Things to do for August 31, 2016

Your Labor Day Weekend Begins with Beer Floats

There’ll Be Some Heritage Bicycles and Taco-Related Glory in There, Too

By Sam Eichner

The weekend don’t want to work, it just wants to bang on the drum all day.

Wednesday

FROM PERKS

If These Cufflinks Could Talk

A list of major events for which these vintage cufflinks have been around:

—The invention of antibiotics.
—WWII.
—Lunar landing.
—Fall of the Berlin Wall.
—Being fortunate enough to keep your dress shirt cuffs together.

Yeah, they’ve seen it all.

Thursday

THE SHAKE-UP

A Late-Night Taco Pop-Up from the Broken Shaker

During the day, the Freehand Chicago’s café is just a café. But come nightfall Thursdays through Saturdays, something will change. The Broken Shaker will take over, serving pork belly tacos and chocolate mole meatballs to pair with mezcal agua fresca. DJs will perform. And you probably won’t want coffee anymore.

Friday

FULL STOP

Beer Floats and Breakfast Pizza Right Off the 606

One evening soon, as you’re strolling down the 606, you may spot a TMNT mural and a sign reading “The StopAlong.” Curious, you’ll leave the trail. What you’ll find inside is a nostalgia-rich wonderland filled with breakfast pizza, beer floats and aged-cheddar burgers. Also, a few arcade games. For “kids.”

Saturday

SHIP SHAPE

Football Season’s Coming. Speaking Of...

A new bi-level sports bar, Ironside, is now open in River North, just in time for football season. A few things to know: 1) there’s a subtle steampunk-y shipyard theme happening; 2) that fact apparently has little to do with the flat-screens, duck confit tamales, lobster tots and four different mules; 3) phew?

Tuesday

MATCH GAME

Timbuk2 + Heritage Bicycles = This Store

Trump; Kanye’s VMA speech; Suicide Squad—these are things that do not make sense. A collaborative pop-up shop between Timbuk2 (maker of stylish messenger bags) and Heritage Bicycles (maker of handsome bicycles) that opens in Hyde Park on Tuesday—that is one thing that does. Faith in humanity: restored.

Sam Eichner likes literature, reality television and his twin cats equally. He has consistently been told he needs a shave since he started growing facial hair.