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Chicago Restaurant Week 2012 begins on Friday, February 17th and ends on Sunday, February 26th. For 10 full days, participating restaurants will feature gourmet pre-fix menus with $22 lunches and $33/$44 dinners. Prices are person and do not include beverage, tax or gratuity.Whether you’re a foodie or just looking to try a new great Chicago restaurant, this is the ideal time to do it!

For a full listing on the featured restaurants and to make a reservation visit OpenTable. Some of the restaurants have a link to their menus and others you just have to research or get input by word of mouth.

My 2 top picks this year are Michelin-star Boka and the ever-so-hip Bedford. I loved the menu for Boka and thought this would be a good value for the quality of food. My other choice was Bedford since I’ve heard great reviews about the bar so I figured why not give the food a try as well!

Boka menu for restaurant week: (pick one from each list)

Course One:

-Beef Cheek Ravioli, crayfish and celery root hash, lobster jus

-Eel and shrimp terrine, hearts of palm, grapefruit salad

-Baby arugula, roasted beets, hazelnut and manchego tuille

Course Two:

-Herb crusted whitefish, black truffle, brussel and prawn slaw, sweet potato, chestnut jus

-Buttermilk poached chicken breast, foie gras sauce, carrot risotto cake, spinach,

portabella jus

-Semolina gnocchi, oyster mushrooms, arugula, confit baby turnips

Course Three:

Chocolate praline terrine with Hazelnut ice cream, coffee foam, candied hazelnuts

Bedford menu for restaurant week: (pick one from each list)

Course One:

-Todays seasonal soup

-Duck liver mousse: whole grain mustard, pickles, caper berries and walnut baguette

Course Two:

-Chicken: cornbread stuffing, glazed root vegetables, maple and cider chicken jus

-Roasted squash risotto: arborio rice, pecorino, toasted walnut, cider gastrique

Course Three:

cider doughnut holes: cinnamon sugar, dipping glaze

Below are some of the select restaurants I’ve dined at that are also featured this year among others.

Paris Club (French/Modern)-Skate wing-lemon, capers, brown butter

Roka Akor (Japanese/Steakhouse)-Lamb Cutlets with korean spices 

Café Spiaggia (Italian)-Cannelloni-ricotta, crescenza, spinach, spring pea pesto

Zealous (Asian)-Seared Sea Scallops-smoked freekeh, date puree & almonds

Nacional 27 (Latin)-Skirt steak-crispy costa rican potatoes, salsa criolla

Carnival (Latin)-Arrachera (skirt steak)-rice, beans, onion, chimichurri 

25 Degrees (American/Bar food)-Turkey burger & sweet potato fries