Feast Your Eyes and Mouths at Holiday Markets

Instead of trampling strangers in order to get a big box bargain, do yourself a favor and swing by a holiday market or two. Not only will your conscious be clean, but you’ll be enriching yourself with holiday spirit and exploring unique provisions as varied as comic posters, hot sauce, food subscriptions, and Italian panettone.

In case you needed further reason to fawn over Fat Rice, the feverishly popular Logan Square restaurant is rolling out a holiday market this year on December 17, chock full of food, drinks, and offbeat retail goods you won’t find anywhere else. While typical repasts at Fat Rice entail indulgent dinners filled with rice, noodles, and dumplings, the market exceeds expectations with comic-inspired posters by local artist Sarah Becan, Fat Rice hot sauces, Mama’s Nuts, local jams, private label beverage blends, Portuguese wines, Romanian plum brandy, Fat Rice-branded apparel, and plenty more. Stuff some stockings with Fat Rice goodness. And each guest in attendance receives free boozy punch or a dumpling.

Dose Market has steadily evolved into a popular Chicago craft market, revered for its rotating roster of artisan purveyors that run the gamut from restaurants and bars to designers, artists, and others. Making its return for the holiday season is Dose Market’s Holidose, taking place December 14 at Venue One, and it’s a can’t-miss for anyone interested in shopping, eating, drinking, and being jolly. The fourth annual holiday market features upwards of 100 local businesses, plus more from across the country, gathered en masse to satiate desires for clothes, packages goods, home furnishings, jewelry, food, drinks, unique subscriptions, accessories, art, and everything else a crafty urbanite could dream of, from vendors like Debbie Carlos, Mayana Chocolate, Madison & Rayne, Nimble Well, Field & Florist, and more.

If your idea of a holiday market skews sweet, look no further than Primehouse Bar at David Burke’s Primehouse, where executive pastry chef Jove T. Hubbard has amassed a salacious lineup of weekly sweets throughout December for Jove T.’s Holiday Market. Featured every Saturday through December 20, each market features one special treat ideal for stockings, gifts, dinner parties, or selfish binging. While sipping on complimentary egg nog, attendees can stock up on Italian panettone on December 6; chocolate bouchons, gingerbread, peppermint brownies, butter spritz, sugarplum pate de fruit, and bourbon truffles on December 13; and Bailey’s caramel cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust on December 20.

Fat Rice
2957 W. Diversey Avenue, Chicago
(773) 661-9170
Website

Dose Market
1034 W. Randolph Street, Chicago
Website

David Burke’s Primehouse
616 N. Rush Street, Chicago
(312) 660-6000
Website