Whether you are a self-proclaimed foodie or just looking to beat the dining hall blues, Chicago Restaurant Week is an opportunity to try menus from over 400 restaurants in the city at a slightly more college-student-friendly price. The 17th annual Restaurant Week runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 4 with participating restaurants allowing diners to try special prix-fixe menus. Brunch and lunch offerings are $25 per person while dinner options are either $42 or $59 depending on the restaurant. The only problem is knowing where to go with so many options and a limited budget. From Lincoln Park to Lakeview to the Loop, there is no doubt a spot to try for a quick lunch in between classes or a nicer dinner experience to treat yourself before midterms.

Floriole Cafe and Bakery:

Conveniently located only a seven minute walk from the Lincoln Park campus, Floriole is one of the best bakeries around to try specialty pastries and select lunch offerings. This year their three-course prix-fixe menu is offered for brunch and lunch. The menu gives you the choice of a breakfast pastry of choice or escarole and goat cheese salad, a mushroom leek and gruyere galette or veggie white bean cassoulet, and a honey chamomile and kumquat panna cotta for dessert. Floriole does not have Wi-Fi so it may be more ideal for those looking for a relaxing Sunday brunch rather than a coffee shop to work and grab lunch in.  

Steingold’s of Chicago:

If you are catching a weekend matinee at the Music Box Theatre, try going a few storefronts down Southport Ave. for a three-course brunch from this Jewish deli. Steingold’s $25 menu boasts five different options for the first course, three choices for the main course and a cocoa-cinnamon babka for dessert. While it is dine-in only, the variety in their Restaurant Week menu allows for vegetarian and gluten-free options. Careful though, the deli is counter-service only with limited seating inside so space fills up quickly.  

DeNucci’s:

Also in Lincoln Park and a 20-minute walk from the Lincoln Park campus, or a 14-minute bus ride if you are feeling confident, DeNucci’s four-course dinner menu is a bit pricier at $59 per person. Diners are given the options of italian wedding soup or stracciatella and pepperoni bruschetta, mushroom lasagna or bucatini carbonara, steak alla pizzaiola or shrimp oreganata and a mini pistachio sundae or banana-nutella cannolis. The menu is available from 4:30 p.m. to close and the price excludes a beverage, tax or tip.  

Boleo:

Night classes at the Loop campus can be killer on an empty stomach but the Restaurant Week dinner menu at Boleo might offer some reprieve. Just a 14-minute walk down Monroe St. from campus is this South American restaurant with its limited-time four-course prix-fixe menu for $42 per person. The menu offers two starter courses of empanadas and a mixed green salad, three main entree choices two of which are gluten-free, and a flan or chocolate cake for dessert. 

The Florentine:

Two Brown Line stops away from Harold Washington Library at Quincy is an Italian restaurant, The Florentine. With three different prix-fixe menus for Restaurant Week, there are plenty of options to try if you are downtown looking for a good meal at any time of day. Their $25 brunch menu is only offered on weekends from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. but their lunch menu is the same price and offered every day. Their $42 dinner menu is three courses compared to Boleo’s four-course meal but you are given three options for each course.