Old Orchard to debut 'green' food court | Consumer | Crain's Chicago Business

Old Orchard to debut 'green' food court Consumer Crain's Chicago Business

Old Orchard to debut 'green' food court
By: Kate MacArthur December 06, 2010
(Crain's) — Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is getting some competition for healthy mall food-court fare.
Westfield Group’s Old Orchard shopping center in Skokie plans to open a “green” food court next summer, offering organic and sustainable foods from open kitchen stations.
The 22,500-square-foot format, created for Westfield by Richtree Market Restaurants Inc. of Canada, will include a range of specialties from seafood and pasta to sushi and pastries, as well as vegetarian and gluten-free options. There also will be indoor and open-air dining spaces.
Like Lettuce’s Foodlife market in Water Tower Place, the menus will change seasonally.


I hope that this provides good food at a reasonable price and that they has somthing for everyone! I certainly won't miss the tastes of Chinese food on a toothpick.

One fourth of sales foreclosure-related in third quarter | Residential News | Crain's Chicago Business

One fourth of sales foreclosure-related in third quarter Residential News Crain's Chicago Business

That accounts for the declining median prices in the area.  Distressed sales at Distressed prices.  and often Distressed properties.   If you are able to work through the issues and buy forclosed property you are getting great deals now.

Wicker Park new restaurant MC Bistro

from Chicago Magazine

Remember Chicago magazine’s Best of Chicago feature from December 1995? No? Maybe you’ll remember the restaurant our erstwhile colleagues said had the best booths in the city: Julie Mai’s Le Bistro, the Andersonville French-Vietnamese spot that closed in 2000. The booths were cozy, private nooks with switches to control the lights and call the servers, and the semi-exotic food and nice wine list added up to a romantic atmosphere. Well, Julie Mai is back, at MC Bistro (1401 N. Ashland Ave.; 773-489-5600), a new 110-seat French-Vietnamese spot in Wicker Park that opened last week. Mai, partnering with her sister Thanh Chi, offers Vietnamese classics such as spring rolls and papaya salad, as well as pho of which she’s proud. How does it feel to be back? “It feels good,” she says. “I love food. Now I think I can do better than before.”  

Sounds like I need to get there soon - Eva

This Recession Is O-vah!: ‘Zombie Bears’ Edition

November 24, 2010 by Brian Summerfield · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Economics 

By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
The latest in a crowd of pronouncements that the recession is officially behind us comes from economic analyst Barry Ritholtz, whose book I reviewed a while ago. Ritholtz, one of the most bearish commentators during the downturn, believes that the economy has finally turned a corner (hooray!), but adds that “zombie bears” who have staked their reputations on the idea that we’re stuck in the doldrums won’t acknowledge it.
Now, calling the end of the recession isn’t exactly a new trend. (In fact, I wrote about it more than a year ago.) But Ritholtz may well be right. I, for one, hope he is. And the chorus he’s joining seems to have gotten much louder in the past few months. (If they’re correct, though, why the need for QE2?)
Here’s the thing, however: Even if they are right, Ritholtz and other economists are speaking about the recession in a very narrow, literal sense. When they say it’s over, what they referring to is a return to a sustained period of growth at the macroeconomic level. They aren’t arguing that economic normalcy for consumers is just a few weeks or months ahead, or that we’ll return to full employment soon, or that housing values will shortly ratchet back up to 2005 levels. Most importantly, it doesn’t mean that continued recovery is a sure thing.
What it could mean, though, is that financial institutions, feeling more secure, will start to lend again. Businesses of all sizes could slowly but surely begin hiring again. And consumers who rightfully put the brakes on spending and began saving at a rate not seen in more than a decade may begin to put some of their accumulated capital toward a home purchase.
In short, it might signify that after searching for a floor during these past couple of years, the economy is finally starting to move in the right direction. That’s something we could all be thankful for.

What's the truth in real estate today?

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/4-biggest-lies-in-real-estate.html

The above link provides some warnings to the public that are good to keep in mind while searching for your home online.     Personally, my ethics are high and I do not embellish descriptions on my listings, but there is no way to be sure that what others do is as ethical.  ...  Unless you go there to see with your own eyes! 

I always tell my clients (both buyers and sellers) to look online and make some decisions from the descriptions and the photos provided, and then let's go see these places in real life.  Do they match up with what was online?  or are they better? or worse?    Condition is one consideration.   Location is another.  Drive over to the area, look for the transportation and entertainment options you want.  Walk around, look at the area, talk to people.  And call me to arrange the appointments to see the inside of the places you like.

Downtown condo sales ‘kind of glued in place’ | Trend Of The Week | Crain's Chicago Business

Downtown condo sales ‘kind of glued in place’ Trend Of The Week Crain's Chicago Business

So what does this mean? Condos are selling, just not at the "flying off the shelf" rate of the boom years. Which means that the best condos will sell. At the new prices. Everyone needs to keep in mind that the past is gone and we need to focus on the opportunities that are in front of us today and in the months ahead. That old adage is true - "don't cry over spilt milk"