The best place to look for apartment is at
the Chicago Reader. They also have a great restaurant review section where ordinary people write reviews (I've even done a few). I'm sure it's mentioned on the other thread, but
Metromix is also good for finding stuff to do.
As for vegetarian restaurants -- what kind of food do you want? I could list a million great places. Chicago Diner is probably the best purely vegetarian place, but there are tons of others that are vegetarian friendly. Let me know, and I'll give you some suggestions!