Hangover

SOCK ON THE DOOR... fire up the stove!

It’s a tale as old as time: You’re in bed watching MasterChef Junior, telling yourself that it’s been a long week and you need to relax, when suddenly your phone buzzes with a text from your roommate, saying they need the room. Now. Then comes the flash of resentment. The realization that you’ve got to relocate to see which eight-year-old whips up a better crème brûlée, just so your roommate can “get some.” Un-be-lieve-able.

Before you pull a Gordon Ramsay and let loose all that pent-up anger, take a minute. Maybe this intimate inconvenience is a blessing in disguise. You know what they say: When your roommate closes the door on you so they can get laid, you have a window of time to do whatever the hell you want.

GO TO WHOLE FOODS

Do it! Spend too much money on that cold-pressed juice! Sure, it’s just fruit-sweat that’s mostly sugar and calories, but baby, you’re worth it! Also, while you’re roaming the aisles, make sure to look at the latest food trends. Who knows what’ll inspire you!

BUY YOURSELF DINNER

If you have to deal with a sock on the door, then you might as well treat yourself to an expensive dinner of whatever fine cuisine piques your fancy. Hey! Maybe even get out of Evanston, go to downtown Chicago and pull your own “restaurant takeover” like Episode 6, Season 3 of MasterChef Junior “Restaurant Takeover.”

APPLY TO LE CORDON BLEU

With all this extra time on your hands, why not crank out an application to the most prestigious cooking school in the world? You’ve already made it one of the best schools (some might say lucky No. 13) in the country. One more essay can’t hurt. Plus, this will no doubt solve whatever study abroad issues you’ve been having. Two escargot with one shell, as they say!

BECOME THE BEST CHEF IN YOUR CLASS

Pop in a DVD of Julie & Julia, sit back, and rise through the ranks. You already know what it takes to be a good student at one of the best universities in the United States, why should this université française be any different? All you need to do is prove yourself at every step. Let them know that you’re no sous chef, you are a YOU chef.

BY JESS ZEIDMAN

From the comfort of campus

Binge-watch a new show

Watch that Netflix show you haven’t had time for. You know you want to, and now you won’t feel guilty. If you don’t have Netflix, ask a friend. Hopefully he or she will be in the giving mood this holiday season.

We recommend: How To Get Away With Murder, Narcos and Parks and Recreation

Take a lights tour

Take a trip around Evanston and Wilmette and see some holiday lights. Try walking down Orrington Avenue or up north by the Bahá’í House of Worship. Pack some snacks, grab hot chocolate and embrace the holiday spirit.

Hit up Norris:

Rent a cross-country ski package for two, for four to seven days. It includes skis, boots and poles. Ice skate rental is $3. You can also take your gear to the various parks around the Chicago area. Just be sure to request items five days prior to date of pickup.

Try a new recipe

Winter break is the perfect time to try those recipes you just never can find time to make. Gingerbread cheesecake bites are a perfect option. With only four ingredients (powdered sugar, gingerbread cookie mix, cream cheese and vanilla) and five minutes of prep time, it’s a great way to get into the cooking game once and for all. To see the full recipe and more, visit northbynorthwestern.com.

Beyond Evanston

Grab some friends and travel to a new city (all prices round trip by Greyhound and additional costs).

Detroit

Visit the Huron-Clinton Metroparks on Maltby Lake, that includes 24,000 acres of parkland and a $13 cross-country ski rental package.

St. Louis

See the frosted gateway arch and buy a ticket to ride to the top for $10.

Milwaukee

Visit Havenwoods State Forest. You can bring along some snowshoes and have an outdoor adventure.

Use your free time as an opportunity to enjoy everything Chicago has to offer (prices include El fare and additional costs).

Ice skating at Millennium Park

The park is open every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Take the Red Line down to the Chicago stop. The park and ice skating are free, and you can grab hot chocolate for just $2.

ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo

This attraction is open most weekends from late November to early January, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The zoo is a 15 minute walk east of the Fullerton El stop. You can see light shows, 3-D displays and live ice carving.

But on Thursday nights the Deuce comes alive. Northwestern students in cabs and Ubers flood across the border between Evanston and Chicago and pack the Deuce to capacity, singing karaoke, eating free pizza and searching for a not-awkward-the-next-morning dancefloor hookup.

There’s no denying that the Deuce is the Northwestern bar—even its address on N. Western Ave. is a match made in heaven. But how did some random bar all the way in Rogers Park become nearly synonymous with the Wildcat experience?

Beloved oatmeal cookies, a 4 a.m. closing time and $1.50 domestic beer specials are part of it. But the Mark II also has a long and interesting history with a strong family tradition.

In 1929, owner Tony Anton’s grandfather immigrated to Chicago from Psari, Greece, and in 1941 he bought four open lots on the block. The bar opened in one of those lots in 1958, after Anton’s uncle George returned from military service. The Mark II Lounge was named after his car, a Continental Mark II.

“He wrecked the car, hit a building and then he used the insurance money to build the bar,” Anton says. “And that’s how it all started.”

Anton’s mother, Steffani, says that running a bar “was where his heart was.” Eventually, George opened the Mark II Lounge and left Anton’s parents to take over.

Anton has worked at the lounge since he was 16 years old. After college, he worked various jobs before returning in 1996 to help his family modernize the bar by adding drafts and credit card machines. Northwestern students started coming in around that time.

In the late ‘90s, his whole family, including his parents and three younger sisters, all worked at the bar, and Northwestern patrons were growing in number. Now he considers Wildcats to be part of the Mark II’s extended family.

“I love the Northwestern students—I protect them,” Anton says. “This is probably the first bar that a lot of them come into, [so] if someone’s been overserved, I make sure they get home safely.”

For some Northwestern students, the Deuce has been more than just any bar. Anton particularly remembers Evan Eschmeyer, one of Northwestern’s best ever basketball players, as a regular at the lounge. Eschmeyer and his girlfriend became friends with Anton and his father.

“They played their song on the jukebox, and ultimately that was the song they played at their wedding,” Anton says.

In 2003, one Northwestern student asked him to take over the billiards mini course at Norris, and he taught the class for the next three years. Afterwards many of his students joined the leagues the lounge organizes.

Even though Anton now owns five other bars in the Chicagoland area and one in Pittsburgh, he says the Mark II Lounge is one of his favorite places. And more than 50 years after it opened, the Mark II is still mostly family run.

“My mom opens up. My dad closes,” Anton says. “We always have family here.”