In the spirit: Halloween treats appearing now on restaurant menus

Halloween is fast approaching. If you don't have a costume yet, there's still time. If you'd rather not dress up but still want to get in on some of the Halloween spirit, restaurants across the suburbs are celebrating the season now with devilish desserts, spooky sippers and other fun events. Here's what we found.

Applebee's

125 S. Randall Road, Elgin, (847) 697-4897, and 1700 N. Richmond Road, McHenry, (815) 344-6305, applebees.com/en/specials/halloween-drinks.

Applebee's $6 spooky sips are back in October: The Tipsy Zombie is made with Bacardi Superior, passion fruit, pineapple, cherry, lime and melon liqueur and garnished with a gummy brain, while the Dracula's Juice is a concoction of a Patrón Tequila margarita and a Bacardi Superior daiquiri.

Beatrix

272 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 491-1415, beatrixrestaurants.com/beatrix/oak-brook/.

Yum! This year, Beatrix is baking up a candy corn cupcake consisting of a vanilla cupcake decorated with buttercream frosting to look like a candy corn. It will be available Monday through Monday, Oct. 24-31.

Buffalo Creek Brewing

360 Historical Lane, Long Grove, (847) 821-6140, buffalocreekbrewing.com/.

Owner Mike Marr just released the seasonal Cinnamon Dusted Breakfast Stout made with oatmeal and roasted barley and then dusted with cinnamon. Next up is the Campfire Friend (release date to be determined), which is a deconstructed s'mores porter made with cacao, grahams and marshmallows. The Candy Corn Ale will be on tap starting Oct. 28, and the Pumpkin Pie Ale - made with honey, Vermont maple syrup and real pumpkins - will be available on Nov. 9.

Chili's

Locations in Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Batavia, Bloomingdale, Bolingbrook, Crystal Lake, Downers Grove, Evanston, Gurnee, Hoffman Estates, McHenry, Naperville, Rosemont, Round Lake Beach, South Elgin, Streamwood, Vernon Hills, Waukegan and Wheaton, chilis.com/cocktails-and-bar-drinks/margarita-of-the-month.

Perfect for Halloween, Chili's Margarita of the Month for October is the Fang-Tastic - a blend of Lunazul Blanco Tequila, triple sec, fresh sour and blood orange syrup garnished with a set of black fangs. It's $6.

The Chocolate Sanctuary

5101 Washington St., Gurnee, (224) 944-0808, thechocolatesanctuary.com/.

Perfect for kids, the special Princess and Monster Tea Party at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, features a visit from Rapunzel, spooky games, face painting, seasonal sweets and tea sandwiches. It's $25 per adult and $20 per child. Reservations are required.

The Drake Oak Brook

2301 York Road, Oak Brook, (630) 571-0000, thedrakeoakbrookhotel.com/.

The Drake is offering two creepy cocktails that are available now through Halloween. The Purgatory is a blend of rye whiskey, New Orleans bitter, honey, simple syrup and an orange twist that comes presented in a smoke box with a spider garnish for $24 while the Witch's Brew is a concoction containing Belvedere, lemon, St. Germain and a float of Meiomi pinot noir that's then garnished with purple glitter and a spider for $16. They're available in the Colonial Room, The Polo Lounge and the Veranda.

KINGS Dining & Entertainment

5505 Park Place, Rosemont, (847) 233-0099, and 1500 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, (312) 973-4920, kings-de.com/event/halloweekend-at-kings/.

For Halloween weekend - Friday through Monday, Oct. 28-31 - KINGS will be serving up two specialty drinks. Sip on the Spellcaster, a blend of vanilla rum and butterscotch schnapps with a splash of lemonade and soda, or the Glorious Morning, which is made with Jack Apple, apple cider and prosecco with a caramel and cinnamon sugar rim.

Lazy Dog

436 S. Route 59, Naperville, (630) 481-7301, and 1115 N. Milwaukee Ave., Vernon Hills, (847) 780-7977, ldbeerclub.com/pages/fall-o-ween-beer-dinner-1. Lazy Dog wants to add a little fun to the first part of your week with its Fall-O-Ween Beer Dinner, available Monday through Wednesday, Oct. 24-26. For $85 for two, the four-course pairing dinner starts with Bonita, Bonita Pale Ale paired with Spicy Devil's Egg. Next up is New Belgium Brewing 1554 Dark Lager paired with a choice of Graveyard Queso Dip or Fallen Wings to share. And then it's butternut squash soup or Caesar salad paired with The Bruery Or Xata Blonde Ale. Then choose one entree - black + blue burger, chicken potpie, curry chicken bowl or pot roast beef dip - to pair with Founders 4 Giants and the Haze of Destiny. Dessert features a choice of apple-huckleberry open face pie, butter cake or triple chocolate mousse with Melvin Scenario Robust Porter. Also included in the package is a craft beer four-pack to take home. Reservations are required.

Martini Room

161 E. Chicago St., Elgin, (847) 741-0349, martiniroomelgin.com/.

During October, sip on a BOOtiful Martini Flight, which offers four mini martinis for $16.50 on Wednesdays. Flavors include Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! (citrus vodka, ginger syrup, beet juice with a hint of activated charcoal powder, lime juice and cranberry juice), Caramel Apple (vodka, sour apple liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, sweet and sour and pineapple juice served in a caramel-drizzled glass), Bloody Eye (blood orange vodka, pomegranate liqueur, orange liqueur and pomegranate juice with a blueberry and litchi fruit garnish), and Witches Brew (Kahlua, pumpkin pie liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, cold brew coffee and cream in a sugar/cinnamon/chocolate-rimmed glass).

Shaw's Crab House

1900 E. Higgins Road, Schaumburg, (847) 517-2722, shawscrabhouse.com/events/sip-slurp-mondays/. It's all treats on Halloween when Shaw's offers Sip & Slurp, meaning select oysters on the half shell and select bottles of wine are half price from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 31. Reservations requested.

Stan's Donuts and Coffee

529 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, (630) 590-1060; 17W615 Butterfield Road, Oakbrook Terrace, (630) 317-7044; 5 Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, (224) 353-6092; and locations in Chicago; stansdonuts.com/. Sweet! Stan's specialty Halloween doughnuts are back for one week - Oct. 24-31. Choose from the Lil' Pumpkin (vanilla cake doughnut with orange, black and green frosting) and the Monster (a chocolate creme-filled Bismarck sporting a monster face). Don't miss out on the limited-time seasonal doughnut flavors: apple cider, pumpkin old fashioned, pumpkin glutenless and raspberry-dipped (10% of the proceeds from this doughnut will be donated to the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation). Here's a treat: On Halloween, kids 12 and younger who come into a shop dressed in costume will get a free mini Halloween sprinkle doughnut.

Thorn Restaurant

In the Rose Hotel Chicago O'Hare, 5200 Pearl St., Rosemont, (847) 260-4774, thornrestaurant.com/.

Available Oct. 28-31, Thorn will be brewing up the specialty Calderon Cocktail, which is a blend of vodka, midori, lemon, simple syrup and prosecco.

WhirlyBall

3103 Odyssey Court, Naperville, (630) 932-4800; 285 Center Drive, Vernon Hills, (847) 918-0800; and 1825 W. Webster Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-777; whirlyball.com/.

Grab the kiddos, get dressed up in Halloween costumes and head to WhirlyBall's Family Halloween Costume Party from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. The $30 ticket for adults and $20 for kids includes WhirlyBall, LaserTag, bowling and pop-up games and a buffet featuring pizza, cheeseburger sliders, chicken bites, mac and cheese bites, desserts and fountain drinks. A cash bar will be available. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com/.