Smith [smiTH] noun

“1. A maker skilled in creating happiness.”

The owners of The Smith

River North is home to such a place. The owners of this American bistro say “The Smith is the maker. We are all empowered to be makers; makers of great food, great cocktails, great hospitality, warmth, fun, energy and smiles. Everyone is a maker; the guests, the cooks, the bartender. We can all be The Smith and make great things.”

And what do these ‘makers’ prepare? For Spring flavors in a downtown location, they are a must for elevated, cooked-to-order American fare in a stylish, architectural space with outdoor seats. 

At breakfast, or brunch on the weekends, start with The Smith Eggs Benedict, pairing black forest ham, English muffin, hollandaise, poached eggs, and home fries or mixed greens. Avocado Toast is spicy on whole wheat, with red pepper flakes, lemon, and poached eggs. Even a Simple Scramble is elevated with apple-smoked bacon, and your choice of home fries or mixed greens. Several reviewers rhapsodized over The Smith’s Vanilla Bean French Toast, with maple butter and caramelized bananas. 

On the weekends, The Smith Brunch includes a Benedict Johnny, a twist on Johnnycake and Eggs Benedict, is served with cheddar cornbread, maple chicken sausage, poached eggs, and a roasted tomato hollandaise. Shrimp + Grits are jalapeño cheddar grits with baked eggs, scampi butter, and blackened shoestring potatoes. A brunch cocktail is included with any egg, griddle or steak and eggs item.

The Smith serves a large variety of Oysters from around the world at their Oyster Bar, available throughout the week and weekend, including Fishers Island, from Block Island, NY, Puffer Petite, from Wellfleet, MA, and Pink Moon, from Prince Edward Island, Canada.

For weekday lunch, try The Smith Burger, with bacon shallot jam, American cheese, crispy onions, pickles, and TSB sauce, on a brioche bun. Eggplant Milanese comes with burst yellow tomatoes, baby mustard greens, and parmesan in white balsamic, or a Pot of Mussels in chardonnay broth, with dijon, tarragon, and fries. For a Korean twist, try Vegetable Bibimbap, with sushi rice, shiitake, spinach, edamame, house-made kimchee, and a sunny-up egg.

For dinner, the menu of fresh-prepared, made to order steaks,  oysters and other menu items is joined by Fork + Knife Fried Chicken, with jalapeño cheddar grits, green tomato marmalade, and hot honey. Or, try Shrimp Scampi, with barley risotto, asparagus, English peas, marinated and spring onion. 

But….save room for dessert! Strawberry Shortcake Sundae has strawberry ice cream, red velvet shortcake, strawberry jam, toasted pistachios, in a waffle cone. S’mores in a Jar combines chocolate pudding, graham cracker crumble, toasted marshmallow, and a dark chocolate crunch bar. Mmmm!

The Smith is located at 400 N. Clark Street, and is open for indoor and outdoor dining, delivery, and pick-up. Monday-Wednesday, they’re open 8:30am- 9pm, Thursday and Friday, 8:30am-10pm, Saturdays, 9:30am-10pm, and Sunday’s, 9:30am- 9pm. Happy Hours are Monday-Friday, 3pm-6pm. For reservations, click here. 

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago

If you’re in the market to buy a home, you’ve got choices.

Aside from the actual type of property – condo, townhouse, detached, etc – you need to decide whether to take the resale or new construction path to home ownership.

But the decision can be a tough one, considering the pros and cons that come with each. And not only is this a financial debate, it’s also about different lifestyles.

Here are some key considerations about both buying resale and new home construction to think about before you make your final decision.

Level of Customization

If you buy resale, you’ll likely be looking at quite a few properties before you find one that matches your tastes and needs exactly. Buying an existing home usually means you’ll need to be willing and ready to make some sacrifices, unless your bank account allows for some serious tweaking.

Whether it’s the choppy floor plan or the lack of a master ensuite, the downside to buying resale is that you probably won’t be able to tick off every single one of your desires, unless you’re prepared to dump a lot of money in future renovations.

If you choose to buy resale, determine what your wants and needs are in a potential property before you start looking. For example, if you absolutely must have a double attached garage and a main-floor laundry room, be prepared to sacrifice other things to get them in case you just can’t find a house that meets all your criteria.

Of course, you just might find your dream home that fits within your allotted price range. But it’s always better to be prepared for the unknown.

One of the biggest advantages to buying a new home, on the other hand, is the opportunity to customize the home to precisely match your wants and needs. Whether you want an open floor plan, a combined living and dining room, a walk-in closet, or a walk-up to the backyard from the basement, you can design the plans accordingly before the home is built.

Not only that, but you also have the ability to choose the finishes, such as crown molding, granite countertops, or hardwood flooring. With a new build, you have control over how your home will look when it’s done, which isn’t always the case with a resale.

Efficiency

New homes are much more energy efficient compared to properties built decades ago. From the insulation, to the HVAC systems, to the windows and doors, there’s no question that new home construction will offer you a much higher degree of energy efficiency.

You’d be amazed at the cost savings that come along with an energy efficient property. In fact, new homes that cut the amount of energy used to operate it typically come with an average of 20% savings in utility bills, which translates to an average of $400 on annual savings.

A house that was built in 1950 will certainly cost more to operate than a new home that is built to today’s more modern standards. Of course, you can always update the home to bring it up to par, but you’ll need to be prepared to pay the bill to pay for such an endeavor.

Upfront Costs

Unless you buy a resale home that needs a ton of work (and, therefore, money), the upfront costs of a newly built home can be a lot higher.

Not only are you paying for the home itself, you’ve also got to flip the bill for things like window blinds, french doors, a fence, landscaping, and other items that the builder won’t be putting in for you.

In addition, you’ll need to pay a deposit to the builder to hold the desired location of the new home. While this price can vary, you can expect it to run around 10% of the cost of your newly constructed home. And the longer it takes for the home to be fully built, the longer that money will be sitting with the builder, rather than somewhere else where it could have been collecting interest.

Make sure all these upfront costs are discussed with the builder and accounted for before you move forward with new construction.

Sellers of resale homes don’t typically take the window treatments with them, nor will they be ripping out the fence or french doors, either. All these little extras that you might not have thought about before can really add up in a lot of savings when you buy a resale compared to a new home build.

Speed of Closing and Possession

When you buy a resale property, you can generally expect to get the keys to the place anywhere between 30 to 90 days after an offer is accepted. That’s a lot less time than the average new come construction closing date, which can be weeks or months – or longer – after the initial deposit is put down.

And if there are any delays throughout the process – which there almost always are – you can expect that initial closing date to be pushed out even further.

If you don’t have much time to play with, then a resale makes much more sense.

Established Neighborhood Versus Bare Bones

One of the best perks about buying an existing property is that you’re buying into an established neighborhood. The trees are mature, the schools are built, the area amenities are settled, and internet connections are secured.

Newly constructed homes, on the other hand, typically don’t have these features. Instead, it could take years before any of these amenities are available. In the meantime, you’ll have to put up with a lot of dust, plenty of noise, broken cell reception, and nothing green to look at outside for a while.

Cookie Cutter Versus Character and Charm

New-build homes typically offer clean lines and modern designs, but they often lack the charm that’s more typical with existing homes. Inside resale homes, you can often find lovely architectural details, like built-in shelving units, leaded glass, and vaulted ceilings, which offer a unique feeling to each property.

New homes in subdivisions often have that ‘cookie cutter’ feeling, where every house on the block seems to be just about the same. While you can always add that classic charm and character to a new home, it’ll come with a price tag.

The Bottom Line

Not every buyer necessarily wants the same things in a home or neighborhood. You’re definitely going to have a bunch of questions throughout the home buying process, so make sure you answer them before you take the plunge. To make sure the decision you make is the right one one, be sure that you’ve got excellent representation, regardless of whether you choose to go the resale or new construction route.

Springtime in Chicago brought snowflakes and chilly temps this past week, but this weekend we’re in for a warm treat!  Shed those winter coats, it’s time to get out and enjoy the warm, balmy weather heading our way before the next chill returns.

Let Inside Chicago Walking Tours show you the fascinating second side of an architectural boat tour with Beyond the Boat: Explore the Stunning Interiors on Saturdays and Sundays (1 p.m.-3 p.m.).  This 2-hour walking tour shows you the interiors of some of the best buildings along the Chicago River.  From Art Deco interiors to vaulted lobbies to thoughtful extras like reflecting pools, digital art walls and more, these interior spaces will absolutely delight you whether you’re an architecture buff or not!  And, if you haven’t taken the architectural boat tour yet, here’s the Link.

Taste some of the most delicious donuts in Chicago at this Saturday’s Chicago Donut Fest from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Moe’s Cantina (155 W. Kinzie St.) in the River North neighborhood.  Come join us as we celebrate our love for these delicious, sugary treats!  A ticket gets you donut tastings and 3 drink tickets for beer or mimosas along with giveaways and more!!  It’s been said that happiness is having a donut in one hand and an alcoholic beverage in the other.  I guess I’ll have to find out if that’s true!

Bring your family and fur babies to the Spring Scavenger Hunt – Dog Friendly taking place at McKinley Dog Park (corner of Pershing Rd. and Western Ave.) in the McKinley Park neighborhood this Sunday (11 a.m.-2 p.m.).  This scavenger hunt takes place throughout the beautiful 70 acres of McKinley Park and begins promptly at 11:15 a.m.  Teams will be selected and sent off with a list of things to search for and take a photo of.  Plus, if you bring your dog along, extra points will be awarded per photo that includes your pooch!  Then make your way back to the Dog Friendly Area at 12:45 p.m. where points will be tallied, and winners announced.  May the best team win — Woof!!

Calling all sports fans!  Here’s who’s in town for this warm, balmy weekend:

The Chicago Cubs are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates this Saturday and Sunday (1:20 p.m.) at Wrigley Field (1060 W. Addison St.) in the Wrigleyville neighborhood.  Time to work on those tans!!

The Chicago Bulls are hosting the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Eastern Conference First Round/Game 4 this Sunday (12 p.m.) at the United Center (1901 W. Madison St.) on the Near West Side.  Cheer them on to another victory!!

Finally, the Lake County Home Show takes place this Saturday and Sunday (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Lake County Fairgrounds (1060 E. Peterson Rd.) in Grayslake.  This free event, with free parking, provides a massive selection of exhibitors highlighting thousands of the latest home improvement products and services presented by local and national experts!  It’s the largest home & garden show in the entire Chicago area and is the best and easiest way to save time and money with great, exclusive show specials for your remodeling, repairing, and/or beautifying your home projects both inside and out!!

Sue Moss and Dean’s Team Chicago

The Easter celebrations continue this week in the Greek and Eastern Orthodox churches on Sunday, April 24, and Chicago’s restaurants are going all-out with traditional celebrations for dining out, delivery, or pick up!

At Avli’s River North location, 702 N. Wells Street, the celebration begins the night before, with a post-Mass Midnight Greek Feast on Saturday, April 23 for a traditional midnight dinner feast featuring classic Spring Greek dishes. 

They re-open at noon on Easter Sunday, along with Avli’s other locations in Lakeshore East, 180 N. Field Boulevard, and Lincoln Park, 1335 W. Wrightwood Avenue, for Executive Chef Nikos Kapernaros’ traditional Greek Easter feast of Tsoureki Sweet Bread; Greek Easter Salad, and vegetarian Magiritsa. Avli slowly cooks the lamb with Greek oregano and serves it with traditional oven-baked potatoes, asparagus, lemon, and herbs, followed by a Halva fruit dessert, and a red-dyed hard-boiled egg symbolizing rebirth. For more information, click here.

In the heart of Logan Square, Andros Taverna, 2542 N. Milwaukee, Chef Doug Psaltis, according to their website, serves Mediterranean food “cooked from the soul.” For this holiest of days, their week-long celebration of Easter featuring spring menu items including traditional kokoretsi, tender goat kleftiko and a feast of lamb. Their regular menu will also be available, as well as wine pairings. For reservations and information, click here.

While there are no Russian/Ukrainian special menus listed for Eastern Orthodox Easter, there’s certainly no shortage of Russian/Ukrainian dining in Chicago. North Center’s Jibek Jolu, 5047 N. Lincoln Avenue, serves highly recommended Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Russian, and Uzbek cuisine. “Taste like home,” says a recent Google reviewer. Borscht is a hearty Russian beet soup, with a fresh variety of vegetables, served with sour cream. Kuurdak is an ancient Kyrgyz dish, with sautéed chicken, lamb or beef, with onions and roasted baby potatoes. Boso Lagman is a beef and vegetable stew, pan-seared with noodles. Plov with Lamb is a legendary national rice dish cooked in a traditional cast-iron kazan, served in a seasoned broth stirred with lamb, carrots, onions and garlic. Google reviewers highly recommend their honey cake for dessert. 

Near the Art Institute of Chicago is Russian Tea Time, 77 E. Adams Street, which has  been serving Eastern European specialties for 28 years. Ukrainian Borscht is a sweet and sour soup of beef, beets, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes. Olivye Salad is a traditional Russian salad made with diced potatoes, carrots, pickles, eggs, peas and mayonnaise. Entrees include Uzbek “Layer” Stew Domlama is a stew of potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage, tomatoes, garlic, red peppers and onions with a touch of cumin. Stuffed Cabbage Golubtsi is a cabbage roll stuffed with ground beef, chicken, carrots and sautéed onions, simmered in tomato sauce. It’s served with buckwheat kasha and carrot salad. For dessert, try a Napoleon Bonaparte. For more information, click here. 

Καλό Πάσχα(Happy Greek Easter!)

z velykodnem(HappyUkrainianEaster!)

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago

Extending your living space to the outdoors is a great way to infuse an added dimension to your home and allow you to enjoy it to the fullest. In fact, outdoor living is really getting popular these days, with more and more homeowners adding decks to their homes as a means of enjoying Mother Nature.

But before you start drafting up those blueprints for your deck building projects, make sure you consider these factors first.

Purpose

The average homeowner builds a deck to perform a few different functions, like cooking, eating, entertaining, and so on. But the options are seemingly limitless.

Figure out exactly what you want your new deck to do before you even start drafting up your building plans. Doing so will not only help ensure that the final product is exactly what you’re looking for, it will also help you stay within budget, and eliminate any potential safety hazards.

Privacy

Think about the amount of privacy that you want as well. You don’t want to be on display every time you have dinner on your deck. Consider adding a pergola, latticework, bushes, or anything else that will add a level of privacy to your deck.

Access

How do you plan on getting onto the deck from your home as well as from your backyard? If you’ve already got a door that leads directly to your deck, that’s a huge load off your back. If not, you’re going to have to add an opening from your home which will involve knocking out a part of the exterior wall.

If you’re planning on eating meals out there (which most likely is going to be the case), then ideally you’ll want the opening access as close to the kitchen as possible. It would be pretty inconvenient to have to walk around the house or climb a ton of stairs with platters of food in your hand.

Design, Shape & Size

Aside from how you want it to function, you also want to make sure the deck is visually appealing to you. Consider the architecture of your home so that it at least goes with its style. The size of your deck will depend on the size of your property, as well as what you want it to do for you. Its shape will be dictated by your home’s design.

For example, building a curved deck onto a linear house might be like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Instead, follow the lines and proportions of your home so it’s a seamless extension from the indoors to out. Get yourself some help from a deck building pro to get some pointers about deck style, materials, and more.

Materials

You’ve got a handful of options when it comes to materials to build the deck with. Typically, wood, composite boards, and even concrete are used to construct decks. While wood was the dominant choice among homeowners for a long time, composite boards are becoming increasingly popular.

Wood requires a lot of upkeep and maintenance, while composite is easy to care for and won’t look ancient within a couple of years from wear and tear. Composite boards are made of a mixture of plastic and wood fibers. While they’re a bit more expensive than wood, they more than make up for this up-front cost without the need to re-stain it and pay for upkeep. In fact, the cost over time can amount to less than real wood.

Local Regulations

Every municipality has its own governing rules when it comes to home renovations, and that includes buying a deck. Before you make those elaborate plans of yours, be sure to check with the local government office’s department that deals strictly with building permits.

Construct your deck too close to the neighbor’s yard, or hoist it up too high, and you’re asking for trouble. There are a bunch of rules that you might not be aware of that could sabotage your plans, so be sure to find out what the specifications are to building a deck in your neighborhood first rather than having to modify it or pay pesky fines after the fact.

Shade

Keep things like shade from sun and rain into consideration. If it’s way too sunny or raining out, you’ll be less inclined to hang out on your new deck without some sort of shade or protection from the elements. You’ve got a lot of options here, including retractable canopies, to large umbrellas, to pergolas, and more.

You can even construct a more permanent roof fully equipped with a ceiling fan, recessed lighting, and so forth. The project can literally be as complex and sophisticated as building a little house.

Your Budget

Obviously, whatever deck you build will have to fit nicely within your budget. You won’t be able to enjoy it if you’ve got to work overtime for months just to pay it off. On average, a composite deck that’s around 500 square feet can cost somewhere around the $25,000 mark.

A deck with a variety of elevations will also jack the price up because of the more intricate plans and work involved. Where you live will also play a role in the cost of your deck. For instance, the same-sized deck in the Mid-West would probably cost about one-third of the price compared to San Francisco.

Don’t let these figures scare you off: deck additions are excellent investments that can increase the value of your property. In fact, you can expect to recoup an average of 70 to 80 percent of the value of the deck when you sell your home, so it’s definitely a home improvement job that you should seriously consider.