CHICAGO — Steak, Southern cooking and cheesecake should be on your menu this weekend.
• Luella's Southern Kitchen, a Lincoln Square restaurant based on recipes chef Darnell Reed learned from his great-grandmother from Mississippi, is open for business.
The menu is packed with entrees like catfish tacos, chicken gumbo, fried green tomato BLT and shrimp and crab boil.
Pictured below: chicken and waffles.
Luella's Southern Kitchen, 4609 N. Lincoln Ave.
• After seven years in business, Bad Dog Tavern is closing Sunday night in Lincoln Square.
With its 100-seat patio, the bar and grill was a perennial neighborhood favorite for outdoor dining and, as its name would suggest, was particularly dog-friendly.
The owners do plan to open a new restaurant in its place come March.
In the meantime craft beer drafts and Absolut drinks will be $3 until closing time Sunday.
Bad Dog Tavern, 4535 N. Lincoln Ave.
• A mainstay option in another neighborhood is also closing soon. After 18 years in business, Carmichael's Steakhouse in West Loop is closing in March.
A classic Chicago steakhouse, Carmichael's is well-known for its martinis too.
Carmichael's Steakhouse, 1052 W. Monroe St.
• Get a head start on Valentine's Day at Eli's Cheesecake in Dunning.
You can create your own dessert arrangement ($6) with mini chocolate-dipped cheesecakes. The DIY activity is from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday.
Eli's Cheesecake Bakery Cafe and Retail Store, 6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive.