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With most people enjoying a day off on Thanksgiving, Black Wednesday might just be the biggest bar night. Make the most of it this year by engaging in a little bar and restaurant hopping. There are a lot of food and drink specials to be consumed, so we've rounded up a few options across Chicago.

turkey burger
The Smoked Turkey Burger at Belly Up Smokehouse & Saloon in the South Loop.

Chicagoans can kick off the Thanksgiving holiday at aliveOne (2683 N Halsted St.) in Lincoln Park with a half-price everything happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Black Wednesday. aliveOne will also offer half-price craft cocktails featuring drinks like a Manhattan, Negroni, Old Fashioned, and French 75 as well as FREE pool all night. You'll want to stick around for free live music in the back room with Shady Grady and The Nobodies.

Put a stop in the South Loop on your list. Belly Up Smokehouse & Saloon (1132 S Wabash) has literally turned Thanksgiving dinner into burger form. The $12 dish includes a hand-pattied burger, featuring ground turkey, breadcrumbs, eggs, chipotle peppers, green peppers, garlic, shallots, and salt and pepper, that is smoked for forty minutes before being cooked on the grill. It’s then topped with a thick Jack Daniels cranberry chutney and served with sweet potato Rosemary fries. To wash it all down, try an Ace Pumpkin Cider served with a caramel and cinnamon rim will be on special for $4 each. 

Other Black Wednesday specials will include Happy Hour from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. featuring half-off pints and pitchers, $2 sliders (choice of any 3), and $5 Bulleit Bourbon shots. A $12 Bulleit flight featuring the Bourbon, Rye and 10-Year Old will also be available all day.

Commonwealth Tavern
The Old Old Fashioned at Commonwealth Tavern in Roscoe Village.

Sports fans can head to Commonwealth Tavern (2000 W. Roscoe) in Roscoe Village on the North Side for a Blackhawks Black Wednesday party. Commonwealth will air the Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks at 9 p.m. on eight TVs including a 70-inch plasma. Specials will include $5 seasonal beers, half-price wings, and $6 craft cocktails like the Old Old Fashioned with Templeton Rye, cane sugar, orange bitters and Angostura bitters and the Commonwealth Smash with Templeton Rye, blackberries, mint and lemon over crushed ice (both regularly $9).

Beer fanatics should swing by Easy Bar (1944 W Division St.) in Wicker Park for a free Black Wednesday Half Acre Brewing Tap Takeover at 6 p.m. Guests will sample specialty drafts like Aquafur: Wet Hop Pilsner, Meat Wave: English IPA and Double Daisy Cutter: Double Pale Ale. There will also be giveaways for a chance to win Half Acre merchandise. Half Acre drafts will be available for $7 each after the sampling. Guests can stick around for tunes from DJ Dan Maloney.

If you want to start Black Wednesday on a full stomach, a stop at Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya (1482 N Milwaukee Ave) in Wicker Park is in order. Their Happy Hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. features $3 to $4 Izakaya Dishes like Pork and Chicken Cashu Don, Pork Buns, Chicken Karaage, Takoyaki (octopus dumplings), Chicken Wings and more. Guests can also enjoy $4 Sapporo and Kirin Ichiban, and $5 Choyu Plum Wine and chilled sake by the glass, or $1 Kirin, Sapporo or Asahi with a signature ramen purchase (one per person).

remedy bar beer
Enjoy a beer at the new Remedy Bar in Bucktown.

MAK: Modern Asian Kitchen (1924 W. Division) will also kick off Black Wednesday with a Happy Hour. Stop by between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for $3 Beers (excluding Sapporo and Hitachino) like Revolution Anti-Hero, Lucky Buddha, Asahi Super Dry, Tsing Tao and Kirin Light. 

If you're more of a Logan Square fan, start Black Wednesday at The Owl (2521 N. Milwaukee Ave) with their "Early Bird Special" featuring half-price cocktails and beer from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We'd also recommend making The Owl your final stop. The 4 a.m. bar has $1 off select craft cans on Wednesdays.

Want to check out the new kid on the block? Remedy Bar (1910 N Milwaukee Ave) is new to the Bucktown neighborhood offering an eclectic craft cocktail list and a local brewery-driven beer list. The menu features beers from local Chicago breweries like Ale Sydnicate, Three Floyds, Lagunitas, Maplewood, Revolution, Tocayo, BuckleDown and Two Brothers. Craft cocktail menu highlights include the Bronson (Vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, PAMA Pomegranate, Chareau, Creme de Violette; $10), and the Asshatten (Templeton rye, Carpano Antica, Yellow Chartreuse, Luxardo Maraschino, Angostura bitters, $12).

moscow mule
The Bourbon Cider Mule at Tavern on Little Fort in North Center.

Black Wednesday revelers can celebrate the season with a menu of new fall cocktails at Tavern on Little Fort (4128 North Lincoln Avenue) in the North Center neighborhood. For $8 each, sip on drinks like the Bourbon Cider Mule, a RumChata Float, a Gin Rose, a Rosemary Maple Bourbon Cider and more. Black Wednesday-specific specials will include $4 Blue Moon pints, $15 Miller and Coors buckets, and half-price wraps. Tavern on Little Fort will also broadcast the Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks game at 9 p.m.

An oldie but a goodie, Phil Stefani's Tuscany Restaurant (1014 W. Taylor St.) in Little Italy invites guests to wet their whistle with a Whisky Black Wednesday featuring $5 well, $6 call and $7 premium whiskies.  

Headed to the burbs on Black Wednesday? Tuscany Restaurants in Oak Brook and Wheeling (1415 W. 22nd St. | 550 S. Milwaukee Ave.) have you covered. The Oak Brook location will offer half-off wines by the glass and bottles (no reserve) and live music by the Joe Valentino Trio. The Wheeling location will offer a half-price food happy hour from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. with purchase of a beverage (orders must be placed before 6 p.m. $5 plate sharing fee).

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