Tavi J. – 2018 Chicago Restaurant Week Recap

Knife & Tine

Are you stuffed yet!?!? I am! I’ve been taking full advantage of Choose Chicago Restaurant Week. It started back on January 25^th with the official First Bites Bash Kick-Off Party.  At First Bites Bash you were able to sample sweet and savory items from 60 different participating restaurants. Even better a portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Chicago Food Depository. First Bites Bash was a great way to get you pumped for the next 14 days of non-stop eating. 🙂 From January 26 – February 8^th, over 370 restaurants offered multi-course prix fixe menus. (Brunch and lunch for $22 and $33 and/or $44 for dinner (excluding beverage, tax, gratuity).

I decided to satisfy my cravings by partaking in brunch, lunch, and dinner. I love to pick restaurants I have never been to before during restaurant week and of course use the time to catch up with friends. Hope you enjoy drooling over these pics as much as I enjoyed eating the food. 🙂 You still have two more days to participate in restaurant week. I suggest making reservations on open table and of course happy eating!

Tavi J. Chicago Restaurant Week Review
Brunch: Knife & Tine
Lunch: Vivere
Dinner: Blvd

Brunch – Knife & Tine
1417 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago IL 60614
Open for Brunch and Dinner
Website: http://www.knifeandtine.com/
Restaurant Week Menu

Cuisine: American
What I had: Mimosa, Shrimp & Grits, Short Stack Pancakes
Notable Mention: Most of us (me definitely) enjoyed the Shrimp and Grits. One person of our party found them to be too runny.  Check in on your Yelp app for 20% off. One drink is included with restaurant week menu.

Mimosa

Shrimp & Grits

Side of Short Stack Pancakes

Brunch is my FAVORITE meal of the day hands down! I live for Sunday morning brunch and catching up with friends. Myself and 5 other gal pals headed over to Knife and Tine and it was ALL of our first time. Most of us were either bloggers or just enjoyed taking pictures of food, so the restaurant was kind enough to give us our own room. We seriously turned it into a photography studio. 🙂

I loved that Knife & Tine offered a drink with your meal for the restaurant week menu. Most restaurants don’t offer drinks, so they were already winning. Mimosa’s are pretty hard to mess up and thank goodness mine was good. Orange juice wasn’t too bitter or two sweet. The rest of the ladies opted for the Bloody Mary and they asked for it spicy. The bartender chopped a few jalepeno’s to go with it and they loved it! I truly felt Knife & Tine offered a good value, quality, and well rounded restaurant week menu.

Lunch – Vivere
71 W. Monroe, Chicago, IL 60603
Open for Lunch and Dinner
Website: https://italianvillage-chicago.com/vivere/
Restaurant Week Menu

Cuisine: Italian
What I had: Soup of the day (Rib Eye Soup), Tortelli Manzo Con Pomodori, Panzerotti
Notable Mention: Definitely make reservations if you go. Lunch time was pretty crowded!

Rib Eye Soup

I work in the loop, but I rarely go to sit down restaurants during lunch. I past the Italian Village every day and this was my first time stopping in Vivere. My co-worker and I checked out this spot for lunch and had a fabulous time! You must check out The Italian Village itself for the experience and delicious dishes from Chef Jose Torres. It’s like you’re transported to Tuscany and the décor puts you in a Northern Italy frame of mind. I can’t believe The Village has been around since 1927…now that’s longevity!

For my starter course I went with the soup of the day which was a Rib Eye Soup. The flavor was good, but I had them add pepper to give it a more spicier kick.

For the main course I had the Tortelli Manzo which is House made Tortelli pasta filled with Rib Eye. Yum!!! The dessert however, I was not blown away by. I had the Panzerotti, but I wish I would have went with my co workers selection of the Torta Di Formaggio (Cheesecake). She kept raving about how delicious it was and it was presented beautifully. Another great restaurant week quality value!

Dinner – Blvd
817 W Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60607
Open Dinner
Website: https://blvdchicago.com/
Restaurant Week Menu

Cuisine: American
What we had: Shishito Peppers, Vine-Riped Tomato Toast, Brussels Sprouts, Vegetable Risotto, Striped Bass, Sticky Toffee Pudding
Notable Mentions: If you go here for restaurant week not knowing its restaurant week….well you never will. LOL. We waited patiently for them to bring up the restaurant week menu and they never did. 🙁 Thankfully, that’s what we were there for and requested the restaurant week menu. This is definitely, the type of restaurant to go to for a shared plate experience. Beautiful décor and make sure you check out the bathroom ladies! 🙂 Also, they have a $30.00/person wine pairing option to go with the restaurant week menu.

BLVD

I knew I was going to like this spot! If you know me you know I love to dress up and eat. This spot allows you to do both. 🙂 The space takes you back to the 1950’s and you’re surrounded by glam, luxury, and decadent food. This place is perfect for a dinner for two or an extravagant event for 250. Myself and my ride or die blogger/friend Chelsea Harvey from Chi-Girlabouttown headed here on the first day of Restaurant week. It was so cool they had a menu of shared plates that left you satisfied. My FAVORITE item of the evening was the DESSERT! OMG that Sticky Toffee Bread pudding won me over!! I also really enjoyed the sea bass, risotto, and Brussel sprouts. A very well balanced meal and a spot to choose during restaurant week because I hear the normal prices can be pricey.

Hope you are enjoying your restaurant week! Feel free to drop me a line on where I should go eat next to [email protected].

Exciting Update!!!!

Chicago Restaurant Week has been extended 3 days from February 9-11, which coincides with the opening weekend of Chicago Theatre Week taking place February 8-18. This is a unique opportunity for consumers to enjoy two defining aspects of the Chicago cultural experience—award-winning dining and amazing theater.

There are 160 restaurants that have opted in to participate in this first-ever extension. Details including the list of participating restaurants is being promoted on the Chicago Theatre Week website only (www.chicagotheatreweek.com). Consumers will have the same ability to view restaurants, pre-fixe menu(s), and make reservations online.

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