of campus "for compelling reasons of … personal safety." The revision, which took effect...

A shave and a haircut of yesteryear cost the proverbial two bits, 25 cents. A shave alone at The Old Bank Barbers, a soon-to-open barber shop on The Avenue in Hampden, will cost $25. It won't be any old shave, though. Owner Daniel Wells promises an old-...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When I told friends I was planning a trip to Birmingham, the reaction was universal. "Alabama?" one asked. "On purpose?" I shared their skepticism, viewing the travel literature with the jaundiced eye of a longtime Angeleno...

At last, after great deliberation and much wringing of hands, David Manilow made a decision. White smoke rose from a pipe outside the window of his Lincoln Park office. He adjusted the zipper on his navy blue garment, splayed his hands on a conference...

Rodrick Markus reached for the top shelf of a metal cabinet at the back of his office. "I know, I know, I know," he said to himself. His fingers worked across a row of jars and stopped at a tall glass cylinder. I had asked him about rare ingredients. Rare...

What you hold in your hands is our favorite issue of the year. We get to revisit our sauce-stained notebooks and offer raised glasses to the restaurants and chefs we felt best defined Chicago's dining scene these past 12 months. This marks our third...

We've all heard about Noma, the Danish restaurant at the forefront of the Nordic food movement headed by chef Rene Redzepi. But what does the impact of Nordic cuisine (and other influences on modern dining) look like on the plate at Chicago's leading...

If only it were so easy to pithily proclaim 2012 as the Year of the (fill-in-the-blank). But there's really no one thread that neatly ties together the Chicago restaurant scene these last 12 months. A restaurant that put Chicago on the culinary map 25...

I have this problem. I made more New Year's Eve reservations than I can use. More than 100 of them, actually. Which is why, for the 12th straight year (and the 17th time in the past 19 years), I'll be giving them away to nimble-fingered readers who ask....

Activity Pals For single seniors. Get together with others to attend events, shop, go sightseeing, dine out and more. 301-596-6385. The Bain Center 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. 410-313-7213. •Acting Up! Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. A theater...

Pali Mountain Retreat & Conference Center, 30778 State Route 18, Running Springs; (909) 867-5743, http://www.paliretreat.com. Retreat packages (open to groups of 25 or more) range from about $70 to $120 per person per night (including bunkhouse bed and...

The trick to dining out on Christmas Day is finding interesting places that are open. Chinatown, where Christmas is just another day, is always an option, and hotel restaurants always offer something, if only to ensure that guests in the hotel don't go...