The Time Out Chicago blog team

If you ever needed proof that Chicago takes its food seriously, look no further than Italian Beef Fest 2025. The juicy, messy, lovable Italian beef sandwich takes center stage at the eighth annual festival this month. The celebration of Chicago's favorite sandwich is a DIY, all-you-can-eat party featuring some of the most respected sandwich spots in the region. This year’s event will take place on November 29 at Double Play Saloon in Blue Island. The bar will transform into a beef lover’s paradise with a spread that's basically a greatest hits of Italian beef purveyors. You'll start with three inch cuts of bread from Turano and Alpha, then build your own dream sandwich with beef and toppings from participating shops. A little Portillo's here, a little Johnnie's there... mix and match to make your ideal Italian beef creation. The official 2025 lineup is still being finalized, but past years have included heavy hitters like Portillo’s, Johnnie’s, Scatchell’s, Carm’s, Little Joe’s, Bari, Calabria Imports, Nana’s, Bob O Dogs, Pop’s and Tony’s. The debate over which Italian beef is best may be never-ending, but here you can not only sample them all, but also Frankenstein your favorite ingredients into one super sandwich. Of course, no Italian beef is complete without giardiniera, its pickled partner in crime—which is why the festival features a full giardiniera bar stocked with mild, hot and everything in between. Sides from D'Masti's, including their much-loved potato salad,...

“If you don’t have hope or some type of imagination for the future, where are you gonna go? Nowhere,” Emanuel “Manny” Edwards tells me as he reflects on Goody Vault being named Time Out’s No. 1 secondhand store in Chicago. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor of his Wicker Park storefront, in a makeshift conversation pit carved out of weathered secondhand couches piles of vintage clothing—his preferred way of grounding himself in the world he’s been building since 2018. What his imagination didn’t include, at least at first, was supplying hand-mended vintage to the costume department of The Bear or to stylists who dress the likes of Charli XCX. Edwards’s aesthetic—an alchemy of hand-mended sportswear, militaria and workwear dating as far back as the 1800s—stands out precisely because it isn’t engineered for an audience. It’s a reflection of himself. His stitches, his patches, his instincts: All of it emerges from self-knowledge rather than trend forecasting. RECOMMENDED: Chicago’s best thrift stores for secondhand, vintage and resale shopping “What’s tied into people dressing the way they do?” he asks. “It’s your self-esteem, how you view yourself, how you view the world, what you can afford.” Edwards didn’t enter adulthood imagining he’d dress anyone. Before all this, he spent nearly a decade working for the Department of Defense—an office job equipped with leadership training, a life coach and other resources he credits for the deep self-knowledge that now anchors...

The first snow of the season already happened, but frigid weather doesn't mean you can't indulge in a delectable frozen treat. Right? Especially if it is basically free. Oberweis Dairy is counting on that, doubling down with an offer of free scoops for the whole month of November. Who needs hot cocoa when you have creamy ice cream and seasonal holiday flavors? Every Thursday this month, from 2pm to 5pm, the shop is giving customers a free extra scoop of their flavor of choice with any purchase. Buy one scoop, get another for zero dollars. Sounds amazing to us, no matter what the temperature is outside. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chicago Food • 312food (@312food) Oberweis has been around since 1927, dishing out ultra creamy dairy products, including ice cream, to the masses. This holiday season, the company is also releasing two new flavors: peppermint and egg nog. Both are tasty on their own or when blended into one of Oberweis' famous milkshakes.  While on site, also try out the Frostbite products: soft-serve sundaes, blended with your choice of mix-ins. The Rudolph is made with a mix of cookie dough and candy cane bits while the frozen cocoa is a chilly version of the warm winter drink, complete with marshmallows, whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.  The free-scoop deal applies to all Chicago-area Oberweis locations. So bundle up and head to your favorite neighborhood Oberweis and go on, get that extra scoop. The cold, creamy goodness...