Eat and Compete

Morning, it’s Burbs Explored, your trusted guide for exploring and living well in the Chicago suburbs. This week we are highlighting a few of our favorite eatertainment venues, several exciting new restaurants, our latest interview, a list of restaurant weeks across the burbs, and a great lineup of upcoming events.

Heads up, we created a new form for sharing your favorite local spots with us. If you have a place we should check out, please submit here.

Weekly Spotlight: Eat and Compete

Each week we pick a theme and highlight three places (one from each suburbs region; North Shore, Northwest Suburbs, Western Suburbs) that we think are great.

Looking for something fun to do this winter? From golf and pickleball to bowling and bocce, the Chicago suburbs are home to several great eatertainment venues that provide a great place to have fun with friends and family, while enjoying delicious food and drinks. Check out the spots below and let us know your favorite places to eat and compete.

• Pickle Haus (Algonquin): Pickle Haus offers indoor Pickle Ball for both beginners and veterans, including 7 Standard Courts or 5 Premium Cabana Courts. Before or after you play, you can enjoy delicious Neapolitan pizzas and craft cocktails at their restaurant and bar led by their James Beard recognized chef. They also have indoor golf simulators and private event offerings.

• Puttshack (Oak Brook): Puttshack is a modern indoor mini-golf venue that combines high-tech gameplay with a high quality bar and restaurant. The tech-infused mini golf chain elevates the traditional mini-golf experience with a new approach to gameplay, scoring and overall atmosphere. A great place to meet with friends, hang with family, or host your next event.

• Pinstripes (Northbrook, Oak Brook, South Barrington): A great place to escape the cold and gather with friends and family this winter. Pinstripes offers bowling and bocce paired with delicious food and drinks. They also host a variety of family events and kids promotions each month.

News & Updates

• Celebrated restaurateur, Amy Morton, will be opening a second location of her popular The Barn Steakhouse in Highland Park this fall (link)

• Puttshack (mentioned above) will be opening their second Chicago suburb location in Skokie this year (link)

• A trio of acclaimed hospitality talents is forming a new restaurant group called Hearth Hospitality, which will be focused on the suburbs with it’s first project opening soon in South Barrington (link)

• Tangled Roots Craft Beer & Kitchen opened a new location yesterday in South Barrington (link)

• A new contemporary French influenced bistro and wine bar is coming to the recently vacated Mandrake space in Geneva (link)

• Looking for a fun winter road trip? Check out Lake Geneva’s Winterfest from Jan 29th through Feb 2nd, along with our Getaway Guide on where to eat, drink, stay, and play.

• Last week we shared our Chicago Restaurant Week recommendations (which starts tomorrow). This week we are highlighting the many suburbs that are hosting their own restaurant weeks. Check out the list below:

Life in the Burbs: Woodfire Pizza Owners

Life in the Burbs is an ongoing interview series where we profile local entrepreneurs and tastemakers from the Chicago suburbs and have them share their favorite local places. Want to be featured or know someone we should chat with? Reply to this email or contact us here.

We chatted with owners, Joe and Anne D'Astice, who own Woodfire Pizza and Carlyle Brewing Company. Woodfire is one of our favorite pizza spots in the suburbs with two locations in West Dundee and Rockford. While you should definitely order pizza while there, they also make fantastic house-made pasta and craft cocktails. Joe and Anne shared a few of their favorite local spots and events, along with a couple great vendors they work with for their business.

Upcoming Events

NORTH SHORE

• Aboyer Wine Dinner | Jan 23 (Winnetka)

• Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella | Jan 24-26 (Evanston)

• Farm Dinner at Elawa Farm | Jan 25 (Lake Forest)

• Buck Russell’s Cupcake Workshop | Jan 25 (Wilmette)

• Tala Coffee Class 102: Brewing Basics | Jan 25 (Libertyville)

• The Barn Mondavi Wine Dinner | Jan 28 (Evanston)

• Kids Adventures at Elawa Farm | Jan 29 (Lake Forest)

• Wilmette Winterfest | Feb 1 (Wilmette)

• Dragons Love Tacos | Feb 1-22 (Northbrook)

• Tala Coffee Class 101: Roastery Tour & Cupping | Feb 8 (Libertyville)

• Finding Nemo Kids Musical | Feb 8-22 (Highland Park)

• George Trois Valentine POP UP Dinner | Feb 14 (Winnetka)

• Live Music at Space | Ongoing (Evanston)

NORTHWEST SUBURBS

• LAGO Wine Dinner | Jan 23 (Lake Zurich)

• Buffalo Creek Brewing Alpine Fest | Jan 24-25 (Long Grove)

• Blumen Gardens Vintage & Maker Market | Jan 24-25 (Sycamore)

• Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live | Jan 25 (Hoffman Estates)

• The Chicagoland Fishing Travel & Outdoor Expo | Jan 23-26 (Schaumburg)

• Disney on Ice | Jan 23-26 (Rosemont)

• Mockingbird Lunar New Year Dinner | Jan 30 (East Dundee)

• Woodstock Groundhog Days | Jan 30-Feb 2 (Woodstock)

• Illinois Vintage Fest | Feb 1-2 (Hoffman Estates)

• Lake Barrington Cocoa Crawl | Feb 8 (Lake Barrington)

• Superhero & Princess Party | Feb 12 (South Barrington)

• 2025 Economic Summit: State of the Region | Feb 12 (Barrington)

• Passero Wine Dinner | Feb 13 (Arlington Heights)

• Cirque Du Soleil | Feb 13-16 (Hoffman Estates)

• Live Music at Tighthead Brewing | Ongoing (Mundelein)

WESTERN SUBURBS

• Common Good Cocktails Class: Old Fashioneds | Jan 24 (Glen Ellyn)

• Kane County Home Show | Jan 25-26 (St. Charles)

• One Lake Brewing Beer Supper | Jan 29 (Oak Park)

• Common Good Cocktails Class: Tropical Drinks | Jan 21 (Glen Ellyn)

• Downers Grove Ice Fest | Jan 31-Feb 2 (Downers Grove)

• Ice-A-Palooza | Feb 1 (Wheaton)

• The Morton Arboretum Chocolate Weekend | Feb 1-2 (Lisle)

• Alter Brewing Valentine’s Flower Workshop | Feb 6 (Downers Grove)

• Sunset Knoll Winter Fest | Feb 8 (Lombard)

• One Lake Brewing Bonsai & Brew | Feb 9 (Oak Park)

• Maize + Mash Cocktail and Whiskey Dinner | Feb 11 (Glen Ellyn)

• Live Music at Preservation | Ongoing (Geneva)

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