Dining
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Seasonal sips: Suburban bars and restaurants offer up festive holiday cocktailsDec 09, 2025 3:38 pm - Many suburban bars and restaurants have added some holiday spirit to their spirits, offering special cocktails for you to enjoy with friends and family in between the hustle and bustle of the season.
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The end of the lunch bowl era? Chipotle, Sweetgreen, Cava are struggling as customers turn to sandwiches and tacos
Dec 09, 2025 1:29 pm - Americans are increasingly over the “slop bowl.” Chipotle, Sweetgreen and Cava — once stars of the restaurant industry — are struggling as diners tire of all those pick-your-own ingredients piled atop rice or greens. Instead, lunchgoers are choosing offerings with more texture, like sandwiches and tacos, that fill them up and often cost less.
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Dining out: Kyuramen opens in Naperville, beers with Santa, Hanukkah dining and moreDec 09, 2025 10:50 am - Warm up with a steaming bowl of ramen at the new Kyuramen in Naperville, or grab a beer or brunch with Santa at Tapville Social. Plus, some suburban restaurants are offering Hanukkah dining specials Dec. 14-22.
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Neer Beer brings suburbs’ first non-alcoholic bottle shop to WheatonDec 08, 2025 5:59 pm - Neer Beer, a non-alcoholic bottle shop, opened last week in downtown Wheaton. Owner Jason Krapausky said most of the NA options he sells would do well in blind taste tests with their alcoholic counterparts “except for the not getting drunk part.”
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The Greggory in South Barrington named a top 50 steak restaurant in North AmericaDec 05, 2025 11:20 am - Less than a year after opening, The Greggory in South Barrington has been named one of the 50 best steak restaurants in North America.
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Dining out: New spicy sub at Jersey Mike’s, themed dinners, shiitake mushroom tacos and moreDec 03, 2025 6:34 am - Jersey Mike’s Subs has deemed Chicago as a test market for the new “Mike’s Hot Italian.” Plus, there’s a wine dinner at Mockingbird in East Dundee, a 1960s-dinner-party-themed gathering at Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights and more.
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Cheers! Holiday experiences popping up at bars, restaurants around the suburbsDec 02, 2025 3:55 pm - If you’re looking to get in the holiday spirit, check out these creative pop-ups bringing cheer to the suburbs.
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Brunchy’s opens in former Panera spot in Buffalo GroveDec 02, 2025 1:20 pm - A new brunch restaurant is helping fuel the revival of a Buffalo Grove strip center near Dundee and Arlington Heights roads. Brunchy’s Pancakes and Cafe, owned by Victor Manuel Soberanis, is serving up American breakfast classics and Mexican cuisine in the spot previously occupied by Panera in Strathmore Square.
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Chili’s and Shake Shack are coming for the Big Mac. Which burger stacks up?
Dec 02, 2025 5:55 am - The McDonald’s Big Mac is more than a fast-food menu item — it’s an enduring symbol of American culture. Which makes it an irresistible target for rival burger-slingers eager to challenge McDonald’s in a very public way. Enter the Chili’s Big Smasher and Shake Shack’s Big Shack.
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Fire + Wine to open in St. Charles in January
Dec 01, 2025 1:23 pm - With wood-fired gourmet pizzas, sharable Italian-style tapas plates, and plentiful pastas, Fire + Wine looks to bring an upscale-casual atmosphere to St. Charles.