Eat. Watch. Do. — 25 best new restaurants, Bourbon County review, plus holiday event guides
It’s Thursday, Chicago.
And it’s almost turkey time. If the thought of cooking your entire Thanksgiving meal is daunting, we’ve rounded up over 70 area restaurants with dine-in and takeout specials that may help avoid a kitchen disaster and satisfy the entire table. And who could ever forget dessert? We have the lowdown on delicious pies for sale near you too.
Seeing the first dust of snow this week was a perfect reminder that more Chicago holiday fun is on the agenda: 40 holiday concerts and performances, Christmas tree lightings, ice skating rinks, the Christkindlmarket and more. Sure to impress out-of-town guests as well is a trip to a new restaurant, and we’ve got a new list of the 25 best across the city and suburbs from food critics Nick Kindelsperger and Louisa Chu.
Eat. Watch. Do. will be on pause next week for Thanksgiving, so we’ll see you back Dec. 1 (including news of our Holiday Cookie Contest winners). Enjoy the holiday!
— Lauryn Azu, deputy senior editor
It’s feasting time: 73 Thanksgiving specials from Chicagoland restaurants, from whole turkeys to Friendsgiving dinner
More than a few Chicago restaurants will do the hard work for you this Thanksgiving. Catering to a wide range of cuisines, from vegan to Irish, Greek, French, Peruvian or Cajun, here’s where you can dine in or takeout your Thanksgiving dinner.
26 Chicago restaurants, bakeries with perfect pies for your Thanksgiving Day feast
7 sparkling wines perfect for spreading holiday cheers (without breaking the bank)
Holidays 2022 in Chicago: The Christmas tree lighting is Friday, Christkindlmarket opens and more
Call it “Hollipalooza” if you must. With Friday’s Christmas tree lighting in Millennium Park and Christkindlmarket opening, ice skating rink debuts and much, much more, there’s a blizzard of holiday-themed events kicking off this weekend.
The 25 best new restaurants in Chicago
Tribune food critics Louisa Chu and Nick Kindelsperger round up their most-loved restaurant openings since the pandemic, including virtual concept Funeral Potatoes, tavern-style Kim’s Uncle Pizza and Italian-Creole mashup Provaré. Read their list here.
‘Tulsa King’ review: Sylvester Stallone is a New York gangster starting over in ... Oklahoma?
This Paramount+ series is from Hollywood’s twin bards of the brawn Taylor Sheridan and Terrence Winter. A Mafioso, played by Sylvester Stallone, is fresh out of the clink and banished to Tulsa, where he’s a fish out of water. “There’s something reassuring about Stallone as a screen presence,” writes Tribune critic Nina Metz. “His is a stardom that’s become increasingly rare, but there’s more to it than that.” Read her entire review here.
Column: Ragadan is a Midwest diner crossed with a Jordanian falafel shop, and I can’t get enough
Nick Kindelsperger is confident Uptown’s Ragadan is Chicago’s only Jordanian-Oklahoman diner.
“This means you can swing by Ragadan and pick up a platter of hummus with falafel, while also scoring a double cheeseburger and a chocolate milkshake,” he writes. “All of it will be great.” Read the review here.
‘King Roger’ at Chicago Opera Theater gets help from Polish community
“King Roger” is seldom performed in the United States because it’s entirely in Polish. But the Chicago Opera Theater, which will be performing the opera this weekend, has a unique advantage in the help of Lira Ensemble, Chicago’s stalwart Polish performing arts company. Read how the two ensembles will collaborate here.
LeTour restaurant, opening this week in Evanston, does French food in ‘big, bold, new’ ways
French restaurant LeTour opens today in Evanston, the latest collaboration between Amy Morton of Found Kitchen and chef Debbie Gold. “From classic brasserie dishes such as steak frites and ratatouille, to a cozy dining area with muted tones and floor-to-ceiling windows, the North Shore natives aspire to bring customers an experience that is ‘unconventionally French,’” Tribune reporter Tatyana Turner writes. Read all about it here.
Review: On Netflix, a revolution of 1968-1978 filmmaking ignites ‘Is That Black Enough for You?!?’
The documentary on Netflix “tells a collective tale of long-frustrated and marginalized talent finally getting some breaks,” writes Tribune critic Michael Phillips. Watch to learn about a rich decade of Black representation in film from writer-director-host Elvis Mitchell.
Review: Goose Island’s 2022 Bourbon County lineup is strong, with at least one unlikely highlight
No matter which anniversary it’s actually celebrating (the subject has been hotly contested over the years), Goose Island has a strong lineup for its 2022 release of seven Bourbon County Stouts, writes Tribune reporter Josh Noel. One of the biggest releases each year, Bourbon County beers will hit shelves on Black Friday, a tradition that has had fans lining up bright and early for a chance at the most-coveted bottles in years past. Here are Noel’s thoughts on which of the stouts to grab — and which ones you can skip.
Ranking the Marvel 50: The bad, the good, ‘Wakanda Forever’ and more
At long last, the Tribune has a definitive ranking of every single TV show and movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, now that last week’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” rounds out the collection to 50. Agree — or disagree — with columnist Chris Borrelli’s rankings? Check out the full list here.
Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here.
