Chicago Restaurant Week 2019: Best deals, recommendations for reservations
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Restaurant Week begins on January 25 and lasts until February 7. There are 10 of the best deals you can get, as chosen by ABC7's Hungry Hound Steve Dolinsky.
The Allis at Soho House
113-125 N. Green Street
312-521-8000
Best Deal Pick: Lunch
This restaurant in the Soho House is open to the public, and while it offers three-course lunch ($24) and dinner ($36) Restaurant Week options, Dolinsky says lunch is where it's at. Enjoy the large, airy space as you sip great drinks and eat great bites. The Atlantic fluke crudo and arctic char are great choices, and you can't go wrong with the almond and lemon cake for dessert.
Arami
1829 W. Chicago Avenue
312-843-1535
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
This West Town Japanese restaurant is a jewel box, and Dolinsky's never had a bad meal there. Arami is offering a $48, four-course menu for both lunch and dinner, as well as a four-course vegetarian option for the same price for both meals. Dishes include king crab with tobiko sauce and braised wagyu shortrib. You can add sake pairings to your meal for just $25 more.
avec
615 W. Randolph Street
312-377-2002
Best Deal Pick: Lunch
For $24, you start with the lentil soup and whipped feta, but then choose between their famous chorizo-stuffed dates, chicken shawarma, or charred cabbage with roasted beets, walnut and sumac. For dessert they'll serve you their caramel cashew squares, which Dolinsky calls "some of the most memorable bites you'll have, and they provide just the right amount of sweetness without being overbearing."
BOKA Restaurant
1729 N. Halsted Street
312-337-6070
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
BOKA usually offers a tasting menu-level experience from one of the city's most talented chefs, Lee Wolen. Their $48 dinner menu serves four courses, and three to four options to choose from or each, including vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. The kampachi, foie gras, cauliflower soup, glazed pork neck and mushroom Bolognese all sound exquisite, Dolinsky says.
Cindy's
12 S. Michigan Avenue
312-940-3552
Best Deal Pick: Lunch
Come for the food, stay for the view. Tucked on the top floor of the Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, the rooftop dining room offers one of the city's most breathtaking views. Their Restaurant Week lunch menu ($24) is solid, including squash-parsnip soup, gnocchi, and a s'mores baked Alaska that will fill you up without knocking you out for the rest of the day.
Dos Urban Cantina
2829 W. Armitage Avenue
773-661-6452
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
Chef Bryan Enyart, who was sous chef at Frontera Grill for 14 years, and his wife Jennifer Jones Enyart, who was pastry chef there, set up their a cozy, casual, Mexican-inspired restaurant in Logan Square. Dolisnsky's picks on their $36 Restaurant Week dinner menu include the salmon tartare and red chile trout. If you like pork, the cochinita pibil is not to be missed. And Jennifer's coconut tres leches cake and chocolate cake, both options for dessert, are crowd-pleasers.
Duck Inn
2701 S. Eleanor Street
312-724-8811
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
Head to Bridgeport to experience Kevin Hickey's well-executed dishes in a gussied-up tavern space. Dolinsky is curious about the "pig head candy bar" that's one of your first course choices on the $48 dinner menu, as well as the arctic char, but if you want surf 'n' turf as interpreted by the former Ritz Carlton chef, try the pork belly and scallop with XO sauce and jalapeno.
Free Rein
224 N. Michigan Avenue
312-334-6700
Best Deal Pick: Lunch
If you're choosing between the $24 lunch or the $48 dinner, Dolinsky says pick lunch. Don't miss Chef Lirette's saffron spaghetti, and enjoy the beautiful space. And if you're feeling a little tired after lunch make a stop in the full bakery and coffeeshop in the front.
Joe's Seafood Prime Steak & Stone Crab
60 E. Grand Avenue
312-379-5637
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
It's normally impossible to get out of Joe's for less than $48, so Restaurant Week dinner is a good deal. Dolinksy's picks are the Alaskan king crab with Lyonnaise potatoes and creamed spinach, but you won't go wrong with the 8 oz. filet with grilled tomato and mashed potatoes either. Both dessert choices - key lime pie or banana cream pie - are great calls, too.
Marisol
205 E. Pearson Street
312-799-599
Best Deal Pick: Dinner
Take your Restaurant Week experience up another level and dine in one of Chicago's best museums, the Museum of Contemporary Art. The contemporary American restaurant's $48 dinner menu offers several options for each of its four courses. Dolinsky is intrigued by the pate toast and sweet potato-almond soup, as well as the roasted pork or trout in the main courses. As a bonus, you get to dine in a gorgeous room decorated with art from the museum's collection.
