We still need our creature comforts, especially now. And neither wind, nor rain, nor COVID-19 pandemic could keep me from my appointed duty of producing a Best Burger list every other year (it takes me that long to recover from all the cholesterol). This year’s is filled with favorite burgers of years past, classics that […]
Trips to the grocery store, once a beloved ritual for me, have become minefields. I fight the panic as — armed with my trusty mask and gloves— I dutifully follow the one-way arrows and social distancing mandated at the local Whole Foods or Valle, only to be met head-on by people who either can’t read […]
Flowers, jewelry, chocolate, massage certificates… the classic Mother’s Day gift bundle. None of those, however, beat brunch. The meandering lines and crowds around restaurants you witnessed your after year were not your imagination — Mother’s Day has consistently ranked as the most popular holiday for dining out. Things are different this year, but while you […]
Our Mother’s Day has followed a pattern for many years, and it basically boils down to “Mama ain’t lifting a finger today, so figure it out.” Happily, that has always meant family time together over brunch or dinner, plus the Evanston History Center’s Annual Mother’s Day House Walk, a fabulous North Shore tradition. But times have […]
We’ve all been touched by COVID-19 in different ways. Since the start of the pandemic, simple tasks such as grocery shopping and pumping gas have become both stressful and potentially dangerous. Patrons who were once free to roam and work are now confined to the walls of their homes, working remotely and catching up on […]
Easter 2020 might go down in history as one of the strangest celebrations yet. With churches closed, gatherings cancelled and the stay at home order in place, we are left to celebrate as best we can in our homes with our small circle of family we are quarantined with. Luckily, we can still support local […]
With the many questions we have swimming around in our heads during this pandemic, one question keeps lingering: how safe is the food we are grabbing to-go or having delivered? It’s more important than ever to support local restaurants and businesses, but with information still coming in about how the virus spreads, we wanted to […]
This has been a difficult time for everyone involved in the hospitality industry, but perhaps none more so than Evanston’s Heather Bublick and D’Andre Carter of Feast & Imbibe and Soul & Smoke, who lost their infant son Avery to illness in mid-January. For them, it’s already been an unimaginably horrible year, and it was […]
On Sunday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the shutdown of all restaurants and bars in Illinois at 9 p.m. Monday, after crowds of St. Patrick’s Day revelers flocked to downtown bars, ignoring all pleas to stay home. This order, which promotes staying at home to flatten the curve, is not just affecting restaurants. Retail stores, gyms, […]
With the early thaw of winter, we’re ready to get out of the house. While we recommend doing so with caution as the COVID-19 scare continues, local businesses will be needing your support more than ever. So, pack up that parka and explore some of the newest spots around Chicago, including a Instagram-worthy bowling alley, […]
