[natural sound: people talking in restaurant]
Happy and healthy Chicago Restaurant to all who celebrate. This two and half week adventure from January 19th to February 4th brings foodies to explore over 400 restaurants, spend time with family, and of course, make plenty and plenty of reservations.
ARI BERNICK: How many reservations do you have for restaurant week?
SUYASH SINGHAl: About eight.
That’s Suyash Singhal. We were seated next to each other at Mediterranean restaurant Avec in the West Loop. Singhal, his partner Disha Manvikar, and I debriefed our Avec experience.
DISHA MANVIKAR: I like the different options that they have. It’s very flavorful. And I like how they have a combination of a lot of vegetarian options. Because my partner, he’s vegetarian and so we wanted to look at restaurants that have a good mix of that. And then I like to have both savory and sweet options for brunch.
Having options and flexibility especially during restaurant week is what Manager Erik of One Off Hospitality says Avec is known for.
ERIK: Usually, some restaurants have been full participation required because logistically that makes things run smoother. But we’re able to give people more options.
Erik says being able to opt in or out of restaurant week accommodates all types of eaters. When it comes to accessibility, cost is at the forefront of college students’ minds.
JESS BRADFORD: I think for me it’s about a the experience and being the increased accessibility on like a smaller scale. It’s not necessarily making it, “oh my goodness, everyone can afford this dinner.” But, for a student who wouldn’t want to spend over $100 on a meal, cutting that in half is a big deal.
That’s Jess Bradford. She’s a junior studying economics and political science at Northwestern. She explains the breakdown for prices during Chicago Restaurant Week while acknowledging it’s still out of a lot of student budgets, but it does make it more feasible.
BRADFORD: So most places either offer $25 brunch or lunch and then either $42 or $59 dinner and that’s not including tax and tip. So it’s not like a cheat meal. But I think that if you’re looking at the price point for some of these restaurants to begin with, the average entree might already be somewhere between $30 to $40. So being able to have an appetizer entree and dessert for $59 is a good deal.
Bradford also happens to be the vice president of Spoon, Northwestern’s most prominent food publication. The magazine’s goal is to increase visibility to restaurants.
BRADFORD: In terms of spoon we want to highlight it [Chicago Restaurant Week] for our students. So we have a post up, that’s kind of talking about different places that we recommend. And then a lot of our kind of individual team members are going to go out and eat because they’re foodies, and we’ll get to post about it.
Spreading awareness to restaurants does not go unnoticed by business owners. I chatted with manager Carlos Alferez from Mexican restaurant La Victoria which opened last June.
ALFEREZ: Restaurant Week actually highlighted us as the top 20 restaurants to try it. So for us it was great. It definitely makes a huge difference not only in revenue those two and a half weeks, but also in the fact that it actually gives us a lot more exposure to people that we normally wouldn’t be able to reach.
[natural sound: people talking in restaurant]
Chicago restaurant week is more than just food. It’s about creating a vibe. Alferez says his restaurant, located in Logan Square, takes Mexican street food and curates a casual vibe.
ALFEREZ: We want the food to actually shine and to be able to provide people with that experience. If you’ve never been to Mexico, then when you walk through our doors, you get a little taste of that.
Vibes created through food is what makes Chicago Restaurant Week so special. So for foodies and connection seekers all across the North Shore, Bradford says Chicago Restaurant week is for all of us.
BRADFORD: Restaurant week is about, you know, connecting with people and trying new foods. So I recommend everyone checking it out.
This is Ari Bernick reporting from WNUR News.
