Time Out Chicago news

If the opening of Christkindlmarket, tomorrow's City of Chicago Christmas Tree lighting ceremony or next week's ZooLights opening doesn't get you in the spirit of the holiday season, maybe you need to ride a train festooned with colorful bulbs. The Chicago Transit Authority's Holiday Train will ride the rails throughout the city beginning on Friday, November 29, providing you with the opportunity to cram yourself onto the most festive form of public transportation that humankind has devised. RECOMMENDED: Our complete guide to Christmas in Chicago The CTA Holiday Train typically runs between Tuesday and Saturday, with trips scheduled on every CTA train line through Monday, December 23. The six-car train is covered with lights, garlands, ribbons and candy stripes inside and out, accompanied by a flatbed car that brings Santa and his reindeer along for the ride. You'll usually see the train between 1pm to 8pm on weekends and 3pm to 7pm on weekdays—there's a detailed schedule on the CTA's website. As in past years, a six-car Elves' Workshop Train will follow the Holiday Train on its busy Saturday journeys, providing more room for passengers who crowd platforms along the train's route. Keep your FOMO at bay—the Elves' Workshop Train is decked out with just as many decorations as the Holiday Train. Looking for additional mobile displays of holiday cheer? The CTA's Holiday Bus is back on the streets this year, beginning with a trip on the Milwaukee Avenue #56 route on Tuesday,

Almost two years ago, we announced our plans to open Time Out Market in the West Loop, vowing to bring together the best of the city under one roof. Today we're making good on our bold promise with the opening of Time Out Market Chicago at 916 W Fulton Market. The 50,000-square-foot building is home to 19 fantastic Chicago chefs and restaurateurs, an all-season rooftop, four top-notch bars and a demo kitchen that will host events throughout the year. We'd suggest you plan your lunch hour accordingly. Here's your first look inside Time Out Market Chicago, open now!  View this post on Instagram Hey Chicago! The city’s best chefs are almost ready for you. @timeoutmarketchicago opens its doors Thursday, November 21. Featuring 18 amazing eateries, three top-notch bars, a hidden speakeasy, an immersive demo and events kitchen, and a dazzling all-season rooftop — it’s the best of Chicago under one roof! Who’s excited to eat? 😋 A post shared by Time Out Market Chicago (@timeoutmarketchicago) on Nov 19, 2019 at 4:50pm PST Located at the corner of Fulton Market and Sangamon, in the heart of the West Loop, Time Out Market Chicago is curated by our editorial team. We hand-selected the chef lineup, asked the city's best bartenders to mix up recipes for the bars and pulled some of our fave hands-on activations up to the second-floor demonstration kitchen. We even went back to our roots and plastered the rooftop bar in vintage magazine covers from Tim

The wait is almost over. Time Out Market Chicago flings open its doors tomorrow, Nov 21, welcoming Chicagoans to an immersive culinary destination featuring 19 of Chicago's best chefs, three beautiful bars (plus a hidden speakeasy), an action-packed demonstration kitchen and an all-season rooftop. The 50,000-square-foot space is home to award-winning talent like Abe Conlon, Band of Bohemia, Brian Fisher, Lost Larson and Pretty Cool Ice Cream. (And that's just scraping the surface—scope out all of our eateries before you visit.) The mission behind Time Out Market Chicago is simple: Our local editors taste their way through town, and if we discover something that’s great, it goes in our magazine and all of our coverage; if it’s unmissable, it also goes in Time Out Market Chicago. This concept was born in 2014 almost 4,000 miles away, in Lisbon, and quickly skyrocketed to one of the country's top attractions, drawing in millions of visitors every year. Now, five years later, Chicago is among five North American cities to open in 2019, joining Miami, New York, Boston and Montreal. Here in Chicago, our editorial team gathered the best of the best—including Michelin-starred restaurants, James Beard Award-winning names and mom-and-pops we're passionate about—and invited them to join us at the market. It's so much more than the F-word (food hall); it's a culinary and cultural epicenter that's packed with amazing things to eat, drink and do. Where else can you eat a slice from Art

According to very official food historians, the Italian beef was born in Chicago in 1938, in the throes of the Great Depression, when meat was scarce and folks weren't splurging on fancy eats. Al Ferrari dreamed up the now-iconic sandwich as a cheap fix, filling chunky loaves of crusty Italian bread with thin slices of beef and dressing it up with peppers for added flavor. These days, the economy is looking up, but the Italian beef remains a beloved local favorite that's got just as much clout as the Chicago-style hot dog or deep-dish pizza. Though Chicagoans are sticklers for tradition, there's a new beef in town you gotta try. The only catch? It's not made with meat. Duck Inn chef-owner Kevin Hickey has perfected a vegan version of the sandwich that's—dare we say—just as good as the original, if not better. The Beet Street is crafted with roasted and shaved beets that have been brined for five days in salt and spices, imparting the same rich flavor that graces its meat-filled counterpart. The beets are then bathed in a savory, mushroom-based umami jus and stuffed inside a flaky sub roll from D'Amato's Bakery. You can (and should) make it a combo by adding a Beyond Meat Italian sausage to the mix; hot and sweet peppers are a must. The tender, slow-roasted beets and punchy Italian spices will satisfy carnivores and meat-free eaters alike. Try Hickey's Beet Street—and the original version, which is crafted with shaved prime rib—at Decent Beef, opening inside Time Out Market

More than two years after it was first announced, Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago will finally open its doors to the public on Friday, November 15. Located at 646 N Michigan Avenue in a building that formerly housed a Crate & Barrel, the 35,000-square-foot outpost is the company's largest public roastery to date, packed with exclusive beverages, food and experiences that differentiate the sprawling destination from your usual neighborhood Starbucks. It's a little bit like Eataly for the coffee-obsessed. Upon entering the five-story Reserve Roastery, you'll immediately notice the metal tubes that snake across the ceiling of every floor. They're not just decorative—the pipes ferry freshly roasted beans from a 56-foot steel cask (where beans go to rest after they're roasted) to each of the coffee bars, where they can immediately be used to create drinks. The space also features a first-floor roastery, a sleek curved escalator (the first of its kind in the Midwest, according to Starbucks) that ushers visitors to the building's second floor and a series of murals by local artist Eulojio Ortega. If you're going to the Starbucks Reserve Roastery looking for a Frappuccino or caramel macchiato fix, you're going to be disappointed—those drinks aren't on the menu. Instead, the various coffee bars throughout the Reserve Roastery focus on classic espresso beverages (think lattes, cappuccinos and cortados) and coffee blends that are made with small batches of beans that are roasted in

We love a holiday pop-up bar just as much as the next guy, but the folks at Block37 are upping the ante this season with a nap lounge. Who needs shots of Rumple Minze when you can have peace and quiet?  ReJuve, The Nap Lounge is open now on the third floor of the Loop mall, and tired Chicagoans can book their "rest sessions" in basic, deluxe and premium suites for 30-, 60- or 90-minute stays. The basic package grants you access to a semi-private nap pod, while the premium suite is a private room outfitted with a Tempurpedic bed, noise-cancelling headphones and an eye mask. Or settle for something in the middle, with the deluxe offering, which includes access to a semi-private nap chair and noise-cancelling headphones. Pricing starts at $15 for a basic suite for 30 minutes and maxes out at $90 for a 90-minute session in the premium suite. ReJuve will stay open through December 30, and hours are Monday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm and Sunday from 11am to 3pm. Why fall asleep on the Red Line when there's a place to snooze in the Loop after your holiday shopping haul? Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.

The boot is back, baby! At least, that's what we imagine Christkindlmarket organizers are shouting from the rooftops today. Hosted in Daley Plaza, Gallagher Way and Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, the beloved annual holiday market doesn't open until later this month, but earlier today attendees got a sneak peek of the coveted Christkindlmarket mugs. RECOMMENDED: Everything you need to know about Christkindlmarket 2019 What's the big deal? Well, real Chicagoans know that Christkindlmarket has been producing keepsake mugs since 1996. Every year, the design changes, and the iconic boot shape was briefly retired in 2013 before making a quick comeback in 2015, much to the delight of diehard fans. Last year's heart-shaped vessels were cute, but they were no match for the classic boot. This year's ceramic trio represents the market's three locations in Chicago (Daley Plaza), Wrigleyville and Milwaukee. Each is decorated according to its surroundings: The Wrigleyville boot showcases Gallagher Way and a street sign at the intersection of Clark and Addison, while the Chicago mug offers views of Willis Tower and the Picasso sculpture. In an effort to highlight the bazaar's roots, the vessels' interiors are painted red, black and yellow—the colors of the German flag. When Christkindlmarket opens later this month (November 15 in the Loop and Milwaukee, November 22 in Wrigleyville), attendees can purchase a bundle of all three mugs for $20 or individual mugs at their respective locations. Y

When was the last time you played Cards Against Humanity without a drink in your hand? The creators of the Chicago-born card game recognize that playing with your friends is synonymous with food and drink, which is why they're debuting the Chicago Board Game Cafe in Logan Square next year. The 14,000-square-foot space will be located at 1965 N Milwaukee Avenue, in the same building as Margie's Candies. The café will offer visitors more than 300 games to choose from—from classics like Monopoly and Scrabble to more unique creations from indie developers from across the globe. The games are stored in the building's bank vault, which has been converted to a library of sorts and is managed by teachers who can help guests find the right fit for their table and show them how to play. "I think part of the reason board games are having a renaissance right now is that people are really atomized and alienated and lonely," says Cards Against Humanity co-creator Max Temkin. "I remember when I moved to Chicago after college how hard it was to connect with a community and find my people, and my dream is to make that easier for people in the future." Chicago Board Game Cafe also boasts a full dinner menu from executive chef-partner Aaron McKay (Schwa, NoMi) and chef de cuisine Evan Behmer (Mercat a la Planxa, North Pond). The duo's offerings will span the globe, "inspired by markets and sidewalk cafés where locals might gather to play games in Spain, Vietnam and Mexico," according to a pr

Since owner Brian Chankin founded Odd Obsession in 2004 (originally in Lincoln Park, now located in Bucktown), the beloved video rental store has amassed an impressive library of more than 25,000 titles on DVD, Blu-ray and even VHS. The store’s collection is organized by genre, country and director, and features a wide array of movies for all tastes, including classic Hollywood films, foreign movies and independently-release cult classics. From the beginning, Odd Obsession has distinguished itself by specializing in rare and off-the-beaten-path titles, including many that are not available on streaming services, making it an invaluable resource for local cinephiles. “This is a place where you can really embrace an all-inclusive sense of film history,” says Chicago Reader film critic Ben Sachs. Chankin is now moving on to pursue other endeavors and is handing over the business to the store’s volunteer staff who hope to keep it afloat. The goal is to keep Odd Obsession’s collection available to Chicagoans with a new model of membership that will make the business sustainable well into the future. Long-time volunteer Josh Brown is leading this transition effort, which includes the Indiegogo fundraising campaign “Keep Odd Obsession Movies Alive!” For contributions of $120 to $400, customers can receive between three months and one year of free rentals (four at a time for a week’s duration with an “extreme late fee forgiveness” policy); but there are plenty of other more affordab

For the past 14 years, Time Out Chicago has thrived on the simple mission of pointing you to the good stuff, whether that’s an inspiring new Indian restaurant, a festival devoted to Malört or a secret concert series. As quasi–cultural historians, we can say with confidence that there’s never been a more exciting time to call yourself a Chicagoan. The city is pulsing with energy that’s fueled by creativity and change. This year, we’re turning the page on traditional journalism by opening Time Out Market Chicago, a culinary and cultural destination that will bring the pages of our storied magazine to life in Fulton Market. You can read all about Time Out Market Chicago before it opens later this year in the fall issue of Time Out Chicago. We want to make it easy for you to get your hands on our latest magazine, so we're handing them out on Wednesday, October 23. In the Loop, you can find us at State and Lake Streets from 2:30 to 6:30pm. Heading to the 'burbs or across the River? We'll also be hanging out near Ogilvie and Union Station from 3 to 7pm; find us on the Adams, Monroe and Madison bridges before you get on the train. The magazine is packed with delicious details on our Market vendors, including Pretty Cool Ice Cream, Abe Conlon, Thai Dang and Split-Rail. Plus, we're also sharing the downright coziest things to do in Chicago this season, this year's must-see museum exhibits (Andy Warhol, anyone?), and plenty of excuses to get out of the house, even as the temperature