Offering designer wood furniture by its head designer and builder Jason Wade, Forty Five Degrees Design highlights the importance of elegance and utility. You can choose from custom-made furniture or buy something from the collection. The company, with a 5800 square feet office, is located on the city's Southwest side. The studio has been featured in several publications and has clients all over the US. It has participated at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in 2004 and 2005, held in New York.

There are only a handful of words you need to know in regards to Stanley's Fruits & Vegetables: produce, variety, and cheap. This hidden gem of a store will delight traveling chefs and foodies. If the prices sound too good to be true, they're not. At Stanley's, you can walk out with a full meal's worth of produce and still have change leftover for a candy bar. Aside from vegetables and fruits of all shapes and colors, Stanley's also has an assortment of spices, pasta, and dairy as well as a meat and cheese counter. If possible, try to avoid the store on weeknights and weekends. Locals tend to move slowly as they cram the aisles with shopping carts and chat via cell phone about what's for dinner. - Betsy Mikel

The owners of Lovely met at Chicago's French Pastry School in 2006 and put their education to good use by opening their own bakery. Some of the chefs' specialties include raspberry linzer coffee cake, coconut macaroons and madeleines, but the pastry case has just as many old favorites such as muffins, brownies and cookies. With sturdy wooden tables and countertops, Lovely: A Bake Shop feels like a country general store. In one corner, you can find handmade baking-related goodies and vintage aprons, tea towels, and kitchen accessories for sale. Coffee is served in heavy mugs imprinted with the Chicago flag as if to remind customers not to be shocked when they leave the bakery's warmth and homeliness and step out to a bustling city. -Betsy Mikel

You'll definitely want to come here if you're into bread. La Farine is known for its delicious homemade French baguettes, for which baker-owner Rida Shahin is happily responsible. They also have the standard bakery fare: cakes, muffins, sweet breads, cookies, and more. There is also, of course, coffee, in this case from Intelligensia, ready to go along with whatever you pluck from the case. - Gina Rosemellia

Walk into Sole II Sole shoe boutique to find the most unique range of footwear for both men and women. For the founder of this boutique, comfort for the sole is primary. Cultural influences of Jazz and Blues are blended with great finesse to design fashionable footwear. Besides having their own line of footwear, the boutique also showcases designer brands including Ce Fou Shoo and Fratelli Vanni. You can also pick up some trendy bags from the store. Step in to enter the most awesome world of shoes!

Specializing in albums, tapes and 1945s from the 1960s and 70s, this family-owned record store also features a decent selection of rare and collectible vinyl. For a bit of an anachronistic feel, you can also look through the collection of contemporary 1945 year, ideal for jukeboxes for your home or your business. The store also offers a selection of rock-oriented posters and the help here is friendly.

This is a great source to learn about African and African American culture. The store offers a large selection of significant works, some of which are politically controversial. In addition to books, the shop offers a wide selection of newspapers, magazines and tape-recorded speeches by Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Minister Louis Farrakhan and other influential African American leaders. The children's selection is immense, with many titles that probably aren't available anywhere else in the city.

This bookstore offers a diverse selection of merchandise and activities for its mainly African American clientelle of all ages. You will find a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction titles, as well as a wide variety of instructive periodicals. For children, the bookstore offers weekly storytelling and after-school tutoring. For adults, the store offers frequent book signings and poetry readings. But the store's selection is not limited to books, it also stocks hand-carved figures, jewelry, posters and a variety of handbags and fashion accessories.

If you are after authentic African clothing and apparel, this place has a wide selection that will satisfy even the most discriminating shopper. In addition to garments, the store also carries a wide range of cassettes, videotapes and compact discs. You can also pick-up Kwanzaa supplies, hand-carved statuettes, figurines and jewelry. Finally, it offers a full-line of cosmetics that you can take home or use for an in-store make-over.

Chances are, if you look into your basement you'll probably find at least one product that Filene's sells. Specializing in everything from men's business attire to luggage, this is your one stop shop for bargain prices on all your favorite designer products. The "basement" actually originated in Boston in 1908 and has been providing its customers with an astonishing amount of useful and eccentric finds ever since.