It's Officially Spring, Chicago

BEST DATE NEWS

March 20, 2025: Best Date News Volume #118

Welcome to Best Date News, your favorite Chicago weekly newsletter! Spring has officially arrived in Chicago! In this week’s newsletter you will read about Lollapalooza, Chicagohenge, the Kennedy Expressway project, new restaurant openings, this year’s White Sox shake and more!

March 20: National Holidays

• First Day of Spring

• National Proposal Day

• National Macaron Day

• National Ravioli Day

• National Astrology Day

Sponsored by our friends at Jook Sing

Visit Jook Sing in West Town

• Jook Sing: Did you know that Chicago has an Asian night-market-inspired restaurant in West Town? It’s called Jook Sing, and it’s located at 1329 W Chicago Ave. They are open Tuesday-Saturday and open at 5 p.m.

• Jook Sing celebrates Asian street food with western influences. They have signature dishes like Popcorn Chicken (mirin-marinated fried chicken thighs) and Duck Arroz Chaufa (a Peruvian-Cantonese style fried rice). Menu.

• Every night, they have a $50 Four Course Prix Fixe Menu where you can “indulge in a culinary journey through Asia.” You get to choose an item for each course to build your perfect meal.

• If you prefer to order to-go, they do that as well. FYI, they have a promotion where you get a free Popcorn Chicken ($11.25 value) on orders over $30.

Chicago News

• Lollapalooza: The 2025 Lollapalooza lineup dropped yesterday. Chicago’s biggest summer music festival will take place from July 31 through Aug. 3 and will be headlined by names like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, Tyler, The Creator, Luke Combs, Doechii and more. Tickets went on sale this morning at 10 a.m. and 4-day GA is already sold out.

• Chicagohenge: The spring equinox (today) is one of two days a year when Chicagohenge is at its peak. For those who are unfamiliar, Chicagohenge is when the sun perfectly aligns with Chicago’s east and west corridor street grid. It makes for cool photo opportunities and brings out all the city’s photographers.

• Kennedy Expressway: The road construction project that never ends has returned for its final phase. Phase three of the Kennedy Expressway project began this week and is expected to last through Thanksgiving. The focus for this phase is on the outbound lanes, bridges and overhead signs. This phase is expected to cause significant travel delays and driving to O’Hare difficulties.

• Elston Electric: The Salt Shed is set to receive another exciting, new tenant this weekend as Elston Electric will open its doors on Saturday, March 22. Elston Electric is an arcade bar, from the team behind Logan Arcade, that will be open before and after concerts. They will have 110 arcade games and will serve Pizza Friendly Pizza.

• Restaurants: Zarella opens today in River North. Broken English has closed their Old Town location on Wells Street. Last week, the team behind Galit in Lincoln Park opened an all-day cafe next door called Cafe Yaya. Not a Damn Chance Burger opens its second Chicago location tomorrow in Wicker Park.

Just For Fun

• White Sox Shake: After last year’s super successful Campfire Milkshake went viral, the Chicago White Sox are doubling down on milkshakes to bring fans out to the ballpark this season. Yesterday, the White Sox unveiled their new 2025 food options including the above Celebration Cake Shake with birthday cake ice cream.

• Free Cone Day: Speaking of ice cream, today is Dairy Queen’s annual Free Cone Day to coincide with the first day of spring. All customers can visit a participating Dairy Queen today to redeem one free small vanilla cone while supplies last.

• March Madness: Excited to watch some March Madness today?! We hope you remembered to fill out your bracket. If you are looking for places to watch the games in Chicago, here is a list of spots.

• 50 Things to Do: Not sure what to do this weekend? TimeOut Chicago put together a list of the 50 best things to do in Chicago right now.

Poll Question of the Week

Last Newsletter's Poll Results

Poll Results: Last newsletter we asked if you were planning on going to see the green river dyeing for St. Patrick’s Day, and 71% of you said that you were not.

Sunrise & Sunset in Chicago

Here is today’s outlook in Chicago (compared to last week):

• Sunrise: 6:53 a.m. (12 minutes earlier)

• Sunset: 7:03 p.m. (8 minutes later)

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