News Chicago

Verzênay Chicago, a French patisserie and bakery-cafe, occupies a storefront at 2507-2509 N Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park. The business got its start as a booth at the Green City Market, supplying wholesale to hotels such as The Drake, the Peninsula and Le Meridien, as well as local coffee shops …

Tortorice’s Pizza & Catering serves Chicago-style deep dish and thin crust pizza, along with a gluten-free crust option, from its West Town location at 1746 W. Grand Ave. The deep dish, made with what the restaurant calls a caramelized burnt cheese crust option, is a signature item, alongside jumbo wings, …

LYRIQ Music School runs a studio at 1909 W Byron St in Northcenter, one of two Northcenter locations the school operates; the other is at 1906 W Irving Park Rd. The school offers private and small-group lessons in piano, voice, violin, guitar and other instruments for students from age 5 …

The People’s Cafe is open on Belmont Avenue in Avondale, serving coffee and pastries from the storefront that previously housed Cultura Cafe. The cafe is a partnership between building owner and People’s Cafe founder Mary Sommers and new operators Nicholas McMillan and Coco Wallace. The menu features coffee from Common …

Piece, a brewery and pizzeria on North Avenue in Wicker Park, has served New Haven-style thin-crust pizza and house-brewed beer since 2001 in a converted former roofing and construction building. The menu includes New Haven-style pizzas, such as the Tomato Pie, the White Clam pie and a classic pepperoni pie, …

Offset BBQ serves slow-smoked barbecue at 1720 N. California Ave. in Humboldt Park, near the California Avenue entrance to the 606 trail. The kitchen smokes chicken, pork, brisket and St. Louis-style ribs over an offset smoker, the style the restaurant is named for, and serves the meats by the pound …

Kameya Ramen & Sushi serves Korean-Japanese fusion fare at 604 W Belmont Ave in Lakeview, pairing Japanese-style ramen and a full sushi roll list with Korean comfort food and rice bowls. The ramen lineup spans chicken katsu, pork belly, shrimp tempura, veggie miso, curry, kimchi, seafood and a creamy cheese …

Cafecito’s South Loop café sits at 26 E Congress Pkwy, near State Street, serving Cuban sandwiches, coffee and Latin American fare. It’s one of several Cafecito locations around Chicago, each built around pressed sandwiches and espresso drinks. The menu centers on the Cubano pressed sandwich — roasted pork, ham, Swiss …

Chicago Health Foods is a health food market and cafe at 22 W. Maple St. in the Gold Coast, carrying vitamins and supplements alongside a made-to-order deli counter. The cafe menu includes black bean burgers, wraps, fresh-squeezed juices and smoothies such as the Bun in the Sun, Knockout and Ultimate …

Craft & Carvery has opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant at 2101 W North Ave in Wicker Park, after a stint inside the now-closed Time Out Market Chicago. The restaurant serves brick-oven pizza, handcrafted sandwiches and a carving station offering meats by the half-pound. The sandwich menu includes a Brisket Melt, a …

Fry N’ Wings has opened a West Loop location at 36 S. Ashland Ave, bringing its Asian-fusion chicken wings to the neighborhood. The restaurant got its start in St. Charles in 2018 and has since added locations in Bolingbrook and Bloomingdale before coming to Chicago. The menu centers on bone-in …

Heritage Outpost serves coffee from the ground-floor lobby of Lawrence House, the renovated 1928 Art Deco building at 1020 W. Lawrence Ave. in Uptown. The counter pours espresso drinks made with Onyx coffee, which Heritage serves exclusively in its cafes, alongside a case of daily pastries. The shop shares the …

Coo Thai Cuisine serves Southern Thai food at 2932 N Broadway in Chicago’s Lake View neighborhood, in a small dining room decorated with woven basket art and Thai pottery. The kitchen makes its curry pastes in house using traditional Southern Thai methods with coconut milk, galangal and kaffir lime leaf. …

Lateral Fitness is a boutique personal training gym on the lower level of 314 W. Superior St. in River North. The 11,000-square-foot studio has operated in the space since 2013. The gym pairs clients one-on-one with trainers rather than running group classes, offering personal training, Pilates instruction, physical therapy, massage …

Jimmy’s Famous Burgers serves hand-formed burgers, Philly cheesesteaks, wings and hand-cut fries at 5042 S. Cottage Grove Ave., in the Hyde Park/Bronzeville area. The counter-service restaurant says its food is “nothing frozen, ever,” with patties and other items made to order. The menu includes a Philly cheesesteak with ribeye, onions, …

Home Run Inn Pizza’s Beverly location serves Chicago’s South Side from 10900 S. Western Ave., just off Interstate 57 near Morgan Park and Kennedy Park. It’s part of a family-owned pizzeria chain that traces back to 1923, when Mary and Vincent Grittani opened a neighborhood tavern at 31st Street and …

Danny’s Pizza, Pasta and Burgers has served Chicago-style tavern, deep dish and stuffed pizza at 6021 S. Archer Ave. in Garfield Ridge since 1976, alongside burgers, wings, pasta and sandwiches. The menu includes pizzas from 10 to 18 inches with crust options such as deep dish, stuffed, gluten-free and cauliflower, …

Captain Hooks Fish & Chicken serves Chatham from its longtime storefront at 8554 S. Cottage Grove Ave., at 85th Street in the Chatham Village Square shopping center. The restaurant’s own site lists the Cottage Grove location as open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making it a round-the-clock …

Cafe Nova serves Indo-Sri Lankan food at 6431 N. Sheridan Road in Rogers Park, near the Loyola University campus. The menu includes kottu paratha — chopped roti stir-fried with egg, vegetables and a choice of protein — along with biryani, samosas, chicken masala and curries such as saag paneer and …

Piva Beer Spa, at 1052 N Milwaukee Ave in West Town, centers its treatments on beer soaks: large wooden tubs filled with warm water, beer, hops, barley and brewer’s yeast. The spa is open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Beer soak packages pair time in the tubs with …

FH JerkGOD serves Jamaican-style jerk dishes from a counter-service storefront at 111 E 51st St in Washington Park. The menu, built around the restaurant’s own jerk seasoning, includes JerkGOD Chicken, a JerkGOD Philly sandwich, JerkGOD Pasta, JerkGOD Egg Rolls and JerkGOD Rice Bowls. One of the shop’s signature plates is …

The Original Mother’s, the bar and nightclub at 26 W. Division St. in the Gold Coast, has anchored its stretch of Division Street since 1968, according to the venue’s own branding and Instagram bio. The bar is open Wednesday through Sunday, with hours posted on its website as Wednesday through …

Looking for indoor golf near Lakeview? Bucktown Golf Club, about 15 minutes southwest at 2309 N. Damen Ave., runs three private Trackman simulator bays year-round. Membership is $150 a month, BYOB, with no contract.

Babe’s on Milwaukee, a neighborhood bar at 4416 N Milwaukee Ave in Portage Park, is open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. (3 a.m. on Saturdays). The bar pours 11 taps of beer alongside whiskey, classic cocktails like the Old Fashioned, wine by the glass or bottle, …

J.B. Alberto’s Pizza has served Rogers Park from 1326 W Morse Ave since 1965. The pizzeria specializes in thin-crust, tavern-cut pizza — cut into squares rather than wedges — along with deep-dish and stuffed pies, including a 24-inch pizza the menu calls “The Giant.” The menu also includes wings, fried …

Embody Pilates Studio offers private Pilates Reformer sessions at 4645 N. Kedzie Ave. in Albany Park, steps from the Kedzie Brown Line stop. Rather than large group classes, the studio works with individual clients one-on-one or in duets, where two people (such as friends or family members) train together in …

Xochimilco Mexican Restaurant has been serving the Lincoln Square area from 2030 W. Montrose Ave. since 2018, according to its website. The family-owned restaurant describes its approach as market-fresh ingredients and in-house preparation across a full dinner menu. The menu runs from entrees like lamb shank, tampiqueña and bistec ranchero …

Wild Goose Bar & Grill is a sports bar and restaurant at 4600 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Square. Owned and operated by Michigan State alumni, the bar dates back to 1989 and bills itself as Chicago’s best craft beer sports bar. The kitchen serves what the bar calls “home …

Urban Pooch Canine Life Center operates out of 4501 N Ravenswood Ave, at the corner of Sunnyside Avenue in the Ravenswood neighborhood, offering dog daycare, cage-free boarding, grooming and training under one roof. The business has been recognized with a Chicago Reader Best of Chicago award. The Canine Life Center’s …