Weekly Planner: Brunch With Scrooge, Italian Comfort Food, Boozy Hot Chocolate and More

Christmas, A Cocktail Story

CH Distillery is really getting into the holiday spirit this year by morphing into a veritable winter wonderland through December 23. For practically the whole month, the West Loop bar and distillery is teaming with The Dogma Group to transform the space into Bigbee’s, a mid-century department store window display complete with trees, window frosting and all sorts of decorations. Inspired by that classic motif and holiday vibe, the teams have put together a menu reminiscent of that era, including cocktails and food. This includes a Gingerbread Vodka Mule, the Eight Nights Magic with aquavit, pear brandy, lingonberry, lemon and dill, and the Fortune Cookie Mai Tai with rum, fortune cookie orgeat, CH Curacao and lime. To eat, specials include cheese balls, deviled eggs, fondue and deconstructed chicken pot pie soup. Rounding out the department store vibe, CH Distillery/Bigbee’s will also have various vintage gifts on hand for shopping purposes. 

Brunch With Scrooge at The Dearborn

Everybody always goes to brunch with Santa, but what about Scrooge? Maybe the reason he’s so grump all the time is because no one ever wants to eat eggs with him. The Dearborn is out to change all that with their special “Brunch with Scrooge” event on December 3. Considering the restaurant is across the street from the Goodman Theatre, home to the annual run of A Christmas Carol, it makes perfect sense really. In honor of their special guest, the restaurant is cooking up some unique items for the brunch, and drinks include a “Scrooge-Driver” made with Plymouth gin, Bitter Truth pimento dram, orange juice, lime and Peychaud’s. A dollar from every Scrooge-Driver sold goes to the not-for-profit Goodman Theatre. The brunch runs from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. and reservations are recommended. 

 

Wine & Whiskey Weekdays at ROOF

One surefire way to help get through winter is with wine, whiskey and a year round rooftop. ROOF at theWit has all three covered with their new Wine & Whiskey Weekdays promo, taking place from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. In celebration of the bar’s 7th anniversary, the bar is stocking up with seven different items for $7, including ROOF’s private barrel Whistle Pig 10-year Rye, Red Car Pinot Noir, Canard-Duchene Cuvee Leonie Brut, Lieu Dit Sauvignon Blanc, macarons and select flatbreads. 

Drink Hot Cocoa at West Town Bakery & Diner

Cold weather means it’s time for hot chocolate, and the only thing better this time of year than hot cocoa is the boozy kind. At West Town Bakery & Diner, pastry chef Chris Teixeira has crafted the ultimate hot chocolate for the winter season, and he’s splashed it with liquor. It’s made with cacao berries, creme de cassis, walnut liqueur and housemade marshmallows, at once indulgent, rich, nutty and boozy. 

Celebrate Comfort Food Season at Nando Milano

In other comforting winter news, Nando Milano is an apt spot to cozy up to decadent dishes this season. Along with a myriad of other hearty Italian creations, one standout on the menu at this Wicker Park gem is the gnocchi della Nonna. Made from a chef that originated with the chef’s grandma in Italy, hence the name, it consists of fluffy housemade gnocchi with Gorgonzola cheese and aurora sauce, which is a creamier version of tomato sauce. 

- Matt Kirouac