Living an environmentally-friendly lifestyle and helping to keep our planet clean isn’t as difficult as you may think. All it takes is a few small tweaks. To start, here are five great tips for going green in your kitchen!

Filter your water. Not only does this allow you to remove contaminants like lead, chloroform, chlorine, etc. from your drinking water at home, but you can save money and reduce waste by avoiding bottled water. Choose between a water-filtering pitcher or faucet-mounted option.

Reduce water usage. It’s a common misconception that running your dishwasher uses a lot of water, when in fact, it generally uses less than hand washing dishes. Just make sure to only run it when full and use the light wash and air dry settings. You can also purchase a low-flow aerator for your kitchen faucet to cut down on water usage.

Avoid unnecessary packaging. When grocery shopping, avoid single-serving products and produce packaged in styrofoam and shrink-wrap to reduce waste. At home, opt for reusable containers, such as jars and Tupperware, instead of foil, plastic wrap, and Ziploc bags.

Switch your cooking appliances out. Instead of using your full-size oven, consider using a toaster oven, microwave, or slow cooker instead. These appliances use between 30 to 50 percent less energy to heat.

Buy local. Shopping at locally-sourced stores or farmers markets does not only allow you to support your neighbors and community but is sustainable for the environment. The food you purchase does not have to travel far to get to you, helping to reduce carbon emissions.

River West: There’s no need to pack the family up and head out to the sticks for a pumpkin-inspired outing this year. Make your way to Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-up in the heart of downtown Chicago. Covering over two acres of land to the west of Goose Island, pick the perfect pumpkin for this Halloween season while getting lost in the city’s only corn maze for a memorable day out in the fresh air at this outdoor event. Taking place at 1465 North Elston Avenue in River West, Jack’s Pumpkin Pop-up is going on now until November 3. Social distancing requirements are in effect, and reservations are required. Prices range from $19 to $38. Find more info here.

River North: Keeping with the pumpkin theme, check out JoJo’s Pumpkin Patch taking place on the patio of JoJo’s Shake Bar, located at 23 West Hubbard Street in River North. For the entire month of October, JoJo’s has converted its 5,000 square-foot patio into a pop-up pumpkin patch running from 11 am to 11 pm every day. Pick out a Halloween pumpkin and enjoy JoJo’s Pumpkin Patch specials like gourmet caramel apples, pumpkin and apple pies, spiked ciders, and hot chocolate. If nothing else, come for their Pumpkin Patch Shake topped with pumpkin pie, taffy apple, roasted marshmallows, and a Reese’s pretzel. Admission is free for tables of six or less on a first come, first served basis. Find more info here.

Lincoln Park: Halloween will look and feel different this year due to the pandemic, but don’t let that scare you from some great activities still taking place. On Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th, head out to Lincoln Common, located at 2335 North Lincoln Avenue, for a fun Halloween window painting event. Come decked out in your costume (and a mask) for a two-hour painting session decorating the storefronts at this Lincoln Park location. Reserve your day and time online for this socially distant event. Each time slot costs $10 and includes a painting kit. Find more info here. 

Lincoln Park: A great collection of wing happy spots in Lincoln Park will be a part of the inaugural WingOut Chicago’s – Wing Series kicking off Wednesday, October 14, and running until November 18. Each Wednesday, a different restaurant will feature their tasty all you can eat wings that you can devour with friends. First up on the 14th is Broken Barrel Bar, located at 2548 North Southport Avenue in Lincoln Park, where you can have your wings any you like, along with a Vizzy Hard Seltzer and a rating card to judge your order. The following week the fun moves to OG’s in Lincoln Park, followed by a new spot each Wednesday, including Joe’s on Weed and Wicker Park’s Whiskey Business. Tickets are $54 for two people, $108 for four, and $162 for six guests. Find more info here. 

West Loop: Are you missing watching the Bears at Soldier Field every Sunday? So are we. Thankfully you can catch all the games on a giant 32 foot wide by 6 feet tall screen at the Time Out Market Chicago, located at 916 West Fulton Market. This free event takes place all season long, corresponding with the times of each Bears game. Watch the game, relish the victories (or cry in the defeats), while dining on some of the best football food around. Find more info here. 

ERIC KAPLAN AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

I arrived home yesterday to find a wonderful surprise. A new tree on the parkway in front of my house! Here in Chicago, where I live, the city plants trees for homeowners who have lost trees due to illness, disease, or been cut down to facilitate utility work. It makes me think this is a great time to talk about planting and caring for new trees. 

Fall is the best time to plant trees. The hot weather has passed, and the tree will have time to establish before the ground freezes. Trees now can be purchased at a good discount from nurseries and home centers as they wish to clear out inventory before winter. Trees come in three root forms. Here is how to plant them.

Bare root trees are seldom seen, but you may run across some. Do not let the roots dry out! Soak them three to six hours before planting. Dig the hole wider than you think necessary but not too deep, till the soil around the hole for good root growth. You want the very top of the root flare exposed. Fill ½ way with original soil and pack well. Fill the hole to the top of the flare and firm again. Make a basin shape at the top with the soil to direct water towards the tree—water well. Place a three-foot diameter ring of mulch two-four inches deep, not touching the trunk. 

Smaller trees and shrubs will often come in containers. When you carry these, always pick up by the container, not the trunk! Dig the hole three to four times wider than the container, sloping the sides toward the tree. Lay the container on its side and tap to tease the tree out. Do not yank it out; you could rip the tree off the roots!  If the tree seems root-bound, cut an X in the bottom of the ball and four vertical slices on the sides. Use a sharp knife and cut in an inch or so. Follow as with bare root tree. Fill with the original soil, packing firmly with no air pockets and making a basin for watering. Continue with mulch.

Larger trees will usually come with the root ball encased in burlap and surrounded with a wire cage. Dig the hole two to three times the ball’s width and till the soil further than before, approximately five times the root ball width. Do not disturb the soil at the bottom of the hole. Handle the tree the same as the container type – only by the ball, not the trunk. Place in the hole and remove the basket with wire cutters along with any nails holding the burlap. Cut off the burlap. The small piece under the ball can remain if it is not treated or vinyl encased. Fill as before, packing soil firmly and leavening root flare exposed, creating a water basin and mulching. 

New trees need to be watered weekly until the ground freezes. Then continue in the spring for the first year, especially in dry weather. Lay a slow running open hose at the dripline. Slow trickle, so it is not flooded. Do not fertilize, apply chemicals, or use soil containing such. These products will kill young trees. 

Let’s plant some trees this fall. Take care of the ones we have now, even the established trees, by giving them water several times before the ground freezes in our dry spell in Chicagoland. 

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO

If autumn is your favorite season, then it’s time to start enjoying it in all its colorful splendor beginning with this weekend!

The largest cemetery run in the country is back but virtually. Rather than running through a candlelit course in the Victorian-era built historic Rosehill Cemetery, the Virtual Crypt Run/Walk 5K, 10K, 1K can be completed anywhere during the month of October. Participants can design their own course through local haunts in their neighborhood, follow their favorite running or walking route, or register for a curated route in Lincoln Park that will take them through an area that once served as Chicago’s primary cemetery from 1843 to 1859. Registration includes a custom t-shirt, skull-themed mask, and an LED necklace. Participants will also receive special, informative, and frightening audio messages about Chicago’s spooky history while on their run or walk! Plus, your participation will benefit Best Buddies Illinois, which is a non-profit that enriches the lives of people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Illinois. So, why not make this the hallmark of your October season!!

Celebrate what’s left of the dog days of summer with your four-legged friends at Yappy Hour at Dine Out on Sheffield, located at Belmont and Sheffield Avenues. Each day from 12 p.m.-3 p.m., your furry guests can get a special treat with a purchase from one of the participating restaurants. Check the website for updates on what each establishment will be offering! Your dog will want to go back every day!!

Porchlight Music Theatre is proud to present an all-new virtual production, Broadway by the Decade, available for streaming until October 25th. Artistic Director Michael Weber takes you on a guided tour of Broadway’s history from the late 1800s to the present. He also shares the story of how the American idiom, the musical, was created decade by decade with songs from Show Boat, A Chorus Line, Les Miserables, Chicago, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Waitress, and more! All viewing links will be available via email for 72 hours post-purchase. Enjoy!!

Lake County’s destination brewery in Long Grove, Buffalo Creek Brewing (360 Historical Lane), will be hosting a subtler Oktoberfest Weekend than in years past. This family-friendly celebration will provide ample space for social distancing, with expansive indoor and outdoor areas featuring sprawling lawns and picnic tables, a tented pavilion and an oversized Biergarten, and different designated seating and gaming zones spread out over an acre. In addition to live German Oompah music (Saturday from 5 p.m.-8 p.m.), guests can enjoy Hammerschlagen (nail driving), horseshoes, and bags. Also, a local food truck will be on-site along with an extensive menu of craft beer offerings from the brewery and highlighted by its featured Oktoberfest brew, the Big Ludwigski. Hand-crafted, non-alcoholic choices like freshly made ginger beer will be available for purchase as well!!

Now through November 1st, step out and away from modern life and make new memories with family and friends at Abbey Farms Pumpkin Daze located at 2855 Hart Road in Aurora. This 40-acre pumpkin farm has everything you need to make your day at the farm special. It’s packed with activities and park attractions from a petting zoo (weekends only), to a log balance beam course, to zip lines, to the largest corn mazes in all Chicagoland, to a community fire pit, and much more! Plus, grab a craft beer or glass of wine under the tent each weekend (Saturdays/Sundays only) while listening to live music from local artists in the afternoons (weekends only). It’s your one-stop shop for fall season fun with limited admissions but tons of outdoor space!!

Our Chicago Bears (3-0-0) will be hosting the Indianapolis Colts (2-1-0) at Soldier Field this Sunday at 12 p.m. Watch the game on CBS! GO BEARS!!

Sue Moss and Dean’s Team Chicago

This past summer, the grand Nobu Hotel opened its doors in the West Loop. With 115 luxury rooms and a rooftop bar offering postcard-worthy views of the city, everything was in place for Nobu to make its great Chicago debut. Well, everything but one glaring absence: the hotel’s namesake sushi restaurant that is world-renowned. However, on Thursday, October 1, all will be right again with the hotel’s signature restaurant’s debut.

With a focus on Japanese cuisine with a Peruvian angle, Nobu’s restaurant will deliver the goods for sushi lovers throughout the Chicagoland area as they have in their Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Milan locations.

The menu, spearheaded by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, is a feast for the eyes of Chicagoans craving high-quality seafood. Cold dish highlights include the toro tartare with caviar, new style sashimi, lobster ceviche on limestone lettuce, and the tuna tataki with tosazu, to name a few. 

For those looking for some warmth, you can’t go wrong with hot dishes like the black cod with miso, lobster wasabi pepper, roasted king crab with yuzu kosho, or prime tenderloin miso ponzu. 

Sashimi and nigiri lovers will rejoice at Nobu’s offerings, including Japanese Red Snapper, yellowtail, king crab, and scallop, among many other choices. Prices range between $5 and $15 depending on your choice, but there is a two-piece minimum.

For those who prefer their sushi in bite-sized portions, Nobu’s maki menu is bursting with flavors like spicy tuna, salmon and avocado, baked crab, and Japanese eel and cucumber. An omakase signature tasting menu is available to order for $125.

Nobu’s dining experience will feature a lounge, a 28-foot sushi bar, a dining room, and two private dining rooms all housed within its 10,000 square-foot area located on the hotel’s first floor. This new addition to the West Loop is an ideal spot for a night out, especially before the weather turns cold here in Chicago.

The Nobu Hotel has an interesting background. Founded by chef Matsuhisa alongside legendary actor Robert De Niro and film producer Meir Teper, the hotel chain’s Chicago location was first announced way back in 2014. In 2016, De Niro, alongside then-mayor Rahm Emanuel, broke ground on the Randolph Street location with a planned 2017 opening. Stop and restarts occurred over the ensuing years, and, of course, the pandemic stalled most things of late. But here we are in the fall of 2020, and Hotel Nobu’s long-awaited restaurant is ready to open. 

Hotel Nobu is located at 854 West Randolph Street in the West Loop. The restaurant will be open for dinner service Sunday through Thursday from 5 pm to 10 pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 11 pm. Lunch service is offered Friday through Sunday from 11:30 a to 2 pm. 

ERIC KAPLAN AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO