There’s the Willis Tower, Millennium Park, and Wrigley Field, but easily the best attraction in Chicago is the food. Chicago Restaurant Week is the best way to experience it all in 14 days.
With over 250 participating restaurants there is something for everyone including vegans, foodies, gluten-free, traditional, and even molecular gastronomy diners at Chicago Restaurant Week. The restaurants will offer price fixe menus at $22 for lunch and $33 or $44 for dinner not including beverages, tax, and gratuity. With a price fixe menu many of the city’s fine dining restaurants become more accessible to the general public.
Restaurant Week kicks off with the First Bites Bash Event where 50 of Chicago’s best chefs and restaurants will give visitors a taste of what they can expect at their eateries during Restaurant Week. The event will be hosted by Restaurateur and master sommelier Alpana Singh, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Inspiration Corporation.
We know it’s hard to pick which of the 250 restaurants to visit in only 14 days, but we have some favorites. Restaurants are getting creative with their Restaurant Week menus like Ada Street’s menu twist on famous last meals of infamous criminals. Some are less themed but equally delicious like meat-centric Frontier’s menu including duck and andouille sausage gumbo, smoked wild boar shank, and pineapple upside-down cake. James Beard Award-winning Blackbird will be offering a lunch menu offering wood-grilled sturgeon with salsify, black trumpet mushrooms, buckwheat, and grapefruit that will make any other lunch you’ve had look like a grilled cheese.
Chicago Restaurant Week runs from Jan. 30 — Feb. 12. First Bites Bash takes place Jan. 29 at Great Hall at Union Station, 500 W. Jackson St., and tickets are $125. Reservations are highly-recommended as many restaurants fill up for Restaurant Week. Make sure to follow us on Twitter at @CP_Chicago as every day we will be announcing which of our favorite restaurants still have reservations. For a full list of restaurants, menus, and more information on Chicago Restaurant Week visit eatitupchicago.com.
