Wednesday, October 29

Beer and WhirlyBall—what could be better? Add in specialty brews from New Belgium Brewing and a costumed WhirlyBall tourney against the brewery’s staff and you’ve got quite the Halloween party. The excitement takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the city’s WhirlyBall facility (1880 W. Fullerton Ave., 773-486-7777)—register for the showdown here.

Thursday, October 30

Get your beer with a side of Chicago ghost stories on a visit to Horse Thief Hollow (10426 S. Western Ave., Beverly, 773-779-2739) with the team from History on Tap. The evening includes a chat with brewery owner Neil Byers, five beer tastings, and a ton of spooky Chicago history (as well as bus transit from the Gage, located at 24 S. Michigan in the Loop, down to the brewery and back.) Pick up a $30 ticket here.

Friday, October 31

No tricks, just a treat from Falafill (3202 N. Broadway, Lake View, 773-525-0052). Any purchase will nab you a free piece of their baklava (well, today only it’s called “BOOklava”) for dessert.

Sunday, November 2

Take a trip to Alsace at Le Bouchon (1958 N. Damen Ave., Bucktown, 773-862-6600), where they’ll be serving a family-style array of the French region’s German-accented delights (think tarte flambée, choucroute, and kugelhopf) starting at 5 p.m. The BYOB meal is $50—call the restaurant to make reservations.

Or go Communist-era Russia with your culinary cultural explorations with author Anya von Bremzen, whose book Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking is an exploration of her family and cultural history through Soviet-era eats. She’ll be in conversation with Chicago contributing editor Gina Bazer as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. You can get $12 tickets to the event, which will take place at the Northwestern University School of Law’s Thorne Auditorium (375 E. Chicago Ave., Streeterville), here.