Whether you’re looking to kick back with friends in town for Thanksgiving or are just celebrating not having any obligations until dinner the next day, Nov. 22 is the perfect night to hit a bar or two. This Blackout Wednesday, these 14 spots are providing food and drink specials, entertainment and a place to commiserate about your pending family drama, plan holiday shopping and start the long weekend off right.
1925 W. Cortland St. 773-489-0738
The Bucktown bar offers complimentary samples of small batch Jameson varieties along with giveaways from the brand, $5 Jameson drinks and $4 Strongbow and Heineken. Starting at 7 p.m., trolleys will drive between Lotties, Frontier and The Pony every half hour for Pioneer Tavern Group’s annual Black Wednesday Trolley Crawl. RSVP for a free ride by emailing [email protected].
1072 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-772-4322
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Sample more than 50 spirits from all over the world along with appetizers for $30 from 8 to 10 p.m. at the West Town spot’s second annual Whiskey & Wine Fest.
1638 W. Belmont Ave. 312-453-9397
A DJ spins music from the 2000s for a throwback dance party starting at 7 p.m. Drink specials include $5 Jameson mixed drinks, $6 whiskey sour Jell-O shots and $4 Heineken.
112 W. Hubbard St. 312-955-0399
Avoid drinking on an empty stomach at the River North spot, which will give you free food equal to the price of your alcohol bill in the dining room from 4 to 10 p.m. Reservations are required.
56 W. Illinois St. 312-644-7600
Catch sets from DJs Jesse Marco and Alex Rosen at the River North bar’s annual Black Wednesday bash, which includes four cocktails from 10 p.m. to midnight. $30. Tickets: theundergroundchicago.com
1622 W. Belmont Ave. 773-281-3805
Play “Stanger Things” trivia from 7 to 9 p.m. for a chance to win themed prizes and gift cards, then stick around to enjoy the Lakeview bar’s Black Out Wednesday Party Package where $30 gets you a slice of pumpkin pie plus mixed drinks and domestic drafts from 9 p.m. to midnight. Tickets: eventbrite.com
455 W. North Ave. 312-266-2277
Take advantage of $6 margaritas and Ferrari shots (Campari and Fernet) before hopping on stage to sing during the bar’s annual Black Wednesday Karaoke Party from 9 p.m. to midnight.
3369 N. Clark St. 773-244-1166
DJs spin country music all night and you can win a giveaway of tickets to the sold out Drake White and the Big Fire concert on Dec. 8 at Joe’s Bar. There’s no cover and the Wrigleyville bar’s specials include $1 sliders, $10 domestic pitchers and $3 Jameson shots.
353 W. Hubbard St. 312-386-5778
There’s no cover at the River North lounge, which hosts a set from Erthe St. James & The ErtheTones. Bottle service and select cocktails, shots, glasses of wine and beer are half-price.
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3443 N. Sheffield Ave. 773-248-4400
Prepare for the Black Friday release of the 2017 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout with a special tapping of last year’s beer and the 2017 Founders KBS ($10-$12) starting at 5 p.m. The Wrigleyville bar also offers $3 Fireball cinnamon whiskey shots plus a $20 package from 9 p.m. to midnight including Bud Light drafts, well cocktails and pretzels with cheese fondue.
622 N. Fairbanks Court 312-642-0700
Haven’t done your Thanksgiving shopping yet? Enter the Streeterville bar’s annual free turkey testicle eating contest at 8 p.m. for a shot at winning a whole frozen turkey. A pumpkin pie-eating contest at 11 p.m. awards a $25 gift certificate. Drink specials include $6 Absolut cocktails and Fireball shots and half-price bottles of wine. There’s also a whole menu of festive food specials, including $8 deep-fried stuffing with gravy and $11 buckets of deep-fried turkey testicles.
22 W. Hubbard St. 312-645-6000
The River North bar offers $4 Thanksgiving-themed cocktails including Pilgrims Punch, a blend of vodka, ginger liqueur and lemon, and Grateful AF, which mixes whiskey, vermouth, apricot and bitters. Cover band The Catch performs hits from Sublime, Mumford & Sons, The Black Keys and others starting at 9 p.m.
3518 N. Clark St. 773-248-0002
Fuel up with a dinner buffet at 7 p.m. then join The Turkey Crawl as it moves to John Barleycorn, Deuce’s and The Diamond Club and other Wrigleyville bars for giveaways and drink specials including $5 312, $4 Bud Light and $7 Jim Beam until 2 a.m. $10. Tickets: eventbrite.com
113 W. Hubbard St. 312-644-0113
The new River North spot featuring darts, gin and food offers happy hour specials all day from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. For $5, you can create your own gin or vodka cocktails with your choice of botanicals and fruits, or keep it simple with $5 draft beers, glasses of wine and half-off small plates.
Samantha Nelson is a RedEye freelancer.