It finally happened: Chicago Restaurant Week! Despite its name, Restaurant week is a 14 day event from January 26th to February 6th. Chicago restaurants, both downtown and in the neighborhoods, offer prix fixe menus for lunch at $22 and for dinner at $33 or $44. This is an excellent opportunity to affordably eat at some of the fanciest Chicago restaurants. With over a hundred options and dozens of cuisines, it makes for a delicious fortnight.
How you navigate Restaurant Week depends on your personal strategy. Some prefer to go to all the most expensive restaurants. Others choose places that are known for quantity. Another option is to hit up all the swanky places. I chose to do a little bit of everything. I enjoyed two lunches, one at Naha and one at Sushisamba.
My friend Laura and I went to Naha in River North to enjoy “some of the country’s finest Contemporary American cuisine in a zen-like dining room” (according to its blurb on the Restaurant Week website ). For my meal I had:
Mediterranean Dips
Course 1: Mediterranean “Dips” of Fava Santorini and Caper, Roasted Beet and Sumac, Broccoli and Tahini, Warm Pita Bread
Course 2: Strozzapreti “Twisted Noodles” and Wood Grilled Calamari, Manila Clam Broth, Savoy Cabbage, Tarragon and Garlic Crostini
Wood Grilled Calamari
Course 3: Almond Financier, Preserved Local Blueberries, Lemon and Vanilla
Laura had:
Course 1: Woodland Mushroom Soup, Sweet Garlic Custard and Chickpea “Croutons”
Course 2: Organic Carnaroli Risotto and Braised Berkshire Pork Shank “off the bone”, Marina di Chioggia Squash and King Oyster Mushrooms
Risotto and Braised Berkshire Pork Shank
Course 3: Rich Dark Chocolate Cheesecake “Cremeux”, Caramel and Candied “Honeybell” Orange
Our favorites were definitely the soup, the calamari and the dark chocolate cheesecake.
Mom and I at Sushisamba
My mom and I tried out Sushisamba, which fuses cuisines from Japan, Peru and Brazil. Apparently this combination arose when thousands of Japanese emigrants moved to South America to find their fortune in the fertile soil for coffee. Because of all the fun dishes Sushisamba has to offer, my mom and I shared. We ordered one prix fixe menu and supplemented it with some sushi rolls and quinoa temakis.
Course 1: Atlantic Salmon Seviche- blood orange, tomato, celery
Course 2: Sushi Assortment (3 pieces of nigiri and 1 neo toyoko samba roll)- salmon with cilantro sauce, yellowtail with red onions and spicy garlic, striped bass with spicy mayonnaise and aji panc
Course 3: Assorted Mochi- soft japanese rice cake filled with ice cream
Both experiences were very fun and took me to places I normally would not be able to go. However there is one difference, when I went with Laura we drank water and with Mom we got a bottle of wine.
Questions for Amie? Email law-admissions [at] luc [dot] edu with the subject “Ask Amie” and she will make sure to answer them.