Enjoy Dining Out During Chicago’s Annual Restaurant Week

If you are a foodie and are in Chicago this week, you’re in luck.

Major luck.

This week (through February 28) is the third annual Restaurant Week in the Windy City with over 160 establishments showcasing their best dishes and spirits with three-course lunches ($22) and dinners ($32).(According to the City of Chicago, “participating restaurants offer lunch, dinner, or both at their discretion.”)

Where to Find Participating Restaurants

The city’s list of participating restaurants is alphabetical by the restaurant’s name. Click on the link for the restaurant and you will be taken to a page that gives the restaurant’s contact details as well as a link to its Restaurant Week special menu, and in some cases, a link to reserve a table for lunch and/or dinner. (Tip: www.eatitupchicago.com also lists  the participating restaurants and their menus and lets you make online reservations.)

For example, Aja’s Restaurant Week menu for dinner includes Duroc spare ribs with sweet spicy glaze and Sesame caramel crispy chicken breast with dried red chile.

Tip: With over 160 restaurants participating it can be hard to chose where to have lunch or dinner. Thankfully, the Chicago Tribune’s food critic, Phil Vettel, did some tasting and came up with his list of “…a dozen restaurants whose menus (he)  found especially appealing.” A couple of Vettel’s picks include:

Blackbird (619 W. Randolph St.; 312-715-0708; map it) for its lunch menu with roasted squab with smoked sausage, warm octopus appetizer with chickpeas, and  Asian pear and hazelnuts.

Japonais (600 W. Chicago Ave.; 312-822-9600; map it) for its lunch and dinner menus with lobster spring rolls, nori-wrapped salmon with oyster-leek stew, and chocolate chawan mushi dessert.

Tips on Navigating Restaurant Week

Because of the popularity of Restaurant Week, many restaurants fill up quickly so reservations, if the restaurant will accept them, are recommended.

Most restaurants participating in Restaurant Week are in the city but a couple are in the suburbs including Atwater’s in Geneva, Jack Binion’s Steakhouse in Hammond, and Mon Ami Gabi in Oak Brook.

For more information, contact the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, 2301 South Lake Shore Dr. (map it); 312-567-8500.

Photo credit: SXC