Happy Hour International

$1 burgers with beverage purchase 5 p.m.
Burger includes a half-pound patty, lettuce and bun. Toppings available for an extra charge.

$3 Bud and Bud Light bottles, Absolut cocktails and Goose Island 312 drafts, half-price nachos and quesadillas, trivia 8 p.m.

When in Rome…Drink Aperol
A popular Italian aperitivo tastes just as good stateside.

A Safe Bet
Fifty/50’s clever beer-based cocktails and superior bar eats add up to a night well spent.

$1 burgers with beverage purchase 5 p.m.
Burger includes a half-pound patty, lettuce and bun. Toppings available for an extra charge.

Goin’ Crazy for Cava
Dana celebrates summer with some sparkling sangria at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba.

$1 PBR cans, karaoke 9 p.m.

Well-done fish & all that jazz
We sent our jazz guy and our restaurant guy on 3 ‘dates’ to do the listening/tasting for you

There are places in Chicago where you go for great food, and places you go for great music. Still, we wondered: Are there places that suit both needs, without changing seats? We sent music critic Howard Reich and restaurant critic Phil Vettel out together to three places. We had Howard rate the music and Phil rate the food, and, just for fun, we let them switch hats and write about the others’ specialty. Here are their professional and amateur reviews of three places. First up: Andy’s.

Phil Vettel: Veerasway, 2 stars
Hip take on Indian fare, Randolph Street style

$1 well drinks

At Prairie Fire, finesse elevates comfort food
Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris have returned to Chicago with the recent opening of their second restaurant. Like Prairie Grass in Northbrook, Prairie Fire on North Clinton Street features the two chefs’ signature American comfort food prepared with classic French sensibility and ingredients from local, sustainable farms.

Speed Dating
Meet other singles during quick “interview” dates. Includes cash bar.

Crimzon Spider Rock Lounge
This pop-up bar concept moves into the banquet hall at Don Carlos featuring open mic performances and Rock Band on a projector screen.

$1.25 mini-burgers and barbecue pork sandwiches, $3.25 Amstel Light and Heineken bottles, $3.75 bloody marys, $5.75 entrees with first beverage 6 p.m.

Sweet Sips of Liberty
Pledge your allegiance to these Americana cocktails while you celebrate another year of Independence.

Whisked Away at the Violet Hour
Dana goes incognito to find a drink that’s just right.

$1.50 Grand River mini-burgers, $4 call-brand cocktails, $3 Miller Lite drafts, $5 Bacardi bombs

Thanksgiving at Ajasteak
Features a six-course prix-fixe with a wine pairing option. The regular menu is also available.

$1 corndogs, $4 Dewar’s cocktails

Atomic Sketch Event
Eight established and emerging invited artists create mixed media works, paintings, drawings and more on site. When they’re done, browsers can buy the works at affordable prices ranging from $1-$50. Are you an artist? BYO sketch and paint materials and create your own pieces to display and sell.

$1.50 mugs, $3 well drinks, $4 all super mugs

$2-$4 appetizers in the bar 4-7 p.m.

Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip-Hop Arts
Features a visual art and graffiti gallery with pieces for sale, a film screening, open mic, a barber station for fades and haircuts by Sense-Rock from The Hip-Hop Barbershop, food vendors, music by DJ Itch 13, DJ Issues and DJ Seanile and live performances.

$1.50 tacos, $2.50 Olympia cans

Chain Reaction: Evaluating Starbucks’ holiday drinks
Starbucks — America’s midafternoon break headquarters — dusts off the yuletide cheer in beverage form, returning three holiday beverages to its menu through the end of the year. Are they worth your hard-earned gold bullion, or more deserving of a lump of coal?

$10 Happy Boxes, 5-7 p.m.
Choose a Japanese, Brazilian or Peruvian box with four items each or mix and match to create your own.

$5 featured rum cocktails, $7 Fatty’s signature margaritas

$11 smoked, bone-in (frenched) pork chop with grilled asparagus

Dining deals
Dining out never looked so good with the variety of restaurant deals being offered these days. Here are five:

$4 Skyy cocktails, $6 Skyy martinis, $10 domestic beer pitchers, movie musical 3 p.m., VJ Bryan 10 p.m.
Sing-A-Long Sundays: Spin will show a different movie musical each Sunday afternoon in its entirety. Patrons are encouraged to sing along during the musical numbers and complimentary snacks and movie-style popcorn will be served. Showtime 3 p.m.

Half-price wine glasses