Politicians, mobsters, sports greats, literary scions andthe glamour of Prohibition-era intrigue are the stuff of Chicago legend. Butthese days, from the tony Gold Coast to the gritty South Side, the Windy Cityhas a newfound luster, born of the collision between tradition and innovation.Redefining American classics with imagination and humor, culinary daredevilshave turned this meat-and-potato-loving town into a gastronomic destination.Haute retailers have set up in dramatic spaces that reference classicism withina 21st-century context. But history buffs, fear not. In this City of BigShoulders, visionaries have always coexisted with a storied past. Capone-erajazz clubs and other historic nooks are always just an L stop away.