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It takes a full workweek—40 hours—for the stylists at Penny Lane Studios to make a wig from scratch, but when your client is the Steppenwolf Theatre and your work is going to be seen by thousands, there's no sense in rushing. That's the attitude of Coral Gable, Christine Conley, and Sam Umstead, the three DePaul costume design grads who started the combination salon, makeup studio, and wig-making shop in late 2012. The process the three follow in producing each wig is painstaking. They start by measuring the client’s head, drawing an exact outline of his or her hairline on a plastic bag and placing it on a head-shaped block. Then they add a foundation, usually a type of mesh netting, on top of this. Finally, it's time to thread synthetic or natural hair into the netting with a needle, a meticulous process that requires attaching clumps about 1 centimeter thick all over and individual strands along the hairline. Taxing as all that work is, at least it's paying off. Not only has the studio's handiwork appeared in shows at many of the area’s most renowned theaters—Steppenwolf, TimeLine, Chicago Opera Theater, Light Opera Works—but the entire Chicagoland theater scene seems intrigued by the novelty of the wig-making collective. “We’re the first studio,” Christine said. “There are wig makers, and they’re amazing, but they either work at Lyric [Opera], and then there’s a few that are freelance. … I think theaters are discovering what we do, and they like that it’s a team atmosphere.” Word seems to have spread fast: Penny Lane currently has at least four shows lined up for the end of summer, in addition to serving the regular salon clientele. Often they can’t do the job alone. “When we have big projects, we call on other wig makers to help us finish,” Coral said. “We’re trying to make this into a big space for local artists, especially wig makers, to come in and finish a project together, so theaters don’t feel like they have to scrounge around.” Curious about the details of their work, I sat down with Christine and Coral in their charming workspace—which features salon stations set on library-style rolling ladders, vintage suitcases reclaimed as towel shelves, and the entire wig-making operation on display—to talk more about their craft. GROUPON: What has been your favorite show to design wigs for? CHRISTINE CONLEY: I liked Annie, as hellish as that was. CORAL GABLE: It was a very big show—there were like 22 wigs—but it was period so it was nice to have that 1930s kind of feel because then you can do more with style. CC: It’s also the first show that we worked on together as Penny Lane. The shop wasn’t quite open yet, so we were working out of my apartment a few blocks away. Half the day we’d be building wigs in my apartment, and then half the day we’d be here painting and building and staining and stuff like that. G: If you could design wigs for any play, musical, or movie, what would it be? CC: I built wigs for Wicked, but I’d like to style them. Doing anything that has structure underneath it is fun. You can build cages out of wire and netting, and you build that into the wig and you put the hair over it. You can do all sorts of different shapes. CG: Seussical, that would be a fun one. Something where they have something a little out there and crazy that’s not like a conventional shape or a very specific time period. Those are always fun because you can get a little crazier. CC: Building wigs out of [something that’s] not hair is fun too. Like sometimes you’d need [to build] it out of yarn. Like kid’s shows, generally. G: Do you often do bald caps? CC: Not recently. We did them in school a lot. But luckily we haven’t had the need to do them lately. They’re kind of a pain. … The biggest pain about them is [that] we can build them and get them to work, but training a crew member to do it every night without ripping it is the hard part. If we can avoid it at any cost, I would prefer to do that. G: You’d rather have a bald actor? CG: [Laughs] Yeah, or shave their head. G: Tell the truth: have you ever made a merkin—a wig that covers the private parts?  CC: I have! I think I have it here. ... Where’s my merkin? ... It was for a photo shoot. Some photographer needed it for something. I can’t even remember what it was. It was years ago, but I kept it because it’s so funny, and now I don’t know where it is. CG: It looks like a sideburn. CC: It’s awkward. It’s really awkward to make it because when you make a wig, you hold it up to see if it looks natural. So I was standing in the mirror like this [demonstrates]. Is that too much hair? Is it not enough? G: Were they going for a certain effect? C: Yeah, they wanted it to be very full. So it was a very full merkin. … I made it out of yak hair. G: Back to traditional hairpieces. Who has better wig style: Cher or Dolly Parton?  CG: I like Dolly. CC: Dolly! A Cher wig would be pretty boring to make. It’s just straight, straight black hair. It’s more fun when you build a wig to get to put it into a fun style later. G: Are wigs part of your regular wardrobe? CC: No! I wish. … I have hair extensions in right now—I just have clip-ins. We make clip-ins for lots of shows because it’s easier than giving them full wigs sometimes. So that’s the thing—we all wear fake hair every now and then. [Laughs] CG: It’s so funny, though, because we spend very little time on our own hair and makeup because we’re doing it all day long. So it kind of becomes the same thing with wigs. We’re like, “I just can’t be bothered right now.” CC: Yeah, I don’t like styling my own hair. CG: I washed my hair this morning and I was like, eh, forget it. [Laughs] G: I guess wigs aren’t really a regular part of the average person’s look. And a wig-making workshop isn’t a regular fixture in the average hair salon. How do your salon clients react to the workspace? CC: Our salon clients really love to see what we are working on. Most people ask at least what’s going on, but many clients will ask several questions and love to see the work up close. I think having the workshop out in the open really gives our shop another dimension and lets our clients know that we see hair as an art. Photo: © Michelle Klosinski, Groupon

You won't find the Beijing duck feast on the menu at Sun Wah BBQ (5039 N. Broadway). However, the Hong Kong–style restaurant doesn't make an effort to hide its signature three-course meal. The website includes a full description of the meal directly beside the menu. Without a trace of irony, it boldly refers to the Beijing duck feast as "the off-menu course we're known for.”My hope to go off-road in the Chicago culinary scene was shattered yet again when I called days ahead for a reservation only to have the hostess ask, "And would you like the Beijing duck feast?" As far as "secret" menu items go, this is one horribly kept secret.It makes sense, though, how word would get out: the concept of the meal is fascinating.In one sitting, you and your fellow diners eat virtually an entire roasted duck. For the first course, a server wheeled over a small side table and expertly broke down an entire bird into thin slices of breast meat, wings, and drumsticks. Not a single knife stroke was wasted. The only thing more impressive than the carver’s speed was his silence. When he finished, he silently wheeled the leftover pieces back to the kitchen, where they would be used to prepare our next two dishes.Those first bites were sublime. The tender richness of the meat was made even better by the crispy skin, which crinkled against my tongue and teeth like brittle parchment paper. The pieces with the most skin disappeared almost immediately as the three of us picked at the platter. After a few bites, we finally started to use the accompanying condiments. Pillow-soft steamed bao provided the perfect vehicle for transporting pieces of duck from plate to mouth, and the addition of julienned carrot, green onion, and pickled daikon managed to complement the irresistible skin’s textural crunch. The bright freshness of the garnishes also better balanced the meat's savory decadence.Before we could even finish the first course, our server returned with a platter of fried rice mixed with the scraps of meat from the original platter. He also brought us a duck soup brimming with wilted cilantro and roasted bones.Both courses were undeniably satisfying, though neither captured the same sense of unbridled hedonism as the first. Once again, nobody provided an in-depth explanation of the dishes or the ingredients. It seemed like the—admittedly amazing—tableside carving was the extent of the meal’s pageantry. Of course, for a meal that's so well explained on the website and that must be ordered days in advance, it makes sense that diners would already know what to expect.Still, there was much I was surprised by. In this era of rigidly designed tasting menus, Sun Wah BBQ's Beijing duck feast felt like a prix fixe meal driven by cultural tradition as opposed to artistic showmanship. The purpose isn't to see a chef’s innovative methods for preparing and presenting duck. Instead, expect a classical, waste-not-want-not approach that respects an ingredient by using it as fully as possible. Even the progression of courses flies in the face of fine-dining conventions (soup after the main meat course? Madness!).This might not be haute cuisine, but it is undeniably delicious.Yet the Beijing duck feast is a bit more conceptual than I give it credit for. Do we actually eat an entire duck in one sitting? No, and it’s almost assuredly not the same duck (there are the issues of the innards and of the soup stock). However, that small suspension of disbelief is essential to the narrative of the meal—"eat one whole duck over the course of three dishes"—so I was content to play along with the illusion.Even if it was just symbolic, the three of us did eat most of a duck in one sitting. We watched as a bird progressed from a fully formed, tableside-carved entree into a slow-roasted soup.I would order it again in a heartbeat. But I think a party of four would be better suited to tackle all three courses without slipping into a duck-induced food coma afterward. For some reason, I don’t think Sun Wah BBQ would mind if one more person learned about its “secret” menu item.Photos: © Kevin Moore, Groupon

How do you find Chicago's most Chicago restaurant? You begin by taking the world's best decision-making device: the bracket. Then you combine it with Chicago's best device to represent its messy, opinionated landscape: the ward map. Some have called this pursuit "patently absurd." We humbly disagree. By taking our logic above (bracket + ward map) and extrapolating it into a larger, totally airtight algorithm, our computers have found a winner for the title of Chicago's most Chicago restaurant. See the finalists and read more about the search here. Below is one of the finalists. Jefferson Park is one of the most rooted neighborhoods in the city. Families stay for generations, among them the city workers who form the community’s core. At least one of its restaurants has this kind of staying power, too: Gale Street Inn (4914 N. Milwaukee Ave.). It first opened in 1963, and it’s still serving its signature ribs more than 50 years later. The interior might be updated, the menu tweaked a bit, and the location moved once—just across the street. But like the generations of families that stay firmly planted in Jefferson Park, the Gale Street Inn is immutable. How has this 50-year-old neighborhood institution lasted so long? Is it the friendly atmosphere? Almost everyone at Gale Street Inn, whether staff or customer, will tell you, “It’s like Cheers in here.” Is it the food? The eatery’s ribs are cited as the best in the city by many a Chicagoan. Is it the staff? Turnover is low; many of the front- and back-of-house employees have remained on the payroll for more than 20 years, including the front-of-house manager Larry Coppolino and Chef Liborio Martinez and his team. Or is there something else, greater than the sum of its parts? A longtime Northsider, I’d never ventured to the Gale Street Inn for a meal; it was about time. It feels like Cheers in here On our first visit, from the moment we stepped out of our car and began walking through the parking lot, something was in the air. Our baby daughter began laughing and kicking her legs as we came closer to the front door and we hadn’t even entered yet. This open and welcoming atmosphere seems to reverberate past the eatery’s walls. Owner George Karzas works hard to foster a family atmosphere, and that means making parents comfortable as well as the kids. “We’re not Charlie Trotter’s but we’re also not Chuck E. Cheese,” he said. “Everyone feels comfortable.” To wit, a newly 9-year-old boy and his extended family gathered at the table next to us to celebrate his birthday. A couple on a date sat at the table just on the other side of them, largely undisturbed. The staff works hard to keep things calm and quiet. To make the interminable time between ordering and eating more tolerable, our server brought us a small plate of oranges and maraschino cherries from the bar as an appetizer for our girl. All over the restaurant, I saw people greeting one another by name, both staff and guest. According to one longtime regular, accountant Oscar Bellechasse, this is not out of the ordinary. “In the [accounting] off-season, I’m there four times a week,” he said. “It’s like a second home. You’ll always find someone you know in there, and if not, they’ll walk in sooner or later, and if not, the staff”—and here he rattled off so many names I couldn’t catch them all—“will stop by and say hello, how you doing.” Even first-timers get the royal treatment. “I took some [guests from Baltimore] to Gale Street on the way in from the airport, and it was an amazing night,” said fireman Rich Pinskey. “They still talk about it—and George. And George asks how they’re doing too.” A hands-on owner As Karzas said, “The people make the party.” But he himself helps make the party, too. His personality has a magnetic force that’s palpable, even over the phone. Still, he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty. “I try to work hard alongside of my team,” he said. “They see what hands-on ownership looks like; I’ve hosted, waited tables, cooked, tended bar.” But then he chuckled and admitted, “But then maybe [our success has] got nothing to do with me and the fact that we have really good guests.” A big heart George acknowledges that what got the eatery to the 50-year mark “wasn’t me or my family; it was the community.” And he bore this in mind when planning the restaurant’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2013. Instead of throwing one big party for the Inn, George decided to host 50 fundraisers for local nonprofits over the course of the year. For him and his staff, that meant giving up their one night off each week for 50 weeks in a row. “What they did for their anniversary was…as tireless as it was selfless,” said Inn regular Michael Thornton, creative director of The Gift Theatre. Organizing such a feat was no small task. The restaurant polled its customers for months about their favorite nonprofits, and it was the customers who became the advocates for their charities. The restaurant covered the party food and the staff, so that the $50 donations from attendees went directly to the cause. In fact, the year-long fundraising efforts were such a success, that Gale Street is continuing them on a smaller scale in 2014. Such a hands-on approach was a blessing to the charities and their organizers. Rich Pinskey, who is also the president of the Ignite the Spirit fund, agrees: “[For fundraisers,] we usually run around like chickens; the GSI staff pretty much took charge of everything.” Tom Stanton, executive director of the Danny Did Foundation, has held fundraisers at many Chicago-area venues. He cited the GSI team as “the most courteous, generous, and accommodating that we've ever experienced.” And he said that when the opportunity came to hold another fundraiser there in 2014, they agreed immediately. “Drawing people to an event at Gale Street is made a lot easier because of the great food,” Stanton said. “People know the ribs and the history and the hospitality, so they want to come out.” Last but not least, outstanding food Ask anyone their usual Gale Street Inn order, and more often than not, they’ll cite the ribs. It’s a fact that causes much consternation among barbecue purists, since GSI’s ribs are roasted in the oven and not slow-smoked. George’s response to that is again, all about the customer: “When people say Gale Street ribs are awful—how do you tell all those people who’ve been coming here for years that they’re wrong?” Still, George and Chef Liborio aren’t afraid to mix up the menu. Rich Pinskey’s regular order—a full slab of ribs—took a hit when the eatery introduced its jambalaya. Now he, like Michael Thorton, orders the jambalaya—alongside a half-slab. All three guests on the Gale Street Inn episode of Check, Please! held the ribs in high esteem, and loved the atmosphere. And my husband, a self-proclaimed “rib guy,” declared, his hands covered in sauce, “These are my new favorite ribs.” So, should you visit? Gale Street Inn might not be your first pick for destination dining, but if you’re passing through Jefferson Park, it is not to be missed. Take Rich Pinskey’s recommendation and, after you pick someone up from O’Hare, stop here for a drink or a bite while you wait for traffic to die down. You’ll definitely make a bunch of new friends. Photos by Timothy Burkhart, Groupon