January 26th through February 8th Chicago will play host to the 11th annual Restaurant Week featuring discounted brunch, lunch, and dinner options for some of Chicago's premier dining locations. Chicago is known worldwide as one of the food capitals of the world. With the seemingly unlimited amount of options, Restaurant Week hopes to shine a light on its array of culinary talent. It is now a tradition for Restaurant Week to start with a Fresh Bites event at the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier. Details have not been announced about 2018's event, but it serves to give Restaurant Week attendees an opportunity to sample the restaurant offerings and help you nail down your favorites. Fresh Bites typically has around 60 restaurant participants, and an early bird ticket goes for approximately $95, while later sales have previously been priced at $125. Every year features an influx of new restaurants, but former featured locations have relied heavily on Best Western's own River North location. Entries for Italian food from River North have included il Porcelino; seafood has been represented from nearby Joe's Seafood; Brazilian fare has been spotlighted from Texas de Brazil. River North is a restaurant district, so be sure that a multitude of nearby locations will be represented. Many of the restaurants listed usually feature prices that do not necessarily fit everyone's budget. The purpose of this event is to make their offerings a little more affordable so that the average person can try fine dining without breaking the bank. For select venues, brunch and lunch will run $22 per person, while dinner will run $33 or $44, excluding drinks and gratuity. A detailed listing will be featured on Choose Chicago's website in mid-December outlining participating restaurants and costs. https://www.choosechicago.com/restaurants/chicago-restaurant-week/ Also, pay attention to sites such as Timeout Chicago for an outline of the best picks of the 300+ restaurants listed. An overview from 2017 is below. https://www.timeout.com/chicago/blog/the-best-restaurants-to-try-for-chicago-restaurant-week-2017-010617 After picking out your favorites, do plan to make reservations for each restaurant, as this event continues to gain in popularity. Is there a better way to spend a week than eating like royalty in the Windy City?